The Rethuglican Ideal of Responsibility

Juan Cole:

It is remarkable how the US press allows themselves to be manipulated by the government. When the Abu Ghuraib story broke, Bush just issued a statement that he was disgusted, taking no responsibility. The headlines the next day? "Bush Disgusted by Photos." The proper headline would have been "Permanent Damage to US Image in Muslim World; Bush Fires No One."

I don't know who first brought this idea to my attention, but it was almost certainly either Josh Marshall or Atrios: Over the last 42 months, the US government has made a very large number of errors, ranging from "not detecting the September 11th attacks" to "completely botching the Iraq occupation". No one has ever lost his or her job over these errors. Period.

What the hell is up with that?

Does anyone have a copy of this week's 24 on tape?

I stupidly botched taping it, and it's not the type of show where one is resigned to skipping episodes. Drop me a comment or an e-mail if you can get me a copy. Thanks much.