The Bush administration has clearly lost the momentum that seemed irresistible in the wake of September 11, when all ambiguity was blown away on a date that shares infamy. The prospect of hanging concentrates the mind, as Dr. Johnson famously said, but nothing is permanent. Nothing much has happened since September 11, so a lot of us have stepped down from the gallows and back to the carefree life. Some of the things the government has done - color-coded warnings, streets-closings to make motorcades safe, warnings of suitcase bombs posted from Moscow - have hardly helped. The lick-and-a-promise approach to...