This quote from Matt Taibbi seems to be making its rounds. And as I wrote in the comments yesterday, I couldn't disagree more.
John Cole makes a further distinction:
Wars are easy to sell. As Goering put it “just tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism.” It’s that simple.
Big domestic programs (other than tax increases cuts) are nearly impossible. The Bush people went 0-for-2 on big domestic proposals. It’s difficult to turn immigration reform or Social Security privatization into a war against the worst enemy ever.
Here's what I wrote in the comments yesterday:
Like it or not, what we're witnessing now is an illustration of how presidential politics and separation of powers function in the American system of government. It's messy and confusing and cumbersome. George Bush tried to make his own rules to circumvent the messy aspects. And he broke the law and violated the Constitution in doing so.
I'm not making excuses for the system. It's not very efficient and there's too much money corrupting it. But that's no excuse to want to embrace how Bush ran Washington.