And then there is the White House's refusal to let Condoleeza Rice testify publicly before the 9/11 commission. Are they claiming national security? No, they are not. They are "citing constitutional prerogatives" according to the Post.

And even former President Carter, breaking with the tradition of former presidents not criticizing sitting presidents, had these scathing remarks about Bush, Blair, and Iraq:

"That was a war based on lies and misinterpretations from London and Washington, claiming falsely that Saddam Hussein was responsible for 9/11, claiming falsely that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction," Carter told the Independent newspaper of London, where the Clarke allegations were causing new trouble for Prime Minister Tony Blair, a Bush ally. Carter said Bush and Blair "probably knew that many of the allegations were based on uncertain intelligence."

There is no doubt that these are the most damning, most serious charges ever levelled against Bush. You can't just dismiss former presidents remarks like Carter's, as partisan politicking in a presidential campaign, because former presidents don't play that game.

An estimated 16 million people watched the Clarke interview on 60 Minutes, which contradicts the claims above that no one is paying any attention to this story. To the election, no--people aren't paying attention. There is no need for them to pay attention to it right now. But at least 16 million Americans are most definitely paying attention to this story.

And finally, here is this revealing fact about the story, again from the Post:

"The (Bush) campaign's defense strategy was that although Clarke could not be roundly refuted on the facts, enough doubt about the issue could be raised by portraying him as reckless and partisan."