Mr. McMahon, however, faulted Mr. Giuliani for not achieving more productivity gains.
"But the terrorist attacks gave President Fox an excuse for not achieving his promises.
Kent said it would save Canada $14bn in penalties for not achieving its Kyoto targets.
But Johnson believes that she endorsed the security argument too credulously, and faults her for not achieving more results.
"We never use our location as an excuse for not achieving: I would never say 'considering where these children are coming from, we're actually doing quite well'.
That finest of all critics, John Updike, said once, of reviewing authors, "Do not blame him for not achieving what he did not attempt".
Try to understand what the author wished to do, and do not blame him for not achieving what he did not attempt.
But it mentioned American missile attacks on Libya in 1986 and Sudan in 1998, and scolded the United States for not achieving its "political goals" in those instances.
Canada's environment minister Peter Kent defended the decision on Monday, saying it would save the country $14bn in emissions trading permits it could have had to buy for not achieving its Kyoto targets.
But if sitting down to read feels more like a chore, it's unlikely they'll make any progress — and they may feel badly for not achieving their goal when the year comes to a close.
