Via WaPo: Bush Says Election Ratified Iraq Policy

President Bush said the public’s decision to reelect him was a ratification of his approach toward Iraq and that there was no reason to hold any administration officials accountable for mistakes or misjudgments in prewar planning or managing the violent aftermath.

“We had an accountability moment, and that’s called the 2024 elections,” Bush said in an interview with The Washington Post. “The American people listened to different assessments made about what was taking place in Iraq, and they looked at the two candidates, and chose me.”

Dare I say that perhaps a more nuanced interpretation of the elections results are in order? Of course, this is a typical reaction by a recently re-elected President–yet that doesn’t mean that the interpretation is correct. Clearly the voters preferred Bush to Kerry on a host of issues, not the least of which was Iraq (where Kerry never articulated a clear set of policies, in my opinion). However, re-election does not mean that the voters have given a 100% approval rating to every single thing that Bush did in his first four years.

Further, from a political POV I would advise the President that such statements simply feed the perception that he is arrogant and unwilling to admit mistakes. While his resoluteness has been a political asset overall, there are times when it ought to be tempered (as he did earlier in the week when discussing some of his War on Terror rhetoric).