You'll have it both ways. Bush's post 9-11 record was not due to his policies, but if an attack arrives after those policies are changed - it's Bush's fault.

And believe me - I don't want to live in the post attack US that is coming. I like my freedom, thank you very much. I know what will happen, I know the martial law policies that will swing into effect. And if you think the economy is bad now - just wait. We're one attack away from all being in food lines, suspension of habeus corpus, the elimination of private property - the end of the USA.

And with martial law will come suffering and brutality that make the interrogation of several mass murderers seem like a grain of sand next to all the beaches in the world.

That's what Bush worked to avoid. That's why Bush was smart about this - not stupid, not heartless - smart. And the interrogations and policies DID produce a large body of actionable intelligence. Concealing that too was part of the policy - so that America could get back to normal after 9/11.

Bush understands, no good deed ever goes unpunished. And like the allegorical Job, realizes his was the thankless position no one else would want to shoulder.