“Forty democratic senators were gathered for a lunch in March [2004] just off the Senate floor. I [journalist Ron Suskind] was there as a guest speaker. [Senator] Joe Biden [D-DE] was telling a story, a story about the president [Bush]. ‘I was in the Oval Office a few months after we swept into Baghdad,’ he began, ‘and I was telling the president of my many concerns’–concerns about growing problems winning the peace, the explosive mix of Shiite and Sunni, the disbanding of the Iraqi Army and problems securing the oil fields. Bush, Biden recalled, just looked at him, unflappably sure that the United States was on the right course and that all was well. ‘ *Mr. President,* I finally said, *How can you be so sure when you know you don’t know the facts?* ‘ Biden said that Bush stood up and put his hand on the senator’s shoulder. ‘My instincts,’ he said. ‘My instincts.’ Biden paused and shook his head, recalling it all as the room grew quiet. ‘I said, *Mr. President, your instincts aren’t good enough!* ‘ “ [The 15th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.]
– Ron Suskind, “Without a Doubt,” The New York Times, Oct. 17, 2004