Free Republic

New HampshireThe other day in the Guardian Martin Kettle wrote: ‘The war was a reckless, provocative, dangerous, lawless piece of unilateral arrogance. But it has nevertheless brought forth a desirable outcome which would not have been achieved at all, or so quickly, by the means that the critics advocated, right though they were in most respects.’ Very big of you, pal. And I guess that’s as close to a mea culpa as we’re going to get: even though Bush got everything wrong, it turned out right. Funny how that happens, isn’t it? In a few years’ time, they’ll have it...

"Don't misunderestimate me," George W. Bush once famously (perhaps apocryphally) warned when he was running for president. It was a typical Bushism. We know what he meant, though, and the results of the mid-term elections in the United States mean that few would dare to misunderestimate the president's political skills now. He has confounded the pundits' confident predictions of tight results and recounts lasting for weeks, if not months. It was an unexpected triumph for Mr Bush.Whatever view is taken of Mr Bush's policies, he has proved to be a formidable campaigner. Fully capitalising on the prestige of the office...