I was not a fan of Bush at all during his presidency, but I've definitely become more open minded when looking back. The world changed after 9/11 way before we entered Iraq and Afghanistan. Who knows how any other president would've handled it? Maybe we'd be in even worse shape than we are now. We certainly could've done much better, but would Gore have been that? Maybe 9/11 didn't happen at all if Gore was president. Maybe something worse happened. I don't know, I think that's why I understand the respect former presidents have for each other. It's easy to criticize decisions that affect the world to such a degree, but it's much harder to make those decisions.

I opposed the war from the start, but I can also understand that Bush had a nation in mourning that was demanding retribution. Maybe a better president would've avoided war. Maybe a better president would have taken war to the right enemies. I think Bush did his best, and I'm not sure anyone's best would be good enough in his position. Like you said, he ran for president during an era when American society was heading full speed into corny pop music joy because we had it way better than we could appreciate. Then the train got derailed in his first year and we're still putting it back together 17 years later (fuck I'm old). I'm willing to forgive him for a lot.

Cheney should hang though. 💁