First of all I want to commend the President for acknowledging he has made mistakes. Sure, it was a predetermined response given many years too late. But at least he said it.
Unfortunately, though, I still don't think he really gets it. In many of his answers, Bush still showed a failure to grasp the significance of his words as President of the United States. His comment about Abu Ghraib is a case in point.
And, you know, I think the biggest mistake that's happened so far, at least from our country's involvement in Iraq, is Abu Ghraib. We've been paying for that for a long period of time.
While it is true that the we, as a country, have been paying for the abuses at Abu Ghraib. It was the wrong answer to give.
Bush should have said that he regretted that the abuses at Abu Ghraib ever happened! U.S. Solders, under his command, tortured and killed people. The President even went on Arab TV to express regret about it. He should have done so again last night.
Instead, Bush's words seem to be reflecting the very insensitive and selfish perspective that he was trying to undo. It is a subtle, but I think significant difference. An opportunity lost and perhaps a bad situation made worse.
A less significant but still illustrative example, was Bush's moronic response to the question about what he would miss most about Tony Blair.
Tony Blair used up almost all of his political capital to stand by President Bush over the past 5 years. No other world leader sacrificed so much to support the President.
So what will Bush miss most? Blair's Red Ties. What an embarrassment.