http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070116/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_iraq

“It basically says to people, `Look, you conducted a trial and gave Saddam justice that he didn’t give to others. But then, when it came to execute him, it looked like it was kind of a revenge killing,’” the president said.
“It makes it harder for me to make the case to the American people that this is a government that does want to unify the country and move forward,” Bush said. “And it just goes to show that this is a government that has still got some maturation to do.”

I’m getting really tired of people wussing out on their real stance on the death penalty. If they (and by “they” I mean “we”) weren’t executing Saddam for revenge, why were we doing it? What–deterrence? “Don’t become a US-backed tyrant/mass-murderer, because we’ll hang your ass.” Bullshit. We weren’t doing it for deterrence. Would-be tyrants are not going to be worried about the gallows. Sure, Saddam was scared of being assassinated, but he wasn’t worried about going to trial and getting a death sentence when he committed all his crimes.

Shit, the main reason most people endorse the death penalty is for their sense of revenge. It’s the exercise of power that matters to them.

Bush’s comments show that he is weak. Go whole hog, damnit. Be proud, Bush. Remember that Saddam tried to kill your daddy? I bet you do.

Bush’s comments on Saddam’s execution are parallel to all the Bush supporters who scraped off the “Bush/Cheney ‘04″ stickers from their car bumpers. Both reflecting backpedaling.

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