The deal was, if the president wanted to launch a nuclear strike, he had to take a big knife and kill the man to cut him open to get to the capsule.

There are too many Presidents in history who would have done that gleefully for me to believe it would function as a deterrent.

What if, he said, the president looks at what’s in front of him and can’t do it. That would be terrible.

I’m less worried about the President who hesitates than I am the President who doesn’t.