Carter and Clinton on Civil Liberties

mdj writes in response to my controversial list of the 8 worst presidents on civil liberties issues:

Jimmy Carter was the worst, then Bill Clinton for many reasons. The People do not have a choice (so far) in November, i.e. "None of the above". Hopefully the delegates will draft another candidate at convention.

Bill Clinton was a horrible president on civil liberties issues, and has done as much as Bush to expand the power of the executive branch. Deciding between Clinton and Bush for the #8 spot took serious thought, since Clinton didn't even have 9/11 as an excuse.

But Jimmy Carter was fantastic, especially on the issue of executive power; if I were writing a list of the 8 best presidents on civil liberties issues (and I probably won't), he would be either #1 or #2. Most of the legislation we cite today that restricts executive power, from the late lamented Independent Counsel Act to the brilliant but repeatedly ignored Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, passed under his administration. Carter was unimpressive in some areas, but on civil liberties he was unquestionably the best president of the postwar era and quite possibly the best there ever was. Not that he has much competition in that department.

Related: History of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA)