BushCo is absolutely joyful about the Bin Laden tape, as previously diaried
here and reported in the
NY Daily news:
We want people to think 'terrorism' for the last four days," said a Bush-Cheney campaign official. "And anything that raises the issue in people's minds is
good for us."
A senior GOP strategist added, "anything that makes people nervous about their personal safety helps Bush."
He called it "a little gift," saying it helps the President but doesn't guarantee his reelection.
What a bunch of craven bastards. Calling a terror tape that threatens Americans with mass death "a gift."
But hold on just a second...
What if people saw Bin Laden and thought - why is that bastard still alive? Didn't Bush promise that he'd capture that terrorist murderer "dead or alive?" He didn't look dead or captured last night.
Well, Fox news reports (as diaried here) that some tracking polls may be reflecting that actual sentiment. WaPo reportedly saw a "big night" for Kerry, and Fox already has reported their trend:
[I]ncumbent George W. Bush leads Democratic challenger Sen. John Kerry by 47 percent to 45 percent among likely voters, according to a FOX News poll released Saturday. The president's lead is well within the poll's margin of error.
These new poll results show a slight dip in polling conducted Wednesday and Thursday night when Bush topped Kerry by 50 percent to 45 percent.
Polling was conducted Thursday and Friday evenings, so about half of those interviewed would have had the opportunity to hear reports of a new tape from Usama bin Laden.
We don't have conclusive proof that the tapes are causing a move to Kerry, but if the tapes helped Bush, the numbers would reflect a move in his favor. Instead, they are reflecting the opposite. Maybe this is the tradition "break" by the undecideds and the tape has no effect. Maybe the tape itself is pushing people to Kerry. Regardless, Bin Laden is not scaring Americans from dumping W.
So spread this news to disheartened Dems and foolish freepers everywhere: Even though Bush heartlessly thought the OBL tapes were a "gift," Americans are now actually breaking for Kerry.
Update [2004-10-30 17:11:26 by VirginiaDem]: WaPo is out: Bush lead shrinks one in LVs to 49-48, and Kerry leads RVs 48-47.
Update [2004-10-30 17:30:7 by VirginiaDem]: McCain tosses fuel in the fire, calling the OBL tape
"very helpful to the President."