that. last i checked, sarah palin's not much of an expert on nuclear issues. >> all right. he put it better than i did. let's turn to richard bert, former ambassador to germany, the u.s.'s first negative negotiator for the first s.t.a.r.t. treaty signed by the president bush in 1991. he is not u.s. chairman of global zero, an international non for profit group calling for the phased nuclear weapons. thanks very much for your time. >> greetings, keith, from a fellow cornellian. >> hello to you. the first s.t.a.r.t. treaty which lapsed this past december, how important was it, given that lapse, that the u.s. and russia reach another one and quickly? >> well, i think it's very important. not only because we can't live for an extended period of time without restrictions on these weapons, but i think that the treaty, while it is, as my old boss george schultz pointed oud, a modest step. it really creates a platform for a new negotiation, a follow-on negotiation where we can achieve real reductions, maybe down to as low as 1,000 nuclear weapons altogether. not only the ones that are