Krugman: Where's the Apology?

[Robbien]

George Bush promised to bring honor and integrity back to the White House. Instead, he got rid of accountability. Surely even supporters of the Iraq war must be dismayed by the administration's reaction to David Kay's recent statements. Iraq, he now admits, didn't have W.M.D., or even active programs to produce such weapons. Those much-ridiculed U.N. inspectors were right. (But Hans Blix appears to have gone down the memory hole. On Tuesday Mr. Bush declared that the war was justified — under U.N. Resolution 1441, no less — because Saddam "did not let us in.")

So where are the apologies? Where are the resignations? Where is the investigation of this intelligence debacle? All we have is bluster from Dick Cheney, evasive W.M.D.-related-program-activity language from Mr. Bush — and a determined effort to prevent an independent inquiry.

True, Mr. Kay still claims that this was a pure intelligence failure. I don't buy it: the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace has issued a damning report on how the threat from Iraq was hyped, and former officials warned of politicized intelligence during the war buildup. (Yes, the Hutton report gave Tony Blair a clean bill of health, but many people — including a majority of the British public, according to polls — regard that report as a whitewash.)

In any case, the point is that a grave mistake was made, and America's credibility has been badly damaged — and nobody is being held accountable. But that's standard operating procedure. As far as I can tell, nobody in the Bush administration has ever paid a price for being wrong. Instead, people are severely punished for telling inconvenient truths. And administration officials have consistently sought to freeze out, undermine or intimidate anyone who might try to check up on their performance.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/30/opinion/30KRUG.html?

[wroberts189]

1. Another bulls-eye attack from Mr Krugman.

Thank God for this man...


"Still, the big story isn't about Mr. Bush; it's about what's happening to America. Other presidents would have liked to bully the C.I.A., stonewall investigations and give huge contracts to their friends without oversight. They knew, however, that they couldn't. What has gone wrong with our country that allows this president to get away with such things?"

[Miss Authoritiva]

3. "What has gone wrong with this country.....?"

I understand. I'm suspending judgment about the "health" of this country until the 2004 election (because, short of calling for impeachment, what can citizens do in between presidential elections). If Bush wins, THEN you will here me SCREAMING, "What has gone wrong with this country?"

[fencesitter]

13. Hey! post one!

welcome to DU!

[DFLforever]

4. I've got an answer, Prof. Krugman

What has gone wrong with our country that allows this president to get away with such things?"


It's called the Senate and Congress. In particular the cowardly Democrats, too weak and compromised to act as an opposition party or to represent the people who elected them.

Rome redux - from republic to empire.

[Old and In the Way]

6. Not really.

It has nothing to do with cowardly Democrats.

It has everything to do with Republican majorities in the House and Senate who provide cover for this administrations actions. They control the committee chairs.

The real cowards are the Republicans who won't stand up to DeLay and Frist and vote to investigate the abuse of power that their President is wielding.

[DFLforever]

7. You put a lot of expectations on the majority party

There supposed to both support and oppose Bush while the Democrats do what?

[GreenGreenLimaBean]

11. Invasion of the Body Snatchers...

Its the only answer... Rational people would not act this way, even CONSERVATIVES!

[grytpype]

2. Wow.

Krugman is a hero. We'll be singing songs about him twenty years from now.

[DEM FAN]

5. Hey Paul Krugman. Don't Die OK. We Really Need A Guy Like You.

You Really GET IT. :-)

[Arbustosux]

14. and don't fly on any small planes

the wings might freeze

[farmbo]

8. The World is asking: Which is worse; A liar or an unrepentant liar?

...and at what point does an unrepentant liar become a sociopath?

[ronatchig]

9. The Media Elite

should stand trial (at least in the court of public opinion) for their unending toady-ism. A true 4th-estate would have had this gang of thugs outed before the 2000 election . I mean Bush,Cheney,Rumsfeld,or Ashcroft did not pop up out of no where. All of these charlatans have long and concrete histories to back up the fact that they are a cabal of elitist extremists with no qualms of destroying anything or anyone who gets in their way.

But, hell, the whole upper class in this country has signed on to this unrestricted power of the market tripe. I foresee a gathering storm of chaos for America in which if your piss is not the right tint, it's to the workhouse for you(can,t be having no uppity sea lawyers crapping in the pie can we?)

[dennis4868]

10. What has gone wrong with our country that allows this president to get awa

Congress is one reason Bush will not be held accountable. The other is the so called liberal media. They will never truly attack Bush and try to get to the bottm of this. They can't. There is too much financially riding on the companies they work for (i.e., GE). The media is sponsoring this war and presidency for that matter. They are in bed with Bush and will defend him to their death. IT'S A NO WIN SITUATION for the truth!

[Jack Rabbit]

12. The Bush junta in a nutshell

These people politicize everything, from military planning to scientific assessments. If you're with them, you pay no penalty for being wrong. If you don't tell them what they want to hear, you're an enemy, and being right is no excuse.

These guys are dangerous.