BOEING TAPS PT FOR 'STAR WARS'

Boeing is using Interpublic's Powell Tate unit to build PR support for President Bush's missile defense system. Bush's request for $8.3 billion for missile defense was expected to be sliced due to the vanishing surplus, but now has gotten new life in aftermath of the terror attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Some Democrats, who had opposed Star Wars due to technical and budgetary reasons, do not want to oppose Bush during this national time of crisis.

PT's sister company, Cassidy Cos., also represents Boeing. Connie Custer, communications manager at Boeing, said the firm's policy is not to discuss any of its PR programs.

LT TURNS ON KMART'S BLUE LIGHT

Lippe Taylor Marketing PR is promoting Kmart's BlueLight.com marketing program because of the firm's "old fashioned media relations" skills, Dave Karraker, Kmart's director of marketing communications, told this NL.

Other firms were considered for the account, but LT won because "Maureen Lippe can pick up the phone and get a fashion editor on the line," he said. Lippe is a former editor at Vogue and Harper's Bazaar.

Karraker said he is targeting magazines, such as Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping and Better Homes and Gardens for stories about BlueLight.com.

Kmart prefers to parcel out its PR work, rather than go with an agency of record, according to Karraker. The firm uses Porter Novelli, which handled this year's re-launch of the BlueLight Special promo campaign; Access Communications for grassroots PR; Golin/Harris International for corporate and community PR campaigns, and Kekst & Co. for crisis and issues management.

WEBER SHANDWICK TUNES INTO SIRIUS

Weber Shandwick Worldwide has picked up the Sirius Satellite Radio account, which plans a $100 million marketing communications program.

Interpublic sister company McCann-Erickson has been awarded SSR's ad business that was at Silverstein & Partners, an Omnicom unit.

New York-based SSR plans to offer its subscription radio service in the fourth quarter to compete with XM Satellite Radio, which is in Washington, D.C.

XM selected Paine PR, Costa Mesa, in July.

PR PROS PITCH IN AFTER WTC DISASTER

The PR community responded quickly to the terror attacks on the U.S. last week at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. A group of independent counselors created a fund for orphans; Stanton Crenshaw set up an information clearinghouse to find office space for companies locked out of lower Manhattan, and service providers cuts prices or offered free services. Here is a rundown.

Twin Towers Orphan Fund Set Up

The "Twin Towers Orphan Fund" has been established by PR pros to help the estimated 200 to 2,000 children whose parents may have been killed by the terror attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, says California PR counselor Knox Richardson, an organizer of the group.

He is concerned that the plight of orphans may be overlooked in the media coverage of the disasters.

Richardson said PR people with their media contacts are perfect choices to highlight the orphan situation.

Besides donations from PR firms, he is looking for pros to pitch that story line to their local media.

PR Newswire and BusinessWire distributed the Fund's release. Both services are sending crisis-related releases for free, noted Richardson.

A Fund website (ttof.org) has been established to coordinate fund-raising and provide info about the campaign. PSAs are also in the works.

Richardson says the Family-to-Family Mentoring program of Bakersfield, Calif., will administer the orphan fund. "That's a 501c3 non-profit group recognized by the United Way, and one that receives grants from the state of California," he explained.

The Fund wants to work with foster homes to provide long-term care and scholarships for the orphans.

He said a "major oil company" is set to make a donation to the group. That may trigger more corporate money, according to Richardson.

Richardson founded the Fund with New York counselor Dana Sophia, whom he never met in person. He used a PRSA e-mail list, and a Yahoo list for the owners of small PR firms to meet people like Sophia.

SCC Looks for Office Space

Stanton Crenshaw Communications is organizing an information clearinghouse to provide office space for businesses that were affected by the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.

"Many businesses in the World Trade Center area will be at severe risk if they cannot quickly find

(continued on page 2)

PR PITCHES IN AFTER DISASTER (cont'd from page 1)

office space to house their people," says Alex Stanton, CEO of the firm.

His plan is to match offices that are immediately available with business owners that need them.

There is no fee or plans to broker a financial arrangement between the parties.

SCC has been sending e-mails to clients and other contacts about the clearinghouse. It also plans to start a website to explain the process. SCC is at 212/780-1900.

PRSA/New York also is establishing a clearing house for its members displaced from lower Manhattan.

The New Jersey chapter of the group has volunteered to provide facilities.

IABC Lists Crisis Resources

IABC chairman John Clemons and president Julie Freeman issued a joint statement to extend their "heartfelt sympathy to all who have been affected by the tragic events of September 11.

"In our profession, major tragedies demand increased responsibilities, for it is at such times that communication can reduce fears and begin the healing process," they said.

IABC has pulled together various crisis PR resources that it is offering to its members at no charge.

OTSP, West Glen Offer Services

On the Scene Productions CEO Sally Jewitt is offering her New York satellite broadcast facility near the United Nations at a "substantial discount" for those impacted by the WTC disaster.

"We have a studio, uplink and AVID editing facilities that can be accessed as needed for communicating to the public, businesses or internally," she said.

Clients, she added, are stepping up the use of satellite "as a means of temporarily replacing air transportation."

West Glen Communications offered its services on a pro bono basis to groups either affected by the tragedy or those providing relief services. "We realize that many organizations and companies are in dire need of vehicles to communicate messages to employees as well as the general public," said Mark Dembo, WG's COO.

B-M Sends Its Thoughts, Prayers

Burson-Marsteller CEO Chris Komisarjevsky posted a letter on the firm's website "in the aftermath of the tragedies at the World Trade Center, Washington and Pittsburgh."

The PR firm "extends its thoughts and prayers to the thousands of people affected. We are all saddened and outraged by the attacks and extend our deepest sympathies and prayers to all the people and families affected by the terrible events of September 11."

He notes that "heartfelt condolences have come from our 75 offices worldwide, demonstrating that this tragedy has not just affected the U.S., but also the world." [B-M's New York headquarters is not located near the World Trade Center area.]

SPECTRUM USES WTC ATTACK AS NEWS PEG

Spectrum Science PR has used the World Trade Center disaster to get coverage for the American College of Chest Physicians as a public service, says John Seng, president of the PR firm.

"We wanted to know what we could do to get important medical information out," he said.

The firm has lined up interviews with AP Radio, ABC World News Tonight, ABC Radio and the Daily News with respiratory physicians who have warned the public about the potentially harmful effects of airborne dust particles.

Liza Morris, account supervisor, said the doctors gave practical advice, such as urging asthmatics to stay indoors or keep their windows closed.

The message is to see a specialist if breathing problems occur, she said.

"The obvious sometimes becomes oblivious" during a time of crisis, Morris said.

Tom Norton, executive VP of Spectrum, is responsible for the daily oversight of the account.

GRUBMAN INDICTED BY GRAND JURY

Lizzie Grubman, a New York celebrity publicist, was indicted Sept. 12 in connection with a car crash at a Hamptons nightclub in July that injured 16 people.

The 26 charges in the indictment included second- and third-degree assault, vehicular assault, leaving the scene of an accident-all felonies-and operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, a misdemeanor. Grubman pleaded not guilty.

Grubman was initially accused of intentionally backing a sports utility vehicle into a crowd outside the Conscience Point Inn in Southampton on July 7.

The grand jury declined to indict her on a charge of intentional assault with depraved indifference. She has apologized for the crash, which she called an accident.

Grubman's lawyer, Stephen Scaring, expressed confidence that she would be acquitted.

The publicist could get four to 8 1/2 years in prison if convicted, according to a spokesman for the Suffolk County district attorney.

The publicist will remain free on $25,000 bail. She is due back in court on Oct. 15.

Grubman, 30, got into an argument with two security guards at the nightclub, which she had been patronizing, at about 12:40 a.m. Then, after she started the car, it leapt backward and struck several people, the authorities said.

Strategic Communications president Peggy Berk was busy reassuring clients last week that her firm was not wiped out in the World Trade Center attack. The Associated Press ran a story that listed a firm called Strategic Communications as a tenant on the 89th floor of the North Tower of the WTC. The New York Post and Fox News picked up the piece.

Berk's firm is located on 21st street in Manhattan.

JOURNAL MOVES TO TEMPORARY OFFICE

The Wall Street Journal has opened a temporary newsroom at its printing plant in South Brunswick, N.J., to continue editing and paginating the Journal. Its offices, which are four blocks from the World Trade Center tragedy, are currently closed.

All reporters, copy editors and news managers have been told to report to the facility on Route 1, which is a few miles from Princeton.

Reporters and members of the editorial page, who normally work at the Journal's 200 Liberty st. headquarters, were instructed to work at home, and some top editors are working from yet another office in midtown Manhattan.

More than 125 news staffers are at work at the Dow Jones Newswire's offices in Harborside in New Jersey.

Peter Kann, chairman of Dow Jones, said between 85-90% of all Journals got distributed on Sept. 11 and 12th. The Journal published a three-section, three-edition paper on Sept. 13. Barron's, a weekly magazine, will be printed as scheduled.
Steven Goldstein, a spokesman for Dow Jones, said staffers were arriving at the New Jersey facility by buses from ferry terminals and train stations, but many reporters continued to work from home, filing their stories electronically. Goldstein said the company would likely be based in New Jersey for at least several weeks until engineers say the headquarters building at 200 Liberty st. is safe.

"There's an enormous amount of debris in there, especially in the newsroom," he said.

MEDIA BRIEFS

The Journal Newspapers, which publishes six newspapers in Arlington, Fairfax, Prince William, Montgomery and Prince George's counties and Alexandria, Va., is eliminating its Monday editions. The papers will publish Tuesday through Friday, with a Sunday edition that will arrive by mail on Saturday.

The Boston Globe's expanded Sunday travel section will put greater emphasis on practical consumer information.

While it will cover travel broadly, it will also have a segment devoted to New England travel.

Mary Jane Wilkinson, deputy managing editor/ Sunday, is seeking to hire a writer with newspaper experience, who has a flair for travel writing and lots of story ideas, and can do trend stories and news pieces.

PEOPLE

Frank Sesno, 46, is leaving CNN, where he is senior VP and Washington, D.C., bureau chief, when his contract expires in October.

Katherine Kross, a deputy bureau chief, will be in charge of editorial operations, and John Towriss will oversee the assignment desk.

Joanna Coles, who was the New York bureau chief of the Times of London, will join New York magazine as features editor after she gives birth to her second child in November.

Leesa Faust, who was executive news producer at KCOP-TV in Los Angeles, has joined the "Hometown" news division, which is jointly owned by WOIO-TV and WUAB-TV, as the Cleveland stations' news director.

Michelle Caruso, a Los Angeles correspondent for People magazine, is joining The National Enquirer.

Jerry Morris has left The Boston Globe, where he was travel editor. He will continue to write his travel column, "Globetrotting," for the paper. Morris can be reached at 401/762-0807 in Woonsocket, R.I.

PUBLICIST SEEKS 'GOODY BAG' DONATIONS

Debra Caruso of DJC Communications is putting together "goody bags" for distribution at The New York Press Club's 9th annual conference on journalism to be held on Oct. 20 at the Columbia School of Journalism.

Caruso is looking for companies and/or organizations to donate items to put in the bags.

The conference will be attended by reporters, editors, producers and other members of the media.

Caruso can be reached at 212/227-7793, or [email protected].

BELO PULLS PLUG ON CUECAT

Dallas-based Belo Corp. has pulled out of the CueCat venture.

The company, which owns The Dallas Morning News and WFAA-TV, disclosed Sept. 6 it will no longer publish the bar codes or broadcast the signals that activate the electronic device that connects users to the Internet.

While Belo is believed to have lost about $40 million on the CueCat, Ft. Worth Star-Telegram columnist Mitchell Schnurman believes the failed venture also cost Belo its credibility because it ran news stories on WFAA and in the Morning News to promote the CueCat when it was launched a year ago.

"In a blitz of fawning news coverage, it touted the CueCat as the next great thing and freely quoted supporters. It didn't bother to poll critics who would later slam the device and accurately predict its demise in other publications," said Schnurman, who believes Belo faced the kind of conflicting interests that are testing more media companies as they expand beyond their traditional business.

William Greider, 65, national correspondent for The Nation magazine, told The Minneapolis Star Tribune that reporters need to write in a language that ordinary people use and can understand.

(Media news continued on next page)

MED JOURNALS UNVEIL NEW RULES

Seeking to curb the growing influence of drug firms over research findings, the world's top medical journals have unveiled uniform requirements for studies submitted for publication.

Many of the journals now will mandate that scientists sign a statement that they take responsibility for the findings, had access to the data and con-trolled the decision to publish.

The new rules, which were written by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, guarantee that companies that are bankrolling research permit the scientific independence of investigators involved in the study.

The new requirements, which can be viewed online (www.icmje.org), also will require researchers to disclose any financial interest related to their studies when they submit articles for publication.

The participating journals include: Annals of Internal Medicine, BMJ, Canadian Medical Assn. Journal, The Journal of the American Medical Assn., Journal of the Danish Medical Assn., The Lancet, The Medical Journal of Australia, Medline/Index Medicus, National Library of Medicine, Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde (Dutch Journal of Medicine), The New England Journal of Medicine, New Zealand Medical Journal, The Norwegian Medical Assn. Journal, and Western Journal of Medicine.

Russell LaMontagne, who is president/CEO of Corinth Group Communications, in New York, is handling inquiries about the new rules for ICMJE at 212/219-0800.

NEW YORK TIMES NAMES NEW EDITORS

Andrew Rosenthal, 45, who was foreign editor, was named an assistant managing editor of The New York Times.

Roger Cohen, 46, previously deputy foreign editor, will now head the foreign desk as acting editor.

Rosenthal, who is the son of A.M. Rosenthal, former executive editor of the Times, will coordinate daily coverage by the paper's principal news desks.

The Times will mark its 150th anniversary with a special news section, "From Newspaper Age to Information Age" on Sept. 20.

The section will span 150 years of landmark moments in world affairs, science and technology, fashion and the arts. Each story will be accompanied by articles and pictures from the 10 billion-word archives of the Times.

The New-York Daily Times, as it was first known, was founded on Sept. 18, 1851 by Henry Raymond and George Jones as a four-page paper. Today, the Times circulates to 1.1 million readers daily (1.7 million on Sundays) and has more than 1,200 news staffers working in 47 news bureaus worldwide.

The Times has won 81 Pulitzer Prizes, more than any other newspaper.

MEDIA BRIEFS

Boy Crazy!, a magazine for teenage girls, hit newsstands the week of Sept. 10. It is an offshoot of boycrazy.com, a website that features photos of boys aged 12 to 19 from the U.S. and Canada.

"Through the website, which boasts more than 500,000 members, the girls have been able to tell us exactly what they want to know. And the boys are having a ball writing about it," said Gabrielle Lasting, who is managing editor of Boy Crazy!.

Cindy Thornburg, president of Norfolk, Va.-based Decipher and creator of Boy Crazy!, claims it is the first magazine for teen girls written by boys.

Publicists can get more information from the website (www.boycrazy.com).

Red Herring will change its frequency from twice-monthly to monthly, beginning in November.

The San Francisco-based technology magazine will also drop 28 staffers, mostly in editorial.

The last issue as twice-monthly will be Oct. 15.

Elegant Bride, a custom magazine published by Pace Communications, in Greensboro, N.C., has named Deborah Moses, a bridal fashion specialist, to revamp the magazine-from font to features, masthead to message.

The new magazine will be launched with the spring 2002 issue, due on newsstands in mid-December, according to Pace president/CEO--and soon-to-be U.S. Ambassador to Finland--Bonnie McElveen-Hunter.

Samara Mormar, who is a spokeswoman for EB's PR firm, Corbin & Assocs., which recently replaced Evins Communications, said the magazine's coverage will be expanded to include articles that focus on beauty, table-settings, fashion and travel.

Moses, who started her own New York-based company in 1992, has written and produced stories for Fairchild Publications, Town & Country, Mirabella, Newsday and The New York Times.

PLACEMENT TIP

Can do Woman Media Networks, New York--which is producing and distributing a new weekly TV newsfeed, using VNRs and B-roll packages targeted to women--is starting a monthly e-newsletter.

The newsletter, called Nextpert Report, will be e-mailed to more than one million women, according to David Post, chairman/executive producer of Can do.

The subject areas include what's new in technology, health, fashion, parenting, sports and fitness, finance, home, careers, entertainment, and other lifestyle areas of interest to women.

It will also predict trends.

Katlean de Monchy is editor-in-chief of Next-pert, and Post is executive editor at 213 W. 35th st., 10001; 212/244-1444, ext. 18.

Publicists are asked to e-mail information to [email protected].

PROS GIVE TIPS FOR SPECIAL EVENTS

Creativity, compelling visuals and gifts to the press are keys to generating media placements for special events, according to a panel of event PR pros sponsored by PRSA/LA at Lunaria Restaurant, Century City, Aug. 16.

Panelists included: Tom Brocato, director of press & publicity, Disney's California Adventure; Laurence Cohen, president of media relations, City of Los Angeles Marathon, and John Tellem, VP, Tellem Worldwide.

Mickey Mouse PR

"Disney felt that it needed to grow not only into a theme park, but a destination resort, so in 1996 Disney announced the opening of California's Adventure, and the public-private venture," said Tom Brocato, director of press and publicity, Disney's California Adventure.

Brocato said his staff felt it was too premature to encourage the media to write about a new theme park in 1996 that would open in 2001. As the date approached, Brocato arranged give-aways to the media. "We came up with a series of tactics and strategies. Three thousand media bags were mailed around the globe including sun tan lotion with 'You cover us, we'll cover you' written on the tube." The park then invited 1,700 media pros for a three-day event Feb. 8, 2001.

Brocato said the park hired Golin/Harris because it did Disney's Tomorrow Land, and helped Michael Eisner with "short- and long-term leads."

In addition, Brocato said he hired 800 media hosts to direct traffic, 15 to 20 still photographers, and set up live remotes for stations which couldn't make it.

According to monitoring services, 1.5 billion people were made aware of the park's opening. When this NL asked how much the PR operation cost, Brocato said: "You can't place value on imagination."

Compelling Visuals Get Placements

On the flip side of the PR budget, Laurence Cohen, president of TLC MediaWorks, which handles the Los Angeles Marathon, said, "When you have no budget and a small staff you build around your event."

The Los Angeles Marathon is a four-day event, the second largest in the country, which attracts 80,000 people, according to Cohen.

Cohen said if you create compelling visuals you get media coverage. He noted that the Los Angeles Marathon became a good friend to The Metropolitan Transit Authority. "We encourage our runners to take the subway to start their trips, and that got a lot of positive media coverage."

How do you make it bigger each year? "Get creative," he said.

Cohen said the marathon has an award for courage, a media luncheon with success stories - including, one year, an amputee who wanted to finish the race and threw his hands in the air as if he won the first place medal after walking two blocks to cross the finish line."

PR and 'Blues Clues'

"My major challenge is security, which makes my job harder when we do tours with the blue dog," said John Tellem, VP, worldwide, Malibu, Calif. "When the preschool children see the blue dog they rush her. I have to rent security," he said.

Notebooks are distributed free inside the theater, because the kids won't come into the theater if they can see Blue outside.

"The hardest pitch is the theater critic, especially those who reviewed shows like "The Lion King," and "Aida,"' explained Tellem. "They hang up on me."

But, Tellem said, most papers love when Blue's Clues shows up, and in every single city there is a feature in the city paper(s).

"We also announce auditions for kids to be in the shows and have three or four casting calls, and we alert the media, which gives us triple hits," he said.

TIRE RECALL TURNS OFF NON-FORD OWNERS

Ford Motor Co.'s voluntary replacement of 13 million Firestone tires is having a much greater negative impact with non-Ford owners than Ford owners.

Jason Vines, Ford spokesman, told Automotive News that Ford's reputation has taken a "substantial" hit since the company announced the $2.1 billion tire replacement campaign in May.

Ford Reputation is Hurt

Thirty-three percent of non-Ford owners say their opinion of Ford dropped after the tire replacement program was announced.

Eighty-three percent of Ford Explorer owners say their opinion of the company has remained the same or improved and 86% of those owning other Ford Motor light trucks report the same or better opinion of Ford after the announcement.

Ninety percent of Explorer owners and 93% of those owning other Ford trucks say vehicle satisfaction is unchanged or increased after the tire replacement announcement.

Vines believes the discrepancy between Ford and non-Ford owners exists because non-Ford owners do not have the reassurance that comes from dealing first-hand with the company.

"We've been the No. 1 news story basically for 14 months," he told AN. "People not currently shopping with us are not being taken care of so they don't know the company. With our own owners and customers the trust level is there."

Vines said maintaining a customer focus remains Ford's "guiding principle."

"Changing the corporate culture at the company is the linchpin of the administration of Ford CEO Jacques Nasser," reported AN. "He wants to create an 'open and transparent' company in which employees consider customers in all business decisions."

Peter Rosenthal, 54, senior executive VP at Rubenstein Assocs., New York, died Sept. 10 after a long illness. He had been with RA since 1976.

Everything has changed for the PR business in the aftermath of the terror attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The few PR people who dared to issue client press releases last week apologized for doing so. The new product releases did sound trivial while thousands of New Yorkers lay buried underneath the rubble of the WTC. There were a number of noteworthy releases sent by firms, counselors and service companies offering to do whatever they could to alleviate the suffering in New York and Washington, D.C. Keep those releases coming because PR can play a major role in returning America back to some semblance of normalcy.

Communicators are needed to soothe the nerves of jittery employees in New York and business centers nationwide. The traveling public must be reassured that airline travel is safe. PR people are needed to boost the faith of consumers who may be reluctant to spend for goods and services or invest.

Consumer spending has been the pillar holding up a very shaky economy, as businesses have slashed their capital spending outlays. The Wall Street Journal (Sept. 17) reported that the attacks may make recession unavoidable. The Journal noted that the "economy already was struggling to get back on its feet before last week's catastrophic events. Consumer spending now is expected to freeze-at least temporarily- as the fallout from last week's events shake confidence." Nearly half (48 percent) of respondents to a Wall Street Journal/NBC poll taken over the weekend predict the attacks would have a "major effect" on the prospects for a recession, while 35 percent say it will have a "minor effect."

And what happens when the counter-attack begins. Political and military communicators will be needed to explain to Americans how their awesome power can be used to effectively root out and destroy the shadowy terror groups that are responsible for the tragedies in New York and Washington, D.C. America will emerge greater than ever from last week's carnage. That is the ultimate communications theme.

Mark Bingham, "one of the good guys in PR," was among those killed in the crash of hijacked United Flight 93 in Pennsylvania. The 6' 5" CEO of the The Bingham Group may have been among those who overpowered the hijackers after they learned that the other hijacked planes were used as guided missiles to destroy the World Trade Center. Flight 93 took off from Newark for San Francisco, where his firm is located. The plane flew to Cleveland, and then turned around to head in the direction of Washington before it crashed. Josh Morgan, PR manager at Apple Computer, called Bingham "one of the good guys in PR." Bingham had "mentored" Morgan when he got started in the high-tech business at Alexander Comms. "He is going to be missed, both professionally and as a friend," said Morgan... Lisa Raines, a top biotech lobbyist, perished when her jet crashed into the Pentagon. Raines, whom The New York Times called one of the "earliest and most prominent lobbyists" for the biotech industry, died after terrorists rammed American Flight 77 into the Pentagon. She was SVP-government relations at Genzyme Corp., which is based in Cambridge, Mass. Raines is survived by her husband, Stephen Push, a former VP-corporate communications, at Genzyme.

New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani deserves every accolade he gets for handling the terror crisis. The hard-nosed former prosecutor exhibited sensitivity and tact that was missing from his eight-year reign as Mayor. One Giuliani-hater scoffed that of course Rudy is doing a good job because people need a dictator in times such as these. New York can only hope that Giuliani will continue to manage the crisis when his term is up on Jan. 1. None of his potential liberal successors is up to the job.

President Bush also recovered, and then finally took command of the situation. He stumbled badly at first when referring to the terrorists as "folks" and called the WTC attack a "difficult moment" for America during his initial statement made in Florida. The media then took aim at Bush for "hiding out," when he was whisked to a Louisiana airbase, and then put into a bunker in Omaha. The Secret Service did mandate those moves, though one Bush supporter noted that the President could have overruled it. Things cleared up when it was disclosed that Air Force One was a potential target for an attack. Bush began his comeback during his "act of war" speech the day after the attacks, and when he journeyed to Ground Zero at the WTC site on Friday. Nearly 70 percent of respondents to an "O'Dwyer PR Daily" poll feel Bush is doing a good job in managing the crisis. The impending war will decide if he stays in Washington or is sent back to the ranch.

Bush's missile defense system also needs to be reconsidered in light of the terror attacks. Supporters argue unconvincingly that MDS is needed now more than ever. They contend that if one of the President's so-called rogue states had launched a nuke at either the WTC or Pentagon, the disasters could have been averted. That nuke would have been destroyed by the MDS. The MDS still doesn't make any sense. A future nuke attack on the U.S. will more likely come from a bomb carried in a van or suitcase. The first President Bush, and Sen. John McCain rightly pointed out that the U.S. needs to overhaul its intelligence by spending more on recruiting spies who can infiltrate terror groups to destroy them from within.
--Kevin McCauley