I cannot believe the shortsightedness of many of the posters here. The basic discussion is what to do in the event of a terrorist attack that exceeds the size and scope of 9/11. To me, the possibility is so real that NOT to have a contingency plan is to invite disaster. The question is not (or certainly should not be) to cancel the election, but how to have a decent and orderly vote should a major attack occur so close to election day that chaos is created.

Just a couple of questions to consider: what if the terrorists succeed in taking out 1, 2, 3 or even all four of the presidential and vice presidential candidates? How would the Democrats replace Kerry/Edwards? How would the Republicans replace Bush/Cheney?

What about the senatorial candidates: what if the capitol building is the target and several, if not many, senators or congressmen/women are killed? Governors can fill vacant seats with special appointments, but what would you do with vacant candidate seats?

The terrorists want to disrupt our democracy. Disrupting an election is not the same as disrupting the whole democratic process. If they try to bloody our nose and we just absorb the punch and move on with timely and appropriate elections then there is no harm, no foul to the process. However, just to hold an election on one day even though the country might be in total upheaval sounds to me to be incredibly stupid.

C'mon, people. The founding fathers did not have Osama in mind when they framed the constitution. They did not want some tyrant to just up and decide to cancel the elections. But to have a plan in place to provide for an orderly and expedient way to hold an election seems to me to be not only wise, but virtually necessary. I could envision a scenario where to hold immediate elections would play right into Bush's hands, and to have an appropriate delay would be in the Dem's favor. Is that what you Bush haters really want?

Before you rush to judge this proposal, think about the possible targets of the terrorism, and the possible ramifications of such an attack.

I agree with the proposal. Let's have a plan, and then let's pray and plan and protect and hope that we never have to use it.

Freightdawg