Taking Responsibility

On of my favorite Democratic moderate (read DLC) whipping boys is Kevin Drum. In this post, he takes on the issue of Presidents taking responsibility. In short, he wonders if Bush isn't any different than other Presidents:

But here's the question: is Bush really very different from any other president in this regard? Harry Truman and his famous stopped buck aside, taking responsibility for specific mistakes is not exactly something that most politicians are noted for.

But Kevin really misses a very important point. Taking responsibility, acknowledging mistakes and apologizing can take many forms. Most Presidents remove nominees, fire incompetents, change failing policies, occasionally admit errors and change direction through their administration.

Aside from not apologizing, the Bush administration (and Bush personally) has specifically not acted like they take responsibility. At every turn, failures and incompetence are met with staying the course, promotion or even medals! Stubborness has been the hallmark of Bush, no matter the public outcry or political pressure. In other words, regardless of performance, Bush has been excessively rigid and inflexible causing pain to the nation.

This behavior is distinctly different from past Presidents and will forever be the hallmark of Bush, and will be used to describe terrible Presidencies in the future.