I was prepared to write a nice long response having a real political discussion (I agree with some of your points and not others)... right up until I saw the "it happened on your watch". Yes, by all means, let's blame anyone but the sorry murdering bastards who actually did these horrible acts. Blame the President. It's all his fault. And hey, since he's in charge and EVERYTHING that happens in the country is ultimately his responsibility, the burning question on my mind is how come he hasn't put those speed bumps in the street outside my house yet? When some kid gets hits by a car going too fast, I'm going to blame the President!

I'm not saying it was entirely his fault; that's like blaming Nader for the 2000 election. A contributing factor, sure. But not the only reason, and certainly not the principal reason.

What I'm saying is, given the warnings about terrorism this administration received prior to 9/11, the fact that 9/11 happened seems to offset their claim that the Republicans and ONLY the Republicans will be tough on terrorism. If you're so goddamned tough on terrorism, why wasn't it a priority in those first nine months? If terrorists quake in their boots at the thought of big bad-ass George Bush and the GOP, as Lileks and others would have you believe, why didn't they stand down on 9/11 and call off the attacks, lest big meanie scary terrorist-kickin' President Bush deal with their organizations and movements harshly?

One can argue that 9/11 may not have happened had Gore been President (of course, maybe it would have, but we'll never know).