Scripps News thinks that America is crawling with conspiracy theorists:

Nearly two-thirds of Americans think it is possible that some federal officials had specific warnings of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, but chose to ignore those warnings, according to a Scripps Howard News Service/Ohio University poll.

But wait, if it really did happen, it’s not a conspiracy theory, is it?

The Carpetbagger points out that this actually describes two different points of view: one, that Team Bush allowed 9/11 to happen because it fit conveniently into their nation-building agenda; and two, they allowed it to happen because… they were so clueless that they ignored warnings about it just as they ignored warnings on everything else. In scenario 1, they’re evil, and in scenario 2, they’re just incompetent.

So which is it? Surely they’re not so evil as to permit Americans to die so they can have their way. Oh, wait, they are. But no one knows if that’s what they were thinking, and the incompetence theory assumes less. So what it comes down to is: which is greater, Team Bush’s capacity for evil, or their capacity for incompetence?

Damn. Put it like that, and you could go back and forth all day.