[Oregon Coast Conservative]

If the sniper does turn out to be a terrorist, this issue is going to kill the rats. And I think that reality is probably hitting them right about now.

[The Great Satan]

Privately, administration officials concede that their greatest concern is Daschle's "end game." What if he is backed into a corner, with loss of Senate control all but a fait accompli? "We are spending a lot of time on this," said one unnamed White House official. Once the game is up, will Daschle "lash out," in one last, desperate, no-holds-barred attempt to destroy America? The "Samson Option," senior Democrat officials confide, is increasingly the sub-text of DNC strategy meetings. Fearing the worst, administration officials are privately offering Daschle a face-saving out: a sinecure, perhaps in a new role as NASA Administrator, or Director of the National Endowment for the Arts. But, in the end, the Majority Leader remains a cipher. Will he put personal self-aggrandisement over a lifelong devotion to a fanatical left-wing creed? No one is willing to predict the outcome with certainty. For the moment, the future of America hangs in the balance.