Sounds like semantics to me.
Everything is semantics.
Where did he say all this? He simply said the president's main job is to protect the American people. He didn't say the state reigns supreme, strip personal liberties, etc. I can't speak for him, but I doubt that's what he intended to say. (He can correct me if I'm wrong.)
"Rob, security of this country is something like 3rd on Obama's agenda........the first obligation as a President is to protect your country." --The Coach
"But no one should doubt that we are determined to do what has to be done to protect the American people. As President, I have no higher duty." --President Bush
Bush has acted upon this "higher duty" by feloniously spying on americans, torturing detainees, ordering a war crime of aggression, and abusing presidential signing statements to usurp Congressional power of legislation.
Personally, in terms of the president's job, I don't view national security any differently than free speech, freedom of religion, or any other personal liberty. They're all important.
Not to Bush or to the Coach: first obligation as a President is to protect your country (Coach);
to protect the American people. As President, I have no higher duty (Bush)
And query which of you has the more paranoid viewpoint? The Gestapo isn't beating down your door. What specific freedoms have you lost lately (particularly since 911)?
An answer to your query, you and the Coach support Bush and his crimes. Bush paranoia surpasses that of Tricky Dick Nixon. Or have you missed the "there's a terrorist under every rock" Bush tour?
Specific freedoms I have lost include my 4th amendment right to privacy (FISA spying/Patriot Act I & II) probable cause is now a thing of the past where our "security" is concerned (do I even have to point out how ridiculous it is that we protect our freedoms by eliminating them? I think I do); I have had my tax dollars used for war crimes in Iraq, That includes Bush's use of my tax money to fund torture chambers for the CIA.
Maybe that's ok with you, but not me.
God forbid if my name surfaces in any sort of connection to the Bush war on terror: Bush has reserved the right to deem me an "enemy combatant" if he sees fit; Bush has violated the 8th amendment prohibition of Cruel and Unusual punishment by permitting CIA torture of detainees, Bush has jettisoned the right to habeus corpus, the right to a speedy trial by peers, the use of hearsay evidence etc.
It seems like you don't mind losing your 4th amendment constitutional rights to privacy. Why is that?