Well trained individuals, in almost any endeavor, practice until they do not have to think about their reaction, but use "muscle memory" to respond. In this instance, I think there was a conditioned response by Bush administration members to any threat. They had thought for so long that Saddam Hussein was a threat, and how they could respond, that they could not accept any other outcome. It is unfortunate that hundreds of thousands of others had to pay for that reaction, but that is the way of the world. More unfortunate is that the instigators of that travesty have never had to face consequences for their actions, much like those that created the crash (oh wait, many were the same people!).
There I is, I believe, a concerted effort by those with nefarious intent to condition the electorate to believe all kinds of nonsense in order to achieve their goals. There are dozens of "think tanks", PACs, and even less savory organizations with no other purpose. This approach has gone mainstream with both political parties, and, indeed, as far as I can tell, is the ONLY purpose of the GOP. It may be too late to wake up the electorate at any rate. They are now conditioned to respond and it takes much more effort to "unlearn" bad habits, especially bad thinking habits.
