an icepick through the keyhole

I doubt that the (hypothetical) Gore administration could have prevented 9/11 either, but I'm lacking the cross-time machine that would allow me to do the appropriate random sampling.

I expect that Kerry will eventually be running ads that deal with dead Americans and Iraqis -- at which time, the Republicans will emote over those and the Democrats will ask "What's the problem?"

But I have low expectations.