re: "the buck stops here"
Well, if Truman thought he was morally responsible for everything that happens everywhere in the govt. I don't want this guy as President.
I want a President who doesn't think he controls everything. I want a human being as President not so someone who thinks he/she is God.
Man, you really have it backwards. "The buck stops here" is an expression of humility, that even though the President is commonly called the most powerful person in the world, he's not above the law and not above responsibility. It implicitly acknowledges that the President doesn't control in detail the actions of the government, yet the President is still responsible.
I don't want to inflate it to the level of religious doctrine, but it's analogous to the notion that "Christ died for our sins". Christ didn't commit those sins and didn't personally control the actions of the sinners. For a President as well as Christ, acceptance of responsibility without culpability is the ultimate in selflessness.
Acceptance of responsibility by a leader is reassuring to the people, and builds confidence. It testifies that the leader's shoulders are broad enough to carry the burden he/she's accepted. It says the leader is as big a person as we'd hoped when that person was elected.
Don't forget, speaking of elections, that last year Bush ran on essentially a one-point platform: "Vote for me and I'll keep you safe. The other guy can't do that." I don't recall any qualifications, like "...except when I'm on vacation". It was an unconditional promise, gb, and by weaseling now he's backing off from that promise.
Harry Truman wouldn't have done that.