Clever

Other Klein not just clever, but closer to the truth than he may think. In Ron Suskind's excellent book, the One Percent Solution, there's a hilarious scene--p336-- that takes place in the inner sanctum of the CIA right after Osama issued his last minute verbal assault on Bush just before the 2004 election. The consensus is that Osama intervened to help Bush win. Deputy Director John McLaughlin says, "Bin Laden certainly did a nice favor today for the President."

This is conventional wisdom among spooks: Bush has been the best possible President for the aggrandizement of (a) Al Qaeda and (b) Iran.