While Ms Rice was at the National Security Council, the theory goes, she was the swing vote between Mr Powell on one side and Dick Cheney, the vice-president, and Donald Rumsfeld, the defence secretary, on the other.

ECONOMIST: The Bush reshuffle

When a job becomes available, someone who claimed Social Security at 62 can, in theory, return to work and pay back benefits received without interest, then wait until a later age to claim a higher check.

FORBES: Gulf Between Rich And Poor Seniors Could Widen

In an extraordinarily thoughtful cover article in this week's edition of the New Republic, Bill Clinton and Al Gore's favorite magazine has eviscerated the theory that passes for a security policy in the Clinton-Gore Administration: the notion that "globalization" is making the world safe for American interests in the absence of a credible U.S. capability to defend them.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Center For Security Policy

In theory, the Medicare and Social Security trust funds have at least some money to pay a portion of the bills that are coming due.

WSJ: Cox and Archer: Why $16 Trillion Only Hints at the True U.S. Debt

This theory is based mainly on the fact that security researchers have been breaking OS X, Safari and the iPhone OS on a regular basis.

FORBES: Is Apple Getting Serious About Security?

And it is those essential services with the added security in their lives that the thought is and the theory is that then they will become more connected to their local officials who are providing those services, and also indirectly more connected to a central government which is providing the funding for those essential services.

NPR: Is the Iraq Surge Strategy Working?

In theory, the liquidation of IBRC and enforcement of its security by NAMA should mean that the Ministerial guarantee and counter indemnity from IBRC to honour this guarantee are in place and the enforcement of NAMA on its security in the acquisition of the Facility Deed ELA means the indemnity on the IBRC assets to honour the ministerial guarantee comes into play.

FORBES: Euro Exit Scenarios

The theory is that that helmeted cyclists are lulled into a false sense of security and therefore take greater risks than their more vulnerable counterparts.

BBC: Cyclist

Putting theory into practice, he dispersed the troops in Iraqi neighborhoods, in small outposts called Joint Security Stations.

NEWYORKER: General Principles