Senator/Governor Bob Graham Spoke at FSU - Said We are Less Safe Now Than Before 9/11

One of the neat things about living near a big campus is all of the famous speakers that drop by.

Tuesday at 4 - it was Bob Graham - the former governor of Florida and US Senator. He was a governor for 8 years and a senator for 18 years - quite an accomplishment for a Democrat in the new "Republican" South. Graham went to high school in Miami - then on to the University of Florida - and Harvard Law School. He also got into the presidential late in 2003 - but dropped out because of low poll numbers. He looks a little bit like Jim Thorpe - the world class athlete.

The small auditorium was packed to standing room only when we arrived. There was a few seats in the front that were empty - but they had signs on. When Lulu went to check the seats out - she found that the signs said reserved for faculty members and guests. She sat down and signaled me to come along. I felt a bit like a celebrity sitting behind Former Governor Robin Askew and his wife.

Graham spoke for about an hour and had the spellbound with his explanation about national intelligence and terrorist attacks. He said we are more at risk of a terrorist attack now than we were before 9/11. For terrorists to fail our government must make thousands of right intelligence decisions every day. For terrorists to succeed - they must only be right once. He predicted a successful weapon of mass destruction - either nuclear weapon or biological weapon by 2013.

Graham also displayed his book, "Owner's Manual: Making the government Work for You." I just ordered it on Amazon.com for $15.

Pictures - Bob Graham speaking at Claude Pepper Center at FSU. In the pictures - the white-headed man in the foreground is Robin Askew. It was my attempt to get a picture of two former Florida governors together in one candid photo.