HONOLULU -- President George W. Bush and Sen. John Kerry evidently surprised -- and puzzled -- their audiences during their debate in the election campaign when they both pointed to nuclear proliferation as the greatest threat to the national security of the United States.
The alacrity and agreement of their answers surprised analysts of national security, several of whom immediately surmised in private that the president and senator had seen intelligence reports that had not been disclosed to the public.
Voters who worry about paying their rent or the mortgage, or wonder how they will get their children into college seemed puzzled because nuclear proliferation is an arcane topic not high on their daily agendas.