Somewhere along the line, it became quite safe for a Republican presidential candidate to criticize President Bush. Take Romney last night on 60 Minutes:
“I think the administration made a number of errors [in Iraq]… I don’t think we were adequately prepared for what occurred. I don’t think we had done enough planning. I don’t think we’d considered the various downsides and risks.
Responding again to Wallace, he said President Bush is where the buck stops, but “it’s the whole administration, … and we’re paying for those mistakes.”
Among the administration there was a strong, honest belief that Americans would be welcomed with open arms in Iraq and that Iraq would become a model of democracy for the region. “And you know what? We were wrong,” Romney said.
I wonder if Romney will address how this affected his view on spreading democracy around the world, particularly the Muslim world.