For our Executive Branch to be trusted -- and trustworthy -- it must hold individuals personally accountable for the way they handle power. Power without accountability is tyranny. Thus, to the extent that the Commission takes a pass on naming names, it will not only disserve the U.S.'s national interests, it will also disserve our fundamental freedoms.

If this Administration carries on with the same roster after these hearings, it makes the mistake of elevating loyalty above the need for great persons to fill terribly difficult jobs. There is a crying need for this Administration to acknowledge that people run this government, and some of them were inadequate in the face of the growing terrorist threat. If the United States were a corporation, every head would have rolled after 9/11. Would that the market's discipline could be translated into the accountability necessary to make the government better than it already is.


-- Marci Hamilton, The Bush Presidency and Power

Power and Responsibility: Many are upset the President et. al. don't want to admit their mistakes. It is a core thing that drives many against him, and is one of the top things that bothers me. It isn't a matter of politics, not liberal or conservative ... it's practical. We have to hold them up to the American ideals. In America, we are responsible for our actions. If we fail at our jobs, we are fired. They failed. Re-election would be a perversion of the basic rules of the game. Republicans especially care about standards. Re-electing this administration would be the most rank from of affirmative action.

Politics aside, for the good of the country, accountability must be demanded and accepted. The alternative is not just tyranny but our downfall. [more]