I don't think that Doug is the only one who is entrenched in his/her thinking. Cheney has ties to Big Business and Bill Clinton does not? That could be because the only jobs Bill Clinton has had since college have been as a politico. He would have NO first-hand experience in working with a company like Halliburton and would have to rely on staff reports. Bobert, put your political biases aside for a moment and you will see that hiring the biggest and best for such a mammoth undertaking is the fiscally responsible route. I know it hurts your soul to know that Haliburton, with its ties to Dick Cheney, is going to get the contract, but the choices are limited, and it is your money and mine. As far as having a whole bunch of small companies do the work? I'm reminded of a poem I saw many, many years ago in the Saturday Evening Post. "They told the young man that it couldn't be done, With a smile he went right to it. He tackled that job that couldn't be done, They were right. He couldn't do it." We were all brought up on "The Little Engine That Could", but the bitter reality is that it doesn't always work out that way.