I think the vast majority of Americans didn't notice any restriction on what they want to do in the 8 years of the Bush administration. The biggest impact for

I think the vast majority of Americans didn't notice any restriction on what they want to do in the 8 years of the Bush administration. The biggest impact for most was probably added hassle when flying or opening a bank account, but even that seems minimal in retrospect. If there'd been a terrorist attack or two every year, it might have gotten much worse, but it turns out that there are, to a first approximation, no terrorists who have the ability and desire to attack US soil.