I think that this gets to the core of what I feel about Bush and the 9/11 hearings. I understand if you want to deconstruct the Bush presidency for its failings, but the 9/11 hearing is the wrong forum. Conversely, those who read this as vindication of the Bush presidency as a whole are taking the concept too far out of context. It’s just that 9/11 probably couldn’t have happened any other way–it’s fantasy to suppose otherwise.
I think that the issues to concentrate on are the economic plans, the Patriot Act, and the social issues. Frankly, from a cold-blooded standpoint, 9/11 obfuscated the issue of what the Bush presidency means to America. The previous sentence is asinine, though–9/11 did happen, and it influences everything that goes after. When we vote this year, we vote on our economy, our social issues, our privacy, and our freedom–but also our protection as we go about our lives, and our place in the world among our brethren, politically and religiously. I don’t know if there’s a single votable answer to most, let alone all, of those questions.