Day: August 11, 2006

No more pulling your toothbrush out for a quick brush on a cross-country flight. No more "self-hydrating" on long flights with a couple of bottles of water carried on board. No more using perfume or aftershave to freshen up before landing. No more carry-on luggage on some flights or electronic devices to pass the time. No use of contact lens solution to rest travel-weary eyes.

Long, wasted hours spent standing in security lines. Delays will be routine. The passenger next to you may well be a sky marshal.

And, once again, fear in the pit of your stomach if you send your children via plane to see grandma or send your son or daughter for a semester abroad.

For nearly two decades, liquid explosives have served as a central ingredient in terrorist plots, including several targeting the United States.

From Germany to London, the Philippines, British Columbia and Pakistan, terrorists have conjured scenarios using nitroglycerine and other deadly liquids disguised in glass bottles, contact-lens-solution containers and even Tupperware.

I first met Joe Lieberman when, as a freshmen senator, he spoke to a national gathering of Scripps Howard editors here. He was instantly likable, a voice of reason and civility in the increasing babble and tension emanating from Capitol Hill. It seemed to me that here was a guy who actually believed that Democrats weren’t always right and Republicans weren’t always wrong and vise versa, that bipartisanship isn’t a dirty word and that, while there should be adherence to party guidelines, there is plenty of room for compromise.

He seems to still believe in that approach, despite the fact it has leapt up and bit him, costing him his party’s nomination for a fourth term and leaving him to test his theories further as an independent candidate. It is a tough road, full of potential expense and heartache for him and probably his old party.