Ratification of Divisive Policies

Rationalization may be defined as self-deception by reasoning.
Karen Horney (1885 - 1952), psychoanalyst

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 pre-war planning or managing the violent aftermath.

In other words, no one cares if:

• Troops were sent to Iraq without enough protection,
  
• No exit plan was prepared,
  
• Nominated Attorney General Alberto Gonzales looks for loopholes to justify torture,
  
• Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld views his standing at a desk tailored to his height the equivalent to allowing Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay prisons to stand for hours afraid to move for fear of electrocution; we’ll just prosecute the low man on the totem pole, and
  
• Vice President Dick Cheney manipulates and interprets Iraqi intelligence until he gets the answers he wants.
  
  

"We had an accountability moment, and that's called the 2004 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."

The American people, based on what I can tell, chose Bush because:

• Cheney said there would be a nuclear attack, if they were not reelected,
  
• Gays might be able to get married,
  
• The government would abandon our troops in Iraq, if Bush was not reelected, and
  
• John Kerry, who served in Vietnam, was disloyal, while Bush who didn’t complete his service and received preferential treatment was patriotic.
  
  

The view from here appears to be there was no accountability just good ol’ fashion knee-jerk fear.