Today we learn that yesterday's truly frightening alerts concerning possible terrorist attacks were based on information that was three to four years old. The information was discovered last Sunday (8 days ago), and was saved until this Sunday, and it has now erased coverage of the presidential campaign. But Tom Ridge did assert, at the news conference announcing the warnings, that the discovery that Al Qaeda had "cased" selected buildings three to four years ago was a testatment to the "president's success in prosecuting the war on terror."

Yesterday, Howard Dean said that the terror warnings may be politically motivated. He was mocked and reviled by Republicans, reporters, and Lieberman. Here, for example, are selected transcripts, courtesy of Atrios, from Judy Woodruff's daily televised celebration of mass-murder, "Inside Politics," broadcast Monday afternoon on CNN.
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ANNOUNCER: The Empire State's governor is our guest. Howard Dean does it again.

DR. HOWARD DEAN (D), FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am concerned that every time something happens that's not good for President Bush, he plays this trump card, which is terrorism.
...

WOODRUFF: Governor, what about the comments we've heard in the last two days from Howard Dean, the former governor of Vermont. I mean, he is suggesting that there's some politics in here. And just a quick quote from him. He says, "I am concerned every time something happens that's not good for President Bush, he plays this trump card, which is terrorism." He said, "His whole campaign is based on the notion," quote, "'I can keep you safe, therefore at times in difficulty for America, stick with me' and then out comes Tom Ridge.

PATAKI: Judy, I think Howard Dean is an embarrassment. I mean, he almost makes Michael Moore look objective in how he analyzes these situations. And the American people got to know him during the campaign and rejected him. The sad part is that his policies and his warped beliefs are having a significant impact on Senator Kerry's policies. Senator Kerry talked about being tough in the war on terror, but he essentially adopted the Dean line when he had to do it to get through at the Democratic primaries. And this president understands the real threat that America faces. He is providing extraordinary leadership. And I'm just proud to stand with him and stand with the people of New York, because we understand that these threats aren't political; they are real. And I'll tell you, Judy, I've seen the courage of New Yorkers, in the face, not just of threats, but of the attacks of September 11th. And right now, New Yorkers are showing that same courage in the face of these threats.

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WOODRUFF: Well, Congress -- we were just discussing Congress -- it would have to approve many of the changes recommended by the 9/11 Commission. Of course, right now, we're in the August recess. But coming up, a look at what, if any, work is being done on Capitol Hill. Plus, we've been hearing about this. Howard Dean goes on the attack. But is he damaging the Republicans or his own party's credibility?
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WOODRUFF: We appreciate it. Well, Vice presidential nominees traditionally are the presidential campaign's attack dogs. But for the Democrats these days, the loudest attacks are coming from someone who isn't even on the ticket. Coming up: Howard Dean gets rough again.
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WOODRUFF: Early in the Democratic presidential campaign, Howard Dean emerged as a front-runner, partly because of his willingness to attack the Bush administration and directly criticize the president. Well, he may not have won the nomination, but Howard Dean still is on the attack.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BUSH: The elevation of the threat level in New York and New Jersey and Washington, D.C. is a serious reminder, a solemn reminder of the threat we continue to face.

WOODRUFF (voice-over): Not everyone sees it entirely that way.

DEAN: It's just impossible to know how much of this is real and how much of this is politics. And I suspect there's some of both in it.

WOODRUFF: Howard Dean threw down the gauntlet yesterday, questioning whether the Bush administration gemmed (ph) up the terror warning to blunt positive media coverage of the Democratic convention.

DEAN: Every time something happens that's not good for President Bush, he plays his trump card, which is terrorism.

WOODRUFF: Republicans took umbrage, and so did some Democrats.

SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: I don't think anybody who has any fairness or is in their right mind would think that the president or the secretary of Homeland Security would raise an alert level and scare people for political reasons.

WOODRUFF: It's not the first time the former Vermont governor's words have made waves. Remember what he said after U.S. forces in Iraq bagged the ace in the deck?

DEAN: We're not safer today than we were before Saddam Hussein left.
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A dirty cancer



The last statement from Governor Dean, suggesting that the
capture of Saddam has not made Americans safer, is not a
statement that you can consider for its possible truth-value. It's
just a funny bad thing that he said. It was improper, and silly in a
bad way. And his statement regarding the politicization of
terror threats should also be understood first of all as inappropriate,
even if it eventually becomes clear that Sunday's warnings were
based on knowledge of activities Al Qaeda had undertaken four
years ago. So there will be no need for me to correct what I said
on Monday's edition of my television news program "Inside Politics."

Anyway, I hate myself. I'm very angry that I've become what I am.
So I'm doing everything in my power to bring a painful death to
millions of Americans. My efforts to marginalize Howard Dean's
statements are part of my ongoing attempt to kill you personally.
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A deflated plastic robot



I am the governor of a state in which 3,000 people were killed by
the terrorists. If Howard Dean is an "embarassment," as the the
sounds that came out of my mouth yesterday seemed to suggest,
then I am far beyond embarrassment. For I delight in using the
memory of the murdered citizens of my state for the purpose of
currying favor with the kleptocratic regime of the asshole-birth.
And I am always happy to collaborate with the terrorists and to
terrorize my fellow citizens, and to mock speaking persons like
Howard Dean who try to stop me from using the memory of the
dead to terrorize my fellow citizens with spurious threats. If I have
my way, there will be no end to the mass desecration of corpses
world-wide.
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A melted face



Howard Dean is "not in his right mind." I suspect that he not only
doubts the seriousness of yesterday's threats, but that he also does
not believe that the Holocaust occurred. To question the seriousness
of the terror warning is to forget about September 11, which would be
a lot like forgetting about the six million dead, for whom I speak.
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Also: John Kerry is going to lose the election.