This is the way I heard it.

He was not the first president to be publicly challenged by a powerful enemy.

Nor was he the first to consider extreme retaliation.

But now, as the prospect of an unprecedented launch became more and more real, his vice

president was getting nervous.

Sir, we must not overreact.

The world expects a measured response.

Not a launch of this magnitude.

Consider the fallout and remember what President McKinley said.

War should never be entered upon until every agency of peace has failed.

The president nodded.

A student of history he was well acquainted with the words of America's 25th president.

William McKinley had done everything in his power to stay out of Cuba in 1898, even after

the USS Maine was sunk in Havana Harbor.

Was this so different?

Would McKinley have simply ignored the challenge now facing this president, just as he ignored

the attack on the Maine a hundred years before?

Probably.

With respect, sir, McKinley was a fool with his head in the sand.

The director of communications didn't mince words.

Congress declared war without him.

So if we're going to quote presidents, let's not forget the man who actually fought the

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