First of all, let me say that in the past two months I have watched all episodes of the fist five seasons. I hadn't had a chance to watch them on TV because I was in Japan at the time, but my wife and I always were curious about the show because of its probably in the US and Japan, so we recently purchased I first five seasons (then we got our money back, but that's a whole other story). We both love the show-- action packed, great cliffhangers.
It is without a doubt. In this show, it seems the Constitution has no real authority. Someone's civil rights are being trampled on in nearly every episode. Americans are tortured regularly, including teenagers.
It also presents scenarios that almost never accur in reality-- the ticking-time-bomb terrorist scenario-- as if it were happening every year or so. Life rarely works like this. We rarely, if ever, receive information within only seconds, minutes, or even hours to respond. If we are getting our info this late in the game, it's probably too late. Most attacks that are stopped prematurely are down so months in advance, if not years, when there is still plenty of time to follow protocol. 24 creates the image that we are under constant threat of attack, of which there is no evidence to support this idea in reality.
The one thing I do like about the show is how it portrays terrorists. They don't have ridiculous motives such as a hatred for America because our culture is immoral and degrading, and they don't have ridiculous goals such as forcing their religious beliefs on us. They are usually very clear that they are angry about US interventionist foreign policy and want those policies to cease. I think this realistically portrays the terrorist mentality.
Yes. Yes, he is.