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Old 12-18-2005, 03:37 AM
BluffTHIS! BluffTHIS! is offline
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Join Date: Nov 2004
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Default Re: Bush\'s Interview With Lehrer

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Also, Bush is very uncomfortable with accountability. Almost any criticism of his policies is deflected as part of "the blame game" or "helps our enemies." I am not sure he is psychologically capable of taking full responsibility for his decisions as president (which is an *immense* burden for every president) without deflecting away most/all of the criticism of him.

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The relevant question is accountability to what standards? To a standard of how well actual performance matches up to a reasonable estimate of casualties and resources to be undergone, or to an artificial bar set high by those whose only political objective is to damage the president in the public opinion and obscure their own lack of legitimate policy alternatives.

And a second important point in any policy analysis is whether it is better to undergo a certain cost now so as not to have to pay an even higher one in the future when problems are not dealt with at the earliest opportunity. In this regard, the democrats frequently seem like investors who only focus on quarterly figures regardless of whether such pressure makes a company take actions that cost profits in the long run, which in a strategic military/geo-political setting translates into even more lives lost in the future when terrorists and rogue nations are not dealt with promptly. The appeasing actions of european leaders with regards to Hitler in the 1930s is best example of the consequences of such failures to act now for less casualties/resources than it will take to address the problem in the future.
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