from chapter 4, "Crucial Decision," referring to the Iraq war call....


...and there came a point where the President, his advisers, and myself hit a dead end. The President then asked all those present to leave the Oval Office and we were alone. He said, 'Dick, you know as well as I what we must do,' and I replied, 'yes, Mr President, I'm aware of that thing there.' We looked at one another and all was silent. The President broke the silence. 'Get him on the phone,' was all he said.
Sarah had trouble at first when the call went through. Al Becker was not at home. She phoned back after finding Al at the barbershop playing checkers with Goober. I explained our situation to Al, and he said he understood, but fell silent.
He then proceeded, very organizationally and specific, to outline a concise plan for attack, then stumbled towards the end. He said he would call back, or better yet, if we could call him back in 12 hours to give him time to consult with a Mr Asa Breeney, but seeing how Mr Breeney was asleep and worked nights, he preferred to wait until Mr Breeney returned from his night watchman job and had a chance to eat a frozen tv dinner first for sustenance...