Of course statements of the “discredited” Bush administration will be taken more seriously now, despite its “abysmal” record. For one thing, there’s no political risk any more in admitting that he and everyone around him is not a dunce.

Second, it’s now Obama’s turn to live in that world Bush has been in the past eight years.

Look for many other grudging admissions from Obama’s clique and the media (yes, there is a difference, which will become apparent the farther we get into his administration) that maybe Bush got some things right. They will be in areas in which Obama finds himself operating. God help Obama (and us) if al Qaeda pulls off another attack on US soil. The likelihood of that has been hugely diminished by Bush’s administration, and one of Obama’s biggest challenges is going to be in continuing that success without appearing to be following in his predecessor’s footsteps.