Bush made clear that the potential for an outbreak of avian flu is much on his mind, and has had him talking with "as many (world) leaders as I could find," consulting a book he read over the summer on the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic that killed 40 million and meeting with staff and experts.

Why not just watch Outbreak? Oh, because the government is involved, silly me.

And in response to the plan, NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT. You want to get people to stay inside in case of a major flu outbreak? Go on TV and scare the crap out of them. They'll stay in. You want to make it hundreds of times worse? Put guys with guns on the street roaming around spreading the damn flu!

Bush Reads Book!