I also attended Saturday’s party. In fact, I am the woman who shrieked. And though I am not surprised by your condescending tone — it appears to be the only one you have — I am disappointed that you have so misrepresented the evening’s people and events.

First of all, the party was better than glamorous. It was a warm gathering of friends. And though you dismissed our hosts and everyone else as “workaday,” they are in fact successful writers, producers, designers and actors.

Secondly, you offered no more information than anyone else. Indeed, the crux of your argument was that you are really smart and lost the use of your finger to a racist cop some 30-odd years ago. I will take you on your (repeated) word that you are smart (though insulting the parents of your child’s friends on the internet seems plainly stupid). But neither that nor the finger you wave like a badge changes the facts. Whatever additional information you know, it does not alter the following:

– Bush portrayed a link between Iraq and Al Quaida in order to build US support for war when no such link existed.

– He alienated the US from the world by first rushing to war without a real alliance (and, yes, before inspectors had finished looking for the WMDs Bush has himself acknowledged were not there) and then precluding those outside his “alliance” from the rebuilding effort. He has even alienated career intelligence and diplomatic personnel, who have resigned in protest.

– He completely miscalculated every aspect of the war, including Iraqi resistance, human and financial costs, the complexity/plausibility of implementing a democracy in Iraq, and the length of time required to do any of it. And neither he nor anyone in his administration has taken any responsibility for these grave mistakes.

– His administration is made up of ideologues who are widely known (and reported by respected press such as the Washington Post) to refuse to subject their policies to the rigorous examination, such as white papers, considered standard by previous presidents.

– The combination of his war and domestic policies have turned a massive surplus into a massive deficit.

– Haliburton (whether they are one of four such companies in the world or not) continues to get non-competitive bids even when top army officials oppose it.

– He still doesn’t have a viable plan to “win the peace,” implement democracy and get us out.

Because we seem to agree on social issues (on which Bush is in full agreement with the radical religious right), I will not list these grievances here. But as a result of the above listed points, it is fair (even if all of my fingers work) to conclude that Bush has put the US at greater — not lesser — risk of terror. As I stated on Saturday, Kerry never impressed me as a good alternative; simply the only one available.