[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by irishtrekker

None of that really addresses the issue of why Bush and his administration are somehow supposed to be exempt from criticism. If I recall correctly, both DTS and I acknowledge that Clinton wasn't perfect by any means (hello, who would suggest that??). There absolutely should have been more outcry over Bosnia or Rwanda. So maybe critics should have fixated on genocide instead of blow jobs...but they didn't, did they? As a feminist, I definitely should have been more critical of Clinton. I was 19 when he left office, and what I've learned as I've grown older has helped me see and analyze his very real flaws. I hope that I won't let partisan allegiances sway my ability to rationally assess a person's leadership abilities now. Nevertheless, Clinton's errors do not in any way negate or change what's going awry with the current administration, just as Bush Sr.'s mistakes did not provide excuses for Clinton's, etc.

Even in the best case (i.e., no duplicity on the part of the administration, just ineptitude), when world leaders with tremendous power make avoidable mistakes that cost *lives*, it's a profound moral transgression. "Everybody makes mistakes" hardly excuses Iraq or Katrina. I also struggle with the idea that everything they've done is really just another mistake or misstep. Either that points to profound incompetence, or it suggests that they are willing to pursue their agenda at the expense of anyone who gets in their way. Neither is comforting, in my opinion. If evidence suggests, as plenty did, that going into Iraq in the manner they chose might be a mistake, that hiring a quarter horse judge to run FEMA might be a poor idea, etc, then why wouldn't you at least consider it? It's like they have preestablished views of how the world works, and they look at any conflicting evidence as a square peg that should be thrown out because it doesn't fit in the round hole...except the round holes aren't actually round anywhere but in their heads.

Do hardcore liberals make the same mistakes? Of course they do. Does that somehow make it okay to write off or overlook the Bush Administration's record? Not by any means.

I don't think the Bush administration is exempt from criticism. I've never said that they should be exempt. If someone has some constructive criticism, I'm all for it.