Bush or Iraq?

A reader feels conflicted about the outcome of the war:

I cannot support the war in Iraq.  Not because I think Saddam was a good leader.  Not because I think Iraqis don’t deserve a chance.  Not because I think this war we-shouldn’t-have-started has not morphed into the war we-can’t-afford-to-lose.

I cannot support the war in Iraq because after all the lies, the mistakes, the hubris, the Constitution shredding, the cover-ups, the undercover outings and, most importantly, the torture, if we win this war during the Bush presidency, he and his like will take it as a vindication of their actions and they will be emboldened to further damage my country.

This is not Bush bashing.  This isn't hyperbole.  I truly believe that President Bush is a danger to my country.  And winning the Iraq war while he is in office would be the true end of the United States as we know it.   

Let’s get Bush out of office.  Let’s put in place an administration that will wage this war within the bounds of the Constitution and the Geneva Conventions and has the will to do what it takes to win.  Let’s put in place an administration that asks the American public for the sacrifices of war time and deals openly and plainly with the public on the successes and failures at the front.

I'm for making progress, period, whoever is the president. But I also agree that what Bush has done to the constitutional integrity of this country, the rule of law, and the international moral standing of the United States will take a generation to recover from. Among the Republicans, McCain alone, I think, has the capacity to erase the stain.