What's the title going to be? "I Duh'd it My Way"?

[Apollo]

I think I kind of like this tradition of ex-presidents writing books after their terms. It's like they feel that they have to answer to the decisions they've made during office.

Didn't the Greeks do something similar? It was something like... every leader had to "stand trial" at the end of their reign of power and be judged by some kind of committee of citizens? Or something like that...?

The two aren't really related at all I guess, and I might be wrong about the whole Greek reference, but this is the first time I've noticed the comparison.

[xoxoxoBruce]

It's also a "tradition" for presidents to have read one.

Bush took down two dictatorships: Saddam's Iraq and the Taliban's Afghanistan

Bwahahahahahahaha, dream on. He blew that one, big time. That's why we're headed for a nasty war now.

[Apollo]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

It's also a "tradition" for presidents to have read one.

Agreed.

[sugarpop]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

It's also a "tradition" for presidents to have read one.

Bwahahahahahahaha, dream on. He blew that one, big time. That's why we're headed for a nasty war now.

Exactly.

[tw]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Bwahahahahahahaha, dream on. He blew that one, big time. That's why we're headed for a nasty war now.

Meanwhile Clinton ended a dictatorship in Haiti without firing a shot, got Milosevic to literally negotiate his entire government out of office without any invasion, got N Korea to start a reentry into the world without overt threats, stopped wasting American soldiers in a civil war that could not be won (Somalia), may have averted a major war between nuclear powers Pakistan and India by personally intervening ... Amazing how smarter leaders don't waste good American soldiers in boondoggles for personal glory.

xoxoxoBruce properly defined what we can expect because some administrations had so much comtempt even for the American soldier.

[ZenGum]

Originally Posted by Apollo

Didn't the Greeks do something similar? It was something like... every leader had to "stand trial" at the end of their reign of power and be judged by some kind of committee of citizens? Or something like that...?

The two aren't really related at all I guess, and I might be wrong about the whole Greek reference, but this is the first time I've noticed the comparison.

Quite right about at least some Greeks. IIRC it was part of the constitution of Syracuse that at the end of their term, every public official was subjected to a full (financial) audit and was required to account for all the decisions they had made. A large jury could then vote for various rewards or punishments, as they saw fit.

Damn good idea, I reckon.

The only problem with the books is, as already pointed out, they get to tell their side of the story, with no criticism, contradiction, or awkward questions.

[Cicero]

Originally Posted by Apollo

I think I kind of like this tradition of ex-presidents writing books after their terms. It's like they feel that they have to answer to the decisions they've made during office.

Didn't the Greeks do something similar? It was something like... every leader had to "stand trial" at the end of their reign of power and be judged by some kind of committee of citizens? Or something like that...?

The two aren't really related at all I guess, and I might be wrong about the whole Greek reference, but this is the first time I've noticed the comparison.

Actually a lot of those guys (Greeks) were bright enough to write because they enjoyed it. Their arguments and philosophies were actually worth something. I miss that. *sigh*