Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

I once made a post before the election in which I said that, if Bush is re-elected, the responsibility for his actions will pass from him onto the shoulders of the American electorate. Since Bush wasn't really elected in the first place, it could be argued that all of his fuckups during his first term were entirely his responsibility. But, if the American people returned him to the White House, then they would be assuming their share of responsibility for his policies.

Well, it now appears that Bush believes this as well:

President Bush said the public's decision to reelect him was a ratification of his approach toward Iraq and that there was no reason to hold any administration officials accountable for mistakes or misjudgments in prewar planning or managing the violent aftermath.

"We had an accountability moment, and that's called the 2004 elections," Bush said in an interview with The Washington Post. "The American people listened to different assessments made about what was taking place in Iraq, and they looked at the two candidates, and chose me."

Now I've seen several in the blogosphere this morning excoriating Bush for this comment, and rightfully so. But we must not let our outrage obscure the fact that he is, in part, correct.

With his re-election, the sins of Bush are now the sins of America. The election does not validate his actions, in the sense that it makes them right. But it does validate them in the sense that they make them the official policy of America as a whole.

We are living in Bush's America.

Lord help us.