One of the most successful horror cinema dynasties of all time has been the Friday the 13th series of movies. Including the original and its numerous offspring, a total of eleven films have been released. While there could be much debate as to the secret ingredient which has driven the enduring nature of these films, I would suggest that the primary reason is the eternal presence of Jason, since he typically keeps popping up in each film and scaring the bejeebers out of the legion of fans.
Simply put, if Jason were to have been completely eradicated in the first film back in 1980, there would have been no more sequels because the cause of all of that Friday the 13th induced fear was gone.
Many folks here claim that the reappearance of Osama hurts Bush, for it reminds the folks out there in middle America that Bush failed them in his promise to catch OBL `dead or alive.' To the contrary, the continuing presence of Bin Laden acts somewhat of a savior for Bush, much like Jason has been the golden boy for the producers of Friday the 13th.
Let's face it - the only issue Bush owns in this election is his amazing ability to raise the specter of fear followed by staking a claim to being best at confronting it. And to many Americans, OBL is the very face of fear. Every time that Bin Laden trots out, Ma and Pa Kettle are shaking in their boots remembering the horrors of 9-11 and associating it with the so-called resolute leadership of Der Leader.
So, it doesn't make much difference as to what Osama has to say, the simple visual invokes the memory of 9-11, that terrorism is alive and well, and Bush's popularity went through the ceiling with his tough Cowboy talk.
Some folks thought that the "October Surpise" would be the capture of Bin Laden. In my opinion, this would have been worst longer-term political scenario for Bush. If there were no more Bin Laden, like Jason, much of the fear (real or perceived) would dissipate in time, effectively removing one (probably the only) of Bush's most powerful cards from the table for controlling public opinion. Thus, it could be argued that it is in his best political interest to have OBL running around loose (or at least loosely contained) ready, in the public's mind, to unleash another round of horror on the free world.
For without fear, there would be no more Bush.
Thus, as many suggest, we need to hit hard in twisting public opinion that OBL exists because of Bush's ineffective reaction to terror. This should be the mantra of every invited Dem on the Sunday line-ups, friendly newspaper columnists, and other spin masters appearing on cable through election day. Dems must adopt this standard line in addressing the reappearance of Bin Laden versus a watered-down analysis of "this won't hurt us."