The Pope vs. Bush and Obama - why the different standards?

[Prism]

Here's what I don't quite understand while reading the recent crisis in the Catholic Church. The Vatican is (quite rightly) besieged by people who are shouting "Enough!" Media around the world are demanding accountability.

Meanwhile, one American President lied us into a war with hundreds of thousands of dead while approving torture and war crimes. His successor hopes no one notices that there will be no accountability in the interest of "Moving forward."

If we can, quite justifiably, undergo a meltdown over what the Catholic Church allowed to happen as far back as forty years ago, why can we not muster even the slightest interest for what our own President did a mere five years ago and what our current President is allowing to go unpunished in the same way the Popes let criminal priest after criminal priest continue on virtually untouched?

Why is this Pope the incarnation of human evil for allowing all of these things to slide, while the President is just doing what's in the best interest of the country by allowing torture, illegal war, and war crimes scamper off into history without the slightest trace of justice?

This is a cognitive dissonance I'm not understanding. Someone help?

[mikehiggins]

1. The Pope is the Vicar of God on Earth.

That is somewhat different from being the most proficient (or connected by birth and wealth) politician in the United States. In truth, IMHO, we expect our leaders to do wrong. We don't expect it of our religious representatives (well, maybe now we do).

Again, IMHO, it is like the difference between a spouse and a whore. If a whore dispenses sex for money it is part of the job. If a spouse betrays his/her wedding vows it is a different matter altogether.

[DaveinJapan]

4. The Pope is the Vicar of Christ on Earth, according to that Church (aka, according to the Pope)

Why people take that crap seriously at this point is beyond me.

But then again, we are seeing what we've seen from time immemorial, Religion gets a pass "just because"...they make up great stories.

[SpiralHawk]

2. "It's Krappy Karma syndrome." - xCommander AWOL (R)

"There will be a Big Stinky about Pope Ratzinger (R) for a little while, then poof - nothing. We republicon corporatists own the media, so before this gets too ugly, we will manufacture another O.J. or Tiger Woods type story, and this will all blow over. In the meantime, why don't all you Proles just STFU and sit down. Smirk."

- xCommander AWOL (R)

[Ian David]

3. The Pope is going to have a hard time convincing the voters to give him a second term.

:sarcasm:

[Echo In Light]

5. Various behind the scenes strategizing...thing is, US prez' can't be held accountable w/o bringing..

... down the entire system of governance since presidents don't actually do much aside from what their various handlers want of them. In other words, it's hard to make one clean spot that doesn't make the surrounding area seem a horrible mess