"In the previous administration, we had an attack on the World
Trade Center, on Khobar Towers. We had attacks on both embassies
in Kenya and Tanzania, an attack on the USS Cole. Also, Osama bin
Laden in February of 1998 made it clear that he not only intended
to wage war on the United States, but he wanted to use Iraq as a central battleground. In short, there was a gathering threat. In those years, bin Laden noticed that the United States had, in fact, been cutting back dramatically on intelligence assets and on military assets."
---White House Press Secretary Tony Snow
"There's nothing wrong with getting angry if you're right, as
Chris Matthews put it. But when Clinton went after Wallace, he
inadvertently allowed his mask to slip. America got a glimpse
not just of a former president who feels mischaracterized,
but of a man filled with contempt for the lesser mortals who
would seek to undo him. His inner Gollum was visible beneath a
roiling rage... Experience tells us, too, that manipulators are
always contemptuous of those they manipulate... Clinton's marmish
scolding of Wallace was a telling moment, much like another time
he wagged his finger on television."
---columnist Kathleen Parker