NSPD 51

Oh, god. I'm reluctant to write this particular column. I've been scarred by this kind of story before. I've learned that it's difficult to write about the sources of paranoia without spreading paranoia. But the subject, NSPD-51—that's National Security Presidential Directive 51—and the attendant explosion of blogospheric paranoia about it deserve attention. Even if you don't believe, as I don't, that NSPD-51 is a blueprint for a coup in the guise of plans for "continuity of government" in the event of a national emergency (such as a terrorist attack during an election campaign). Even if you don't believe, as I don't, that it will be used as a pretext for canceling the upcoming presidential election and preserving "continuity" of this administration in office.

A message to all those concerned with the 2008 presidential election - Republican, Democratic and independent: it's irrelevant. Who cares whether your candidate is for or against abortion or gay marriage or tweaking the health care system? Who cares how he/she feels about Ronald Reagan? Who cares if they are for or against impeachment? It's as irrelevant as Jimmy Carter's observations on George W. Bush are not. We, as Americans, are in a vast state of denial. We're acting as if everything is OK, as if times were normal, as if we can carry on, in 2008, as though the Bush administration never happened. But everything that has not already changed is changing now.