Firstly, where 9/11 changed everything, we have already changed, in large part because of 9/11. We’ve seen this coming, and we’ve had the arguments over war and terrorism. Secondly, I don’t think this will give Blair a mandate to turn around and bomb someone else like Bush did – for one thing there’s nobody identifiable to bomb, and even if Blair wanted to it’s unlikely he could muster the trust and support required.

So far – and I haven’t read the papers or spoken to a lot of people about this – the general mood does not seem to be one of vengefulness per se, but of anger and sadness. I think Ken Livingstone may have swiftly and decisively set the tone with his remarks yesterday. It may be that as the shock wears off, some people turn to violence against Muslims or anyone else they identify as culpable by association. Maybe, but this is London, and I’d be surprised if it’s more than a few.

After 9/11, the Bush government was able to enact various curtailments and in some cases serious abuses of civil liberties. In our case, you could argue that Blair is already doing his best to follow suit. Maybe one effect will be to increase support for ID cards, but I hope most people realise that they would probably have had zero effect in this case.

I suppose what I’m saying with this chin-stroking think-piece is that I hope to see very few chin-stroking think-pieces about the attacks, because they’ll be unnecessary and irrelevant. We have not “lost our innocence” or anything like that, but we have lost a lot of Londoners, and a lot more are injured or distressed. Let’s remember the dead and live for those left behind.

(PS, I know it might sound like I’m trying to have the first and last word, but I’m really not. Better analysts will have better analysis, so comments are as welcome as always.)