politicophile

Here, in my own words, is the comparison Host is trying to make:

"The American people of 2005 are passively allowing the government to get away with fabricating intelligence about the war in Iraq, operate secret CIA prisons where torture is occuring, etc. The Nazi Germans likewise turned a blind eye to the atrocities being committed by their government. For this reason, the American people are suffering from the "good German" syndrome we saw in Germany during WWII."

Now, here are the unstated premises I see in the argument:
-The response of the American public to Bush's crimes has been very similar to that of the Germans to Hitler
-The crimes committed by Bush are very similar to those committed by Hitler

The first premise is very obviously included in the argument because this is precisely what is implied by the "good German" argument. It is also, of course, false. For starters, there is, to the best of my knowledge, no plot within Bush's inner circle to kill him. Additionally, it is widely reported by the media that Bush is extremely unpopular amongst the people. And finally, the internet, CNN, etc. is filled with criticism of Bush's actions. None of these factors were present in the "good German" scenerio, so the comparison was a poor one from the outset.

The second premise is far less obvious, so let me explain why I think it is necessary to include it:

If we agree that the crimes respectively committed by Bush and Hitler are NOT very similar, then the "good German" syndrome is watered down to basically mean that the American people didn't rebel against a government that committed crimes. While it is true that the people didn't overthrow Bush's government, I don't think this is something that the people should be faulted for. Surely, Host, you are not advocating that all governments that commit crimes should be overthrown? If so, shouldn't we have started an insurrection against Bill Clinton, who lied under oath?

If you agree that we should not overthrow all governments that commit crimes, but continue to believe that we should overthrow the Bush administration, then you are buying into the comparison between Bush's crimes and Hitler's. How else would you be able to say that Bush's crimes are so severe that he should be thrown from power?

And so Elphaba, since Host will obviously take the "Bush's crimes and similar to Hitler's" route, it is perfectly reasonable to decry the comparison that is implicitly being made, even though it was not contained in the small phrase you quoted.

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The peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is, that it is robbing the human race; posterity as well as the existing generation; those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it. If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth: if wrong, they lose, what is almost as great a benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error. ~John Stuart Mill, On Liberty