Expectations

The news is full of reports on the upcoming inauguration. Never before have some many people been so excited about a new president taking office.

I watched the movie "Frost/Nixon" last night and some parallels occurred to me -- how both Nixon and Bush presided over wars with little justification, how they both ignored anti-war protests, and how both blurred the lines between legal and unethical use of power.

There are differences as well -- Nixon didn't start Vietnam, it was underway before his took office. If Bush had paid attention to Vietnam, he might have been more hesitant to undertake the war in Iraq. Nixon opened up dialog with China and Russia, Bush lowered our standing in the world's eyes. The Bush administration also vindictively revealed a spy's identity -- yet got away with it.


You may not agree with me, but it's worth thinking about. I'm curious to see how history treats the outgoing administration.