Damned if you do, damned if you don’t


Mickey Kaus poses this question today: “Even if Al Qaeda does not launch Madrid-style attacks in the U.S. right before the November election, isn't it now likely that widespread worry about the possibility of attacks--with constant alerts and an intense police presence in the days before the election--will itself have an effect on the results? It's hard to believe that this effect won't be to help Bush, by putting terrorism (and not jobs or health care) in the forefront of voters' minds.”

In the wake of the Madrid bombings and the Spanish election results, it’s inconceivable to me that the Homeland Security Threat Matrix would not be raised to orange in the weeks before November 2nd. In turn, the Democrats would almost certainly denounce it as a political ploy to focus the country’s attention on an issue that helps President Bush’s re-election.