And to extend this, there are those that simply allowed it to happen; and I'm not talking about those that are forcing socialism on us (Kennedy, Clinton, Gore, etc...). I think much of the "anti-Kennedy, Clinton, Gore, etc..." crowd is just as culpable in many ways.
For instance, many people justified voting for candidates George HW Bush, BobDole, and George W Bush on the grounds that they are "not Clinton, Clinton and Gore". Notable, yes, but they were so blinded by this one thought that they never stopped to think what candidates George HW Bush, BobDole, and George W Bush were.
So we wound up with, in 1992 and 1996, two of the most unelectable candidates (never mind Bush41 winning in 1988; that was Reagan not Bush) running two of the most inept campaigns in American electoral history. Both won their nominations on the grounds that they were "not Clinton". Even their supporters admitted they were not ideal, but, hey, they were "not Clinton".
George W Bush was nominated with much of the same reservations. To his credit, he learned the lessons of the past and ran a good campaign. He won against a man who had the election handed to him, but could not restrain his natural inclination to be an absolute, grade-A, top-flight prick.
But what did we get, besides someone who is "not Al Gore"?
Now, he has handled the military aspects of the war in the middle east magnificently, and I am grateful he is in office instead of Gore.
But before September 11, he expanded the role of the Federal government into gift-giving, a clearly unConstitutional intrusion that will profoundly impact private charities; has promised "amnesty" to millions of illegal immigrants, thereby assuring the next wave of terrorists will have a home; and managed to strong-arm Red China into the WTO, thereby ensuring America's enemies will continues to supply her goods, and continuing the crippling of American manufacturing. And bailing out the airline industry was an abomination (and showed a disturbing lack of creativity to boot).
So to bring this all together, the guy we elected because he is "not Al Gore" has behaved in a way that make Al Gore proud.
And all of this is still his plan and goals. We are in much more danger now from these proclivities because 9-11 has stirred up such a fascist nationalism that whatever he does, no matter how ultimately destructive, are being embraced by those who call themselves conservatives.