"no president would EVER use nukes except in retaliation for a nuclear attack on us or our closest allies. It just wouldn't be done"
In 2004, maybe not. In 2010 when Iran has twenty nukes and the Muslims have succeeded with a dirty bomb at the Superbowl, then it's a no brainer.
I just got home. Missed it all. Who won?
Not at all a no-brainer. The use of a nuclear weapon by terrorists leaves the problem of where to retaliate. Terrorists are not a country.