I know what the bookstores are flooded with, and I know what people think they think about these things.
But you have to pay attention to my if. IF they start to fear terrorist attacks, THEN they will vote more conservative.
I’m talking about the AVERAGE liberal/semiliberal, not the frothing-at-the-mouth leftist who buys all those books you’re talking about and who can’t wait to lick the boots of the nearest jihadist.
Right now, Bush has done such a bad PR job that many people think terrorism is somehow not an issue. That could change. And the campaign is the place to change it.
I really think that the election will come down to a trade off in the average voter's mind between the likelihood of a terrorist attack vs the likelihood of themselves facing old age w/o social security and medicare.
When the baby boomers were younger wage earners, they were Reagan Republicans simply because they were entering their highest earning years and wanted the money they earned for themselves. But now, they are entering their older years and they don't make as much, and see that old age is going to come; and with it medical bills and a largely unfunded retirement.
They're scared, frankly, and they're going to vote for whomever promises to take care of them.
In my mind, this fear will far outweigh that of dying in a terrorist attack; unless the attack has already occurred and is really, really nasty. I'm guessing it has to be worse than 9-11 even. Otherwise it's security first.