Back in the '90s I spent much of my spare time volunteering with a group that supported women's reproductive rights. As part of that mission the group worked at keeping track of various violent Wing-Nut organizations: bombers/arsonists/assassins against women's clinics, neo-Nazis, etc. We were always especially vigilant around April 19 and 20.
The Oklahoma City bombing was on April 19, 1995. A day or two after, my daughter and I were visiting neighbors who were hosting a small house-warming party. The wife was my daughter's schoolmate. The husband was a naturalized American citizen originally from the Middle East.
As we chatted, the husband expressed his fear that some extremists from his part of the world were responsible for carnage in Oklahoma.
"No," I said. "Some of the militia people did it."
He looked surprised and asked, "Who are the militia people?"
I gave him a brief run-down:
The Republican noise machine makes sure that the crazies are out in force whenever there is a sitting Democratic president. (Short digression to explain "citizen militias.") That was reason One for my prediction. Reason Two: the date. Reason Three: Oklahoma City? Foreigners would have chosen some place they had heard of.
President Bill Clinton's response to the tragedy was just what it should have been.