Bummer. I’d hoped he was buried under rubble. What to make of the rant? The parroting of idiotic Michael Moore points was a little pathetic for an alleged spiritual mastermind. And the re-calibration of the rationale for 9/11 – again retroactively talking of Palestinians – was the usual vile opportunism. But why release a tape just before the elections? The obvious impact will be to help Bush. Any reminder of the 9/11 attacks will provoke a national rallying to the commander-in-chief. The deep emotional bond so many of us formed with the president back then is Bush’s strongest weapon in this election, and OBL has just revived it. The real October Surprise turned out not to be OBL’s capture (sorry, Teresa!) but OBL’s resilience. I have a feeling that this will tip the election decisively toward the incumbent. A few hours ago, I thought Kerry was headed for victory. Now I think the opposite. I also have a sinking feeling that that was entirely bin Laden’s objective.
ARABS FOR BUSH: Some surprising supporters for the president amng Arab regimes. Money quote:
The Iraq quagmire may also explain why Hasan Rowhani and some other Iranian officials (though not, by any means, all of them) would like Bush to have a second term. So long as the US is bogged down in Iraq, it cannot seriously contemplate toppling the regime in Iran – or, for that matter, in Syria. Prospects for the US remaining bogged down look rather better under Bush than Kerry.
Not exactly on Karl Rove’s message, but good enough.
ELLIS ON BUSH: Yes, he’s biased. He’s Bush’s cousin! But he’s also smart, sane and a friend. Here’s John Ellis’ take on the election:
Someone asked me the other day why I supported President Bush, “aside from the family thing” as he put it. I said I was supporting him because I thought he understood The Issue at stake better than anyone alive. And because he cared about that issue completely. And that he was on the right side of that issue from day one and every day thereafter. And that he was devoted to committing this nation to a course of offensive engagement with the terror apparatus that might, just might, save us all here in the United States. The issue, of course, is the fight against Al Qaeda, its associates, enablers and like-mindeds.
The President Bush I read about in the papers and the newsweeklies and the blogs bears almost no resemblance to the President Bush I know and visit with from time to time. (I’ve never seen media as blatantly dishonest and biased as we have all seen this year.) The man I know is smart, extraordinarily disciplined, enormously hard-working, open to new ideas and approaches, decisive, shrewd and gifted with a keen sense of the possible. He is decent and honest and true, which cannot be said of many of his critics.
Has he made mistakes? Yes he has. Do they warrant his retirement? I don’t think so. Because over-riding everything is the issue and on this issue President Bush has been steadfast and strong and right as rain, while his opponent has rambled and waffled and weaseled every which way.
Our enemies will brace for four more years of hell if Bush is re-elected. They will celebrate if Senator Kerry wins.
Here’s to four more years of hell.
That last sentence might have been better formulated. But, look, this is not an easy call. As I’ve said before, it’s a choice between incompetence and irresolution. The question we have to ask is: can we afford four more years like the last one, when our enemies foiled us in Iraq, when our intelligence fell apart, when our moral standing was undermined, and when our president seemed unable even to recognize difficulties, let alone fix them? Kerry is a gamble we cannot know in advance. Bush is a gamble whose recent performance is execrable. I begrudge no one an honest decision, and I won’t be heartbroken by either result. (I just pray for a clear result, that’s all.) But those are the terms.
The Dish 