CNN has a similar story on this topic DHS: "We do not have any specific information or intelligence to suggest that this first presidential debate is a target"
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/09/29/debate.security/
http://www.continuityofgovernment.org/pdfs/FirstReport.pdf
It is 11:30 A.M., inauguration day. Thousands await the noon hour when a new president will take the oath of office in the presence of members of Congress, the Supreme Court, family, and supporters. The outgoing president is meeting at the White House with his cabinet and top aides for a final farewell before attending the swearing in ceremony where the reins of power will switch hands. Television networks have their cameras trained on the West Front of the Capitol, beaming live coverage of the event into millions of homes around the world.
Suddenly the television screens go blank! Al Qaeda operatives have detonated a small nuclear device on Pennsylvania Avenue halfway between the White House and the Capitol. A one-mile-radius circle of Washington is destroyed. Everyone present at the Capitol, the White House, and in between is presumed dead, missing, or incapacitated. The death toll is horrific, the symbolic effect of the destruction of our national symbols is great, but even worse, the American people are asking who is in charge, and there is no clear answer.
The incoming president and vice president are surely dead, so the presidency passes through the line of succession to the Speaker of the House and then to the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. But both of them were at the inaugural ceremony, as protocol requires, so the presidency passes to the cabinet officers—but which cabinet? The president-elect never took office and never confirmed a cabinet. The presidency passes through the line of succession to the cabinet officers of the departing administration, assuming they have not resigned by January 20th, as is standard procedure, and assuming that they were not at the White House bidding farewell to the outgoing president. Perhaps the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or another lesserknown cabinet member, was not in the area; then he or she would become president. Or maybe no one in the line of succession is alive, and a number of generals, undersecretaries, and governors claim that they are in charge. (snipped)
Liberal judges are actually aiding and abetting terrorists and this is a HUGE mistake that our politicians need to correct or they should be held responsible for what acts occur as a result of their inaction. These idiots do not understand that rulings affecting privacy during a war actually protect the citizens and help capture the terrorists.
"What would happen if both Kerry and Bush were taken out at the debates?"
Yikes! Might that be Hillary's October surprise?