Bush thought he was going to be able to run on the strength of his response to 9/11, but increasingly it’s looking like his failure to act strongly to prevent it will be his downfall.

He decided Iraq was the target he wanted, and was so distracted that he missed the opportunity to prevent 9/11–at least that’s the growing perception, and with Iraq in a total intractable mess, that perception will only get stronger and stronger.

So, he thought that he would get credit (which he didn’t deserve) for successfully fighting terror, but instead he’s getting blame (which he also, really, doesn’t deserve) for not preventing terror!

“What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.”
Or words to that effect.