decided. i've seen different national security councils in some instances things were shoved up to the president in an orderly way and he would make a decision. every time something went up to george w. bush i found him willing to make a decision in a crisp, direct, construct way. to the extent people try to bridge differences a decision is delayed. when a decision is delayed there's risk it leaks in the media and the battle gets fought out there. to the extent you merge, bridge or blend different options you run the risk of not having any good options. because options in some cases any one of the three might be better than something blended. >> sean: what about john mccain? >> he had a way of criticizing the bush administration, just like obama did during that whole campaign. i felt badly that the administration didn't stand up and defend itself during that campaign. everyday mccain and obama were both criticizing it. and i think the administration