I'm not going to defend it, but I will point a few huge fingers at congress. It's not first or foremost a partisan issue. It's an issue, to me, of the checks and balances system not working. Congress should be able to put a stop to this, but they're not doing it. Well, maybe that isn't surprising because they're really the ones who got this ball rolling. Members of congress know (and already knew when we found out) what's happening and they're not putting a stop to it! Mr. Smith is nowhere to be found, apparently.
The most ardent supporter of this kind of garbage is McCain. McCain is the guy who, time and time again, does the whole "this is a war" schtick. What congress needs to do is repeal the entire authorization nonsense (the AUMF). Every time the White House or Congress wants to do something illegal, they justify it by pointing at the AUMF and showing that these kind of tactics were legal when used against the Axis during WWI and WWII, so it should be legal when used against terrorists now. I'm guessing we all know this, but there is no state called Terrorististan. Without an enemy defined by borders or a common language or even arguably a common cause, the government's powers are being applied to everyone.
We're not going to see change happen in the White House. Every president strives for more power. This change has to happen in congress, and if that's not happening, we need to get rid of 'em. Get rid of McCain, Arizona. Please.