fran lebowitz, hosting the national book awards ceremony a couple weeks ago, said something about timing then brought up jim baker's iraq study group and said something like:

if you were a student and had a test coming up, when would you start studying for it? [short pause] before the test? [pause till a few laughs show they're starting to get it] or three years after the test?

it was a lesson in comic technique john kerry could profit from.