The Howler Has It Right
The Woodward book has been used by Clarke et al to demonstrate the President's acknowledgement that he did not have a sense of urgency about terrorism prior to 9/11. The Howler (via Atrios) points to a different quote we should be hearing about, from that same book:

"What did Bush think about Iraq’s involvement? You’ll never learn it from your 'press corps,' but the president’s thoughts are on the record—and they tend to support Clarke’s impressions. In Bush at War, Bob Woodward quotes Bush at a crucial NSC meeting on September 17, 2001:

WOODWARD (page 98-99): As for Saddam Hussein, the president ended the debate [about immediate military action against Iraq]. 'I believe Iraq was involved, but I’m not going to strike them now. I don’t have the evidence at this point.'

According to Woodward, Bush 'believed Iraq was involved' in 9/11, although he 'didn’t have the evidence.' What a fascinating bit of text! Readers, is it reassuring to know that Bush 'believes' important things although he 'doesn’t have the evidence?' This passage certainly tends to support Clarke’s portrait of Bush-on-Iraq. But you didn’t see it mentioned last week, despite all the flap about Clarke’s troubling claim."

He's right - this seems to be a devastating quote especially since it's from 9/17, given the White House's present timeline of decisions. If you like longer rants, you'll love the Daily Howler.