By Jim VandeHei and Michael A. Fletcher Washington Post Staff Writers Sunday, January 16, 2005
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 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." ...
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12450-2005Jan15.html>
[Elsewhere in today's WP, Bill Clinton triangulates as only he can:]
... As troops fight in Iraq and relief workers scurry to aid tsunami survivors in Asia, some Americans believe the inaugural festivities for Bush's second term are an unseemly show of extravagance.
On the other hand, people active in charitable giving said the festivities will have no effect on donations; reservists and National Guard members said they are eager to see the president looking so presidential; and local members of Congress said they had received few to no calls from constituents upset about the inauguration expense.
Former president Bill Clinton said the show should go on. "I voted for the other fellow, but President Bush won this election fair and square," Clinton said on "Larry King Live."
"His supporters should be able to celebrate it however they see fit. And I don't think that it will detract one red cent from the money that we will give privately or publicly to this relief effort," he said. ...
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12487-2005Jan15.html>
Carl