[Dr. Frank fan]

And we were advised by the administration to stock up on plastic sheeting and duct tape for exactly what reason then?

I don't remember being "advised" to do this. I remember a lot of panicky people doing it. Anyway, people who did this (mostly back in late 2001 as I recall) were worried about terrorism.

The connection between this point of yours about terrorism warnings/fears, and Bush's stance on the nation-state of Iraq, truly escapes me.

I think a lot of people had the impression of a pretty imminient domestic threat even if the word 'imminent' can't be found by a Lexus/Nexus search.

That's their problem.

I've got news for you: had there been an imminent domestic threat, Bush wouldn't have sat around for six damn months engaging in a public, meandering debate (first in Congress, then in the UN, always in the media...) over the matter. He would have JUST ATTACKED.

Presidents can do that, you know. They can JUST ATTACK if a threat really is "imminent". They don't NEED to ask for Congressional resolutions or such niceties when a threat really is "imminent". Thus, the fact that Bush didn't do that is one indication that he didn't think the threat was "imminent".

"Imminent threats" don't usually sit there on Pause for six months while you have a heated, public debate over whether to attack them.

[George W. Bush]

I don't remember being "advised" to do this. I remember a lot of panicky people doing it. Anyway, people who did this (mostly back in late 2001 as I recall) were worried about terrorism.

It was part of an advisory on Homeland Defense preparations. And I didn't do it anyway. But I still can't forget how for a few weeks there, every Walmart and hardware store ran out of duct tape and plastic sheeting. And that guy back in Connecticut (or one of those puny liberal states) who actually encased his entire house in a single plastic sheet. About that time, Ridge came out, a little sheepishly, and told people not to panic over the sheeting thing.

Yes, there was a bit of a panic in some quarters.

Presidents can do that, you know. They can JUST ATTACK if a threat really is "imminent". They don't NEED to ask for Congressional resolutions or such niceties when a threat really is "imminent". Thus, the fact that Bush didn't do that is one indication that he didn't think the threat was "imminent". "Imminent threats" don't usually sit there on Pause for six months while you have a heated, public debate over whether to attack them.

Points well taken. And I have consistently defended the full legality of the president in securing the support of the congress in this matter. Our real mistake there, in hindsight, was giving the U.N. a chance to try to muck up the authority we claimed (legitimately) to possess under previous resolutions. Actually, we should have "JUST ATTACKED". It would have been so much more effective a deterrent. I blame Powell. I think our president wanted to do exactly this. He's a pretty direct kind of guy.