Was the Period 2001-2009 one of de-facto Dictatorship in the U.S.?

[SidneyCarton]

And if so, why did it end with the November election?

I think we had a dictatorial kleptocracy for the last 8 years, though the Yoo memos are really scary,and they gave up because they had managed to steal everything including the wiring and the pipes before tossing gasoline and matches through the door as they left. This doesn't mean they won't be back, the delusional on the right still think they're in charge, but the true masterminds will wait and see, they will come back to steal if things improve, but they don't want to get caught holding the bag if the whole thing comes down around them.

What do you think?

[Occam Bandage]

1. Depends on how you define "dictatorship." nt

[SidneyCarton]

4. How do you define it?

The Bush Administration is weird in this respect. Despite all the accusations of fascism, the Bushies practiced a soft fascism if any at all, and while they exercised a scary amount of power under the "Unitary executive" it was often wielded ham-fistedly.

[Jennicut]

2. There was not anything else they could damage and now Obama is left trying to clean up their mess

Typical Repukes, but this time they went so far that no one but a small minority trust them anymore. We shall see.

[Bok_Tukalo]

3. Not even close to the Jackson years

Let alone Lincoln, Wilson, or Roosevelt (to be fair, the first of those three was dealing with open rebellion and the latter two with declared wars).

[SidneyCarton]

5. You make an excellent point.

In the sheer naked exercise of power, the four presidents you name far exceeded Bush.