Reply #55: My reaction within hours was "We're at war."

[VolcanoJen]

Within days, that reaction morphed into a numb acceptance that everything might have very well changed, that the nation was headed into a new era of fear, and protectionism, likely followed by a clampdown on civil liberties.

Within weeks, I thought of that pre-2000 election book, "A Charge To Keep," by George W. Bush (aka Karen Hughes). I remember when the book came out, pointing it out to friends, highlighting paragraphs, telling everyone, "I'm sayin', if he gets elected, we'll be back in Iraq before four years, and it won't be pretty. He's got a 'charge to keep.'"

In other words, within weeks, I thought the writing was on the wall, and we were about to begin a long march into Iraq.

Those were scary days indeed and it hurts a bit to try to revisit them emotionally...