Bush wins boost from terror tape

The Guardian ^ | 10/31/04 | Paul Harris, Peter Beaumont, Jason Burke and Gaby Hinsliff

[conservative in nyc]

George W Bush moved yesterday to seize the political advantage after Osama bin Laden's extraordinary intervention in the US presidential election on Friday night.

The campaign descended into a final bout of acrimony yesterday as both sides attacked each other for making political capital out of the al-Qaeda leader's video address. But it appeared to be the incumbent who will gain any political advantage.

A Newsweek tracker poll published yesterday suggested the momentum may be moving in the incumbent's way. The poll predicted Bush to win by 50 per cent to Kerry's 44, compared with a 48-46 gap last week.

--snip---

Although ministers have been warned not to comment on the US elections, most Labour MPs are privately 'praying morning, noon and night' for a Kerry victory, as a senior minister put it. However, another minister warned yesterday of an 'emotional spasm' of anti-Bush feeling clouding the left's judgment, arguing that a second Bush term could produce benefits for Britain.

Yesterday Ladbrokes shortened the odds on a Bush win from 4/6 to 8/13, as the bin Laden video prompted a rush of money on the Republicans.

[conservative in nyc]

Tomorrow's UK news cycle has begun. Be on the lookout for "October Surprise" stories planted from the left side of the Pond. The Burkett/Bush AWOL story was originally planted the in the Sunday Times of London the weekend before the 2000 election.

[syriacus]

A FRENCH START
FOR AMERICA
Kerry / Edwards

[Rumwarthor]

After this, Bush had better win. Who would vote for the candidate that is FIRMLY backed by our ENEMY?! We want our enemies to fear and hate our strong leadership, not love its appeasement and cowardice. Whereas a strong leader will chase down and kill Osama, KERRY WILL SIT ON HIS @$$ AND WATCH OUR CIVILIANS DIE!

[CatOwner]

The snap polls are saying otherwise. I really think that a majority of Americans have completely forgotten the aftermath of 9/11. Heaven help us if we turn into another Spain. Lose this election to Kerry and we may never make it back.

[GOPologist]

Here is definition of a word that is not an October Surprise seeing as it has been known for months:

LURCH(aka Kerry)

noun

An ugly ghastly character found in ADAMS FAMILY.

Source: Halloween Learner's Dictionary.

[Heff]

I'm not buying this...did they actually do a snap poll?

[freepertoo]

I resent them implying the President used this for political advantage...I really, really, REALLY resent that!

[blackie]

Pretty snappy isn't it. :):)

~~ Bush/Cheney 2004 ~~

[eagle11]

If this OBL video is helping to raise $$$ for the Bush campaign, it must be bringing in the undecideds to the Bush camp.

[Ex-Dem]

'We don't believe anyone can argue about the newsworthiness of this latest Osama bin Laden recording. Any news organisation would have aired the tape if they had received it,' Jihad Ballout, an al-Jazeera spokesman, said.

You have got to be kidding me...

[Libloather]

The poll predicted Bush to win by 50 per cent to Kerry's 44...

Don't mess with Texans - no matter which cave you dwell in...

[vrwcagent0498]

This blogger has a great letter to Michael Moore-on (Pus Be Upon him)

Warning: Not for the faint of heart. :)

http://themiddleground.blogspot.com/2004/10/open-letter-to-michael-mooreosama-bin.html

[Jackson Brown]

George W Bush moved yesterday to seize the political advantage after Osama bin Laden's extraordinary intervention in the US presidential election on Friday night.

This is a crock (unless there is something I haven't heard and I'm looking everywhere.

Bush has NOT been the one to try and use this tape...HE is letting the tape do it's own "work". Maybe some surrogate, somewhere has said something, but Kerry (starting a hour or so after he was made aware of the tape -- is the one to try and use this to support his phony position that Bush didn't do enough to get Bin Laden.

[Jorge]

A Newsweek tracker poll published yesterday suggested the momentum may be moving in the incumbent's way. The poll predicted Bush to win by 50 per cent to Kerry's 44, compared with a 48-46 gap last week.

I hope this is right!

A FOX poll just came out showing Bush losing his lead over Kerry. What's with that?

[conservative in nyc]

It's from The Guardian of Manchester, England (or more accurately, The Observer via Guardian.co.uk). Those papers are unabashedly liberal. Take it with a grain of salt as an early warning of what might be in tomorrow's U.S. papers.

It's an attempt to influence the news cycle from abroad. That's how some October Surprises have worked. It's how they tried to get the Bush AWOL/Burkett story out last year --- Sunday Times of London first, Senatorial press conference second. All pushed by Bev Harris, who's currently shilling the DNC line on the evils of electronic voting machines. More on that here.

[fortheDeclaration]

A FOX poll just came out showing Bush losing his lead over Kerry. What's with that?

Weekend.

Tuesday there is going to be alot of double talk on why the Bush landslide was not predicted.

[sarasotarepublican]

Here's a good laugh.

The dummies at the DU think that Bin Laden's tape was intercepted by Bush Co. in Sept. and only released Thurs.

[conservative in nyc]

Last year=last presidential election year, 2000. The Burkett allegations were not new news (although the forged documents likely were).

[Mudboy Slim]

"...the bin Laden video prompted a rush of money on the Republicans."

The smart money's on Dubyuh...MUD

[GSlob]

"The dummies at the DU think that Bin Laden's tape was intercepted by Bush Co. in Sept. and only released Thurs."
Actually, OBL has been locked up in Karl Rove's basement; the tape was scripted and produced right there, and delivered to A-J in roundabout ways, which took about a week. There was no need to intercept anything, for one could have never been sure about possible duplicates...