End of the Bush Era

From E. J. Dionne Jr. in the Washington Post:

The Bush Era is over. The sooner politicians in both parties realize that, the better for them - and the country.

The Bush Era did not begin when he took office, or even with the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. It began on Sept. 14, 2001, when Bush declared at the World Trade Center site: "I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon." Bush was, indeed, skilled in identifying enemies and rallying a nation already disposed to action. He failed to realize after Sept. 11 that it was not we who were lucky to have him as a leader, but he who was lucky to be president of a great country that understood the importance of standing together in the face of a grave foreign threat. Very nearly all of us rallied behind him...

Bush put patriotism to the service of narrowly ideological policies and an extreme partisanship... He invoked our national anger over terrorism to win support for a war in Iraq. But he failed to pay heed to those who warned that the United States would need many more troops and careful planning to see the job through...

The breaking of the Bush spell opens the way for leaders of both parties to declare their independence from the recent past.