Are We Really at War?

Fareed Zakaria says NO. A good article debunking claims of W as the "wartime president" and McCain's insistence that Al Qaeda is a danger to our very existence. Essentially Osama was able to inflict a wound - and then allow our reaction to wound us even farther:

"Bush and his circle have conceived of the problem as military and urgent when it's more of a long-term political and cultural problem. The massive expansion of the military budget, the unilateral rush to war in Iraq, the creation of the cumbersome Department of Homeland Security, the new restrictions on visas and travel can all be chalked up to this sense that we are at war. No cost-benefit analysis has been done. John Mueller points out that in response to a total of five deaths from anthrax, the U.S. government has spent $5 billion on new security procedures. Of course, this is actually what Osama bin Laden hoped for"

Also - it compares our current situation to something more like the Cold War - where Eisenhower was an example of a prudent president.

I think anyone who travels and deals with TSA security has thought at one time or another what the cost-benefit of taking off your flip-flops and throwing away toothpaste has been.