Uh, no

I'm sure more eloquent posts will be made against this argument elsewhere, but Bush's latest is to say that because he won reelection, his accountability phase in Iraq is over. It should come as no surprise that I find this incorrect on any number of levels.

First would be mere public opinion polls that show that a majority of the country disapproves of Bush's handling of Iraq. This poll shows that only 42% approve, meaning Bush has effectively thumbed his nose at the remaining 58% of Americans.

Second, and this goes back to the mandate claim as well, it is entirely possible to win someone's vote despite their reservations. An election is a choice between candidates and their views, not an up down vote on the policies they bring. In my talks with the public prior to the election, their was a general consensus that he had screwed things up in Iraq, but people were willing to vote for him anyway because in their eyes Kerry's view wasn't all that different.

Of course, Bush claiming he and his administration aren't accountable for the mistakes in Iraq means that he's not really all that upset about said mistakes, and those that have died because of them really don't matter to him. Sad that a President could think that way about innocent civilians and our troops, but what can you do? The man lives in his own world.