Bush never responded to the twists and lies. It was a mistake.
“DO NOT KEEP SILENT when your own ideas and values are being attacked. ...If a dictatorship ever comes to this country, it will be by the default of those who keep silent. We are still free enough to speak. Do we have time? No one can tell.”
— Ayn Rand, Philosophy: Who Needs It
Ah, yes he did. I've been in the front lines of political forums supporting Bush, explaining to liberals that the "Mission Accomplished" banner was for the mission of those on the ship and not the Iraqi War. I stood behind Bush (we all did) on the WMD and the justification for taking Saddam down. We all did here. And I still stand in support.
What did Bush do?
He went on interviews near the end of his term and said:
I regret the "mission accomplished" banner.
The weapons in mass distruction arguement is something I regret now.
And there were other examples.