Nor is the presence of America s formidable might in today s Iraq comforting to them.

Indeed, some (it is said) agreed with Kerry s policies but nevertheless gave their vote to Bush, because they felt at ease with his general attitudes.

To repeat well known, worn out positions may give us a sense of comfort. Why not stay on the safe side?

Indians cannot quite decide whether the Americans are simply naive or duplicitous either way, they are not reassured.

Moreover, if Sarkozy has eroded, perhaps fatally, the sacred symbolic nature of the presidency, his governance has failed to provide any compensating reassurance.

And in an age that is sometimes nowadays frightening or confusing, we feel reassured by the almost parental like authority of experts who tell us so clearly what it is we can and cannot do.

As a result, people may balk at the price and not want to buy the insurance. The only insurance that people might think they can afford could carry a large deductible, and if the deductible is very large, people might not feel so reassured by this insurance.