White House officials say they've got a "working premise" about terrorism and the presidential election: It's going to happen. "We assume," says a top administration official, "an attack will happen leading up to the election." And, he added, "it will happen here."

Not to traffic in conspiracy theories, but what if the Bushies were sick enough to stage an attack?

Worse, what if only half the electorate believed it? How would "code red" alert pan out?