But we aren't talking about some hypothetical eventuality, here. We're talking about our intelligence agencies knowing that the bad guys wanted to hijack planes and fly them into the World Trade Center.

Not that they might do it. Not that they were thinking about doing it. Not even that they had threatened to do it, because if they ever did, I never heard about it. Our government knew that they were planning to do it, and unless stopped would do it. And as our government chose not to stop them -- and actually got in the way of anybody else stopping them -- it happened.

Yes, the Shrub probably would've taken a hit in the polls (ironically) if he had made the statement, "We believe that terrorists are planning to hijack planes and use them as weapons." The airline industry would've taken a financial hit, as well. The Shrub would've been blamed. But you tell me -- does that make it okay? Does it become acceptable to aid evil because doing the right thing is unpopular?

By your own account, he weighed his political career against the lives of everyone in the WTC, and decided that his career was worth more. Not the kind of guy I want deciding matters of national importance.

They knew so many specifics about this crime, they could've stopped it. Hell, even if they'd tried and failed, I could've understood. Fuckups happen, sometimes fuckups on a huge scale. I'll forgive incompetence (though I might not vote for it).

But they didn't try. They did quite the opposite.

And what a coincidence. The Shrub's numbers soared, where the day before they were plummeting. Guess he knows where his bread is buttered, huh?