OBAMA: “WE WON’T USE NUKES.” Hmm. Try this scenario on for size:

You own a home in what can only be described as a pretty nasty neighborhood. The Mr. & Mrs. Canada next door seem nice enough (though boring) and never really cause you any trouble. Those Mexicos on the other side are a bit of a problem. First, they seem to fight a lot over drugs, and they keeping coming into your yard. They do mow it once in a while however, so you have to give them that. Further down the street you have the Chavez clan. Now these people are bona-fide fruitcakes and their raucous parties seem to be gathering in the Honduras family and others. They love threatening the neighborhood, but so far it's been pretty much all talk. Across the lake, however, things are different. That's where the Muslims live. Now most of them are OK, but they have a gang problem; gangs with names like Al Qaeda and Taliban. It's not the graffiti that bothers you so much, it's their penchant for gang violence. These gangs regularly wander into their own neighborhoods wearing explosives and then turn themselves into greasy spots on the sidewalk ... along with a few dozen of their own family members. Every once in a while they'll sneak into your neighborhood to cause problems. When you try to keep them out with security screening they scream bloody murder.

Well ... OK, so that's your neighborhood. A lot nice, but some really nasty actors out there. So tell me ... would you hold a community meeting to tell all of these neighbors that yes, you have guns in your house for self-defense, but you promise you won't use those guns to defend yourself unless you're actually being attacked by someone with a gun? "You can attack us with swords, machetes, knives, slingshots, bows and arrows, mace, grenades, possums with HIV ... you're choice ... and we won't use our guns to defend ourselves. But if you come after us with guns all bets are off.

I prefer the 23rd Psalm approach: Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for I am the meanest son-of-a-bitch in that valley.