Here's a bit from Speer about the contrast between how the democracies prepared themselves for war and how authoritarian Germany, where the leaders secretly feared public insurrection, prepared:

In order to anticipate any discontent, more effort and money were expended on supplies of consumer goods, on military pensions or compensation to women for the loss of earnings by their men in the service, than in the countries with democratic governments. Whereas Churchill promised his people only blood, sweat, and tears, all we heard during the various phases and various crises of the war was Hitler's slogan: "The final victory is certain." This was a confession of political weakness. It betrayed great concern over a loss of popularity...

It reminds me of the days after 9/11, when many Americans began to think of ourselves, at least at times, as a country at war. And I think many people, at least a little, craved a sort of Churchillian call to sacrifice, as though an effort of blood, sweat, and tears were the only noble response to 9/11 and way to honor the victims. And I think a certain amount of dissatisfaction set in when there was no demands made on most of us at all, beyond standing in long airport lines for a few months.

Not to politicize this; I don't think that "no sacrifice required!" response is a bush or a republican thing. It's more the character of modern civilized life, that we think we deserve a world of at most minor inconvenience, where irritation is about as close as we get to the heights of classical greek tragedy. A catastrophe can of course shake us from that feeling occasionally, but never permanently.