I kinda agree with you that when it comes to databases it all comes down to who's to blame. It's almost usually the DBA cause the one who did the mistake would say, "He Gave me Access". That's why there shouldn't be any "power user" other than the actual DBA. If it all gonna come on you like 1000 bricks it might as well be "your" mistake.

Gerald Nelson MCP/MCDBA