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Originally Posted by boatin
Big night (day) of victories. Control of House/Senate/Court. Hard fought races, clear winners. Congrats are in order. As others have said, now it's time to get to work.
Which leads me to my question. Throughout this campaign, there was much back and forth about the economy: 'Bush's fault, Clinton's fault'. I'm sure everyone was tired of it, but it muddied the waters in a way that shouldn't be an issue in 4 years.
Now that control is solid for at least 2 years, longer for the courts, and perhaps 4 years in Congress, will the Republican leadership take responsibility for what happens in the next 4 years?
More relevently perhaps, will those that voted Bush do the same on this board? The question is obviously moot if things go well. But if things go poorly, there aren't that many scapegoats. Will we see admissions if things go poorly?
I'll throw this down: if things go very well for the US in the next 4 years, I'll admit I voted poorly and was wrong about the direction the country was going in.
There won't be a single moment, of course, where everything will become clear. But for now, I'll work hard to keep my sniping (that's verbal) to a minimum, work to be constructive, and keep congratulating the winners!
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First things first-I personally wish more people on both sides had this kind of attitude on this election, and other elections in general. Most people don't seem to take a lnng-term view. I'm sure that the day after the election, most people got up, went to work or school, and proceeded about the day for the most part the same as they did on Nov. 1st. I have yet to hear of people being tied down and beaten with sacks of Bibles
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Now as for your question, I doubt that the Republican leadership would take the blame for any problems that occur. That is one of their strengths (and weaknesses). Actually, that was one of the reasons I liked Bush, he seemingly always thought he was doing the right thing. He wouldn't admit to making mistakes in the debate, and I personally like that. Now, I hope privately he does realise where things during his administration have gone wrong and take actions to correct them. But I perfer if they do keep that private, and keep up a unified front. Now if the administration is really blind to it's mistakes, then there is a big problem, but I personally don't see that as the case.
And as for admitting if I was personally wrong about Bush, I will have no problem about doing that. And I do have criteria for what would be an unsuccessful second term (mainly the state of the economy). I actually didn't like Bush much at all until late 2003. I didn't vote for him in 2000 (I supported McCain). What gradually made me look at him different was mainly the attacks of the left. They seemed to take alot of delight in hating him and what most people felt he believed in. And I found alot of those things I didn't find that bad, and started following what the administration did alot more closely. The seeming irrationality of the left's attacks drove me away. And the final straw was when Kerry was nominated. I might have voted Liberman or Dean even then, but that wasn't who was chosen.
I really think that Bush was the better choice, and I believe he will prove it. But I personally will admit if I'm wrong.