the main claim to fame of the bush administration is that it "kept america safe." and the real disaster would have been if there had been a series of terrorist attacks in the u.s. then there would have been ever-more consolidation of power, ever-more oriented to the emergency, and ever-more distant from any constitutional principles etc. they were gearing up for that with the "unitary executive" stuff: the idea that executive power is unlimited with regard to national security, which could be used (and was being used) essentially to put us under martial law. we would have been lucky to have a peaceful transition of power, and actually even if we did it's likely that the republicans would have won the election. i do think it shows whatever decency was left that they didn't swing into fullon fascist mode, with faked attacks, finding planted wmd's in iraq etc, though i think the claims that real plots were actually foiled by interrogation under torture (claims which cheney is still making) was moving along those lines.