Or so it seemed -- before those disturbing shades of moral gray startedcreeping back into the mainstream picture frame, just as the electoral campaignheated up. The President, sworn to fight for purity and goodness, had sent us towar for reasons that turned out to be false. Was he intentionally lying, or justdeceived by faulty intelligence? Who could know for sure? The vice-president'scorporation was making huge profits by overcharging us for its services in Iraq.Was Cheney pulling the strings on the public purse for his private profit, orwas he as clueless as he claimed? Decent American kids were sadisticallybrutalizing prisoners. Were they just a few "bad apples," or was themilitary system rotten? Corporations with close ties to Bush & Co. weregetting caught with their scandal-ridden pants down nearly every day. Were theyjust a few bad apples, or was our economic system rotten? The whole world seemedto oppose the war. Were they seeing things more clearly, or just jealous of ourpower?