Exactly. (So long as we do not numb the entire nation into complacency in the process of repeated alerts, news conferences, and warnings.) A delicate and difficult balance. Too much and you get the "boy crying wolf" syndrome. Too little, and you get 9/11.
After the next attack, whether it is Bush, Kerry, or someone else, we should all keep that in mind before whaling on him. Whoever is unfortunate enough to "win" that election has some of the most unenviable choices on earth. Every morning you get vague warnings of attacks in the works that might cause normal people to lose control over their bodily functions, and it is up to you to make the call on what to do when you *think* something very bad *might* happen, but you don't know who, what, when , where, why, or how. Every day you have to decide when the threats stop being vague chatter and actually start looking like a pattern because as many analysts you have in all the agencies and departments, and as many able people you have as advisers, it is your call.
It's a no-win situation because you can never reveal your succeses (either because it would compromise your ability to save future lives or because you cannot prove a negative - - that a hit did *not* happen). But your failures (even if it is just one time) will be for the world to see with the body count. Plus you are the most targeted man on the planet. So pray for the current occupant of the Whitehouse, but also pray for future ones, whenever and whoever they might be - - even if you cannot stand them. Because the lives of you and your families depend on him doing a job that is as close to impossible as you can get.
As Dick Morris said today: (Chicago radio)
Why would you remove a President that has kept you safe for the past three years?!
He knows Kerry very well, even likes him but said but has no intention of voting for him