:c) I married a woman who is!
Oliver Cromwell is an interesting character, like Napoleon he provokes strong views on many sides and after 350 years you can still get into a fist fight over him.
I think it is important to remember that unlike Napoleon he is a "pre-enlightenment" figure and it's all too easy to judge him on the standards of our own time.
It's also important not to automatically believe what's written about the Irish campaign. In a sense we view him through the eyes of a restored monarchy. Had he taken the crown and started a new dynasty of kings our view of him would probably be very different.
Certainly people like Henry VII had no real claim to the throne and yet we see the Tudors as almost a golden age.
It's a contraversial opinion I know and not one that'd be popularin Ireland where he's still the "bogeyman"