<Preemptive war from a democracy...never happened before.

Depends on your definition of the word "war," and what level of threat justifies a preemptive attack. Israel took out Iraq's first reactor, probably saving millions of lives in the bargain, and were roundly condemned for it. Also, in 1973, in the Yom Kippur war, Israel attacked first, but Egyptian and Syrian troops were massing on the border and airplanes were being mobilized. Maybe this is a more specific threat than Saddam's weapons program?

Not sure why everyone seems to think that it is a great virtue if we wait until Saddam actually uses a WMD before we attack. I would expect to get shot dead if I point a loaded gun at a cop, whether or not I actually fire it.

We'll see what happens at the U.N. meeting tomorrow. Bush may eventually come to realize that there is nothing on the face of the Earth that he can do to satisfy those who are politically opposed to him and/or the United States, and then he'll have to decide from there.