Fringe elements, you say? Such as... the young community organizer Barack Obama when he was running for senator as a nobody? If you recall, he was actually spied on by the NSA then, and likely before that as well. This is a problem, and the majority of people should understand that an attack on a fringe can effect them. Someone could blackmailed the president, or acted as a filter by allowing him to pass with certain conditions. Sounds like that is something to be rationally concerned about.

The NSA programs chill speech of the majority, anyway. You always hear people faux-fretting about "being on a list" for what they say. It's a joke when they say it, but it's not a joke in reality. People are reacting to being constantly surveilled, and it's putting a cramp on a lot of discussions.