--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I should have voted for the first Iraq…" description: "\"I should have voted for the first Iraq war. George Bush did that one very well. I had been skeptical. I was afraid that George Bush was going to treat ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12c/barney-frank-3610_bush_i-should-have-voted-for-the-first-iraq-w_3057673.png" --- # I should have voted for the first Iraq war. George Bush… ![“I should have voted for the first Iraq war. George Bush did that one very well. I had been skeptical. I was afraid that George Bush was going to treat the first Iraq war the way his son treated the second.” quote by Barney Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12c/barney-frank-3610_bush_i-should-have-voted-for-the-first-iraq-w_3057673.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12c/barney-frank-3610_bush_i-should-have-voted-for-the-first-iraq-w_3057673.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12c/barney-frank-3610_bush_i-should-have-voted-for-the-first-iraq-w_3057673.png) > “I should have voted for the first Iraq war. George Bush did that one very well. I had been skeptical. I was afraid that George Bush was going to treat the first Iraq war the way his son treated the second.” [Barney Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barney-frank/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He expresses regret for not supporting the first Iraq war, fearing the second would repeat past mistakes, yet acknowledges Bush’s handling of the first. **In simple terms:** He wishes he’d voted for the first war, fearing the second. Key Takeaway Learn from past political decisions. Themes politics war regret Mood reflective critical Type political historical When to use this quote - historical analysis - voting behavior - foreign policy Key Concepts Iraq conflict policy evaluation Questions to Reflect On - What would you change about your vote? - How can we better assess future conflicts? A Different Perspective War outcomes are complex and unpredictable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bush/) [Bush Did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bush-did-431675/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Iraq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iraq/) [Iraq war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iraq-war/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Should have](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should-have/) [Skeptical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skeptical/) [Son](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/son/) [Treated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/treated/) [Treats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/treats/) [Voted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voted/) [Voted Iraq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voted-iraq-1616498/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) ## Related quotes > [I'm happy and very proud that I voted against the Iraq war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-capuano/i-m-happy-and-very-proud-that-i-voted-against-the-iraq-war/) [Michael Capuano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-capuano/) > [I would have voted 'no' on the Iraq war and 'yes' to Afghanistan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/i-would-have-voted-no-on-the-iraq-war-and-yes-to-afghanistan/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [ I'm not saying that George W. Bush did everything right. But even if you take a skeptical view of his Iraq war, \[Barack\] Obama… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-kasparov/i-m-not-saying-that-george-w-bush-did-everything-right-but-even-if/) [Garry Kasparov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-kasparov/) > [Joe Biden not only voted for the Iraq war, he shamed Democrats who weren't supporting it. He was a vocal supporter of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-dore/joe-biden-not-only-voted-for-the-iraq-war-he-shamed-democrats-who/) [Jimmy Dore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-dore/) > [“Launching a costly campaign to remove Saddam may or may not have been a wise move. But it is historically inaccurate to suggest that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/launching-a-costly-campaign-to-remove-saddam-may-or-may-not-have-been/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Few people know that President Obama has used drone attacks many times more than Bush ever did. 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Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/) > [Obama and the Democrats were so critical of what Bush did, the interrogations, the secret prisons, Guantanamo and all of that, and even the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/obama-and-the-democrats-were-so-critical-of-what-bush-did-the/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [By the time of Andi Parhamovich death, I had already grown skeptical of the Iraq war. What her death made me realize was what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/by-the-time-of-andi-parhamovich-death-i-had-already-grown-skeptical/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [I was in the White House, probably the only administration I'll ever work for. 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Bush did an incredible job in the presidency, defending us from freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-perry/george-w-bush-did-an-incredible-job-in-the-presidency-defending-us/) [Rick Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-perry/) ## More by Barney Frank > [Moderate Republicans are reverse Houdinis. They tie themselves up in knots and then tell you they can’t do anything because they’re tied up in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barney-frank/moderate-republicans-are-reverse-houdinis-they-tie-themselves-up-in/) [Barney Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barney-frank/) > [I think there were two criticisms you can make of Donald Trump's involvement in the Health Care Bill. 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Two guys wanting to be happy together are invading their marriages. Helping a kid who's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barney-frank/they-have-to-convert-our-agenda-into-something-aggressive-two-guys/) [Barney Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barney-frank/) > [I think there was an absolute, deep gap between consensual relations between adults, which people may like or dislike, and people who physically impose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barney-frank/i-think-there-was-an-absolute-deep-gap-between-consensual-relations/) [Barney Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barney-frank/) > [I was still closeted, but from the day I decided to run for office, knowing that I was gay, I decided that I would,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barney-frank/i-was-still-closeted-but-from-the-day-i-decided-to-run-for-office/) [Barney Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barney-frank/) > [I have done a lot of work for affordable housing, rental housing. 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The Reagan Program,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barney-frank/ronald-reagan-got-a-lot-of-democrats-i-wish-he-hadn-t-i-got-to/) [Barney Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barney-frank/) [Explore all 126 Barney Frank quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barney-frank/) ## More Bush quotes > [President Bush is a friend of mine. He's not a moron at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-chretien/president-bush-is-a-friend-of-mine-he-s-not-a-moron-at-all/) [Jean Chretien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-chretien/) > [The administration of George W. 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The Democrats…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/obama-s-policies-have-been-approximately-the-same-as-bush-s-though/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [This country was the moral leader of the world until George Bush became president.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-dean/this-country-was-the-moral-leader-of-the-world-until-george-bush/) [Howard Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-dean/) > [We're half an hour from Toronto, which offers everything you could want from a city, and a couple of hours from beautiful vacation country.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linwood-barclay/we-re-half-an-hour-from-toronto-which-offers-everything-you-could/) [Linwood Barclay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linwood-barclay/) > [On election night 2000, I had never met then-Governor Bush, though I'd supported him for years. 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