Think of the fight against OBL /terrorism as a relay race

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

Jimmy Carter had things happen on his lap - Iran hostage situation
Reagan had things happen on his lap - Iran hostage, Beirut barracks, Iran-contra
GHWB had things happen on his lap - Iran-contra, 1st Gulf War
Clinton had things happen on his lap - 1st WTC,
GWB had things on his lap - USS Cole, 9/11

How did Reagan help/hinder Carter with the Iranian hostage crisis? What part did it play in the elections?

GHWB - (famously supposedly "out of the loop" on Iran contra - sure, a former head of the CIA Vice President is just "out of the loop" - How stupid were we back then?! )How did he help/hinder Clinton in the Presidential transfer of 1992 as far as terror, Iraq, etc.?

Clinton - How did he pass the baton to Bush?

Bush - how did he receive the baton from Clinton?

(personally, I think GWB dropped the baton totally. He dropped it and then ran off the track to take a snooze in Crawford Texas while the terrorists shot steroids, lapped us, and appeared on Wheaties boxes in madrasas. Meanwhile, National Security Adviser Condi stared uncomprehendingly at "OBL determined to Strike in US" while flipping through her latest Manolo Blahnik flyer as Richard Clarke was begging her for water to put out his flaming hair.)