Lame. Revealing a DUI from 25 years earlier? Hardly an “October Surprise” (or even November Surprise).
When I think “October Surprise” I’m thinking show-stopper, drop-out-of-race-now kind of revelations.
That DWI charge gutted W. days before the election and put the 2000 race into the history books, a weaker/typical republican would have conceded the race to Gore rather than fight it to the Supreme Court.
The October surprise against H W Bush (the indictment of Caspar Weinberger) came out on the Friday before the election and killed his momentum and what appeared to be a GOP victory in 1992.
You may claim it is lame (and it indeed was a lame charge) but it did have impact. Most folks feel it cost him a few points in the popular vote, and thus put the election into overtime with the Florida mess. Seems to me it almost worked.
Lame. Revealing a DUI from 25 years earlier? Hardly an “October Surprise” (or even November Surprise).
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Your memory is either very faulty or you were not “tuned in” to the 2000 Election. It was a very big freakin’ deal. It cost George W. a lot of votes and could have cost him the Election. It was scary.