At long last, Sir...

October 29, 2004 9:00 AM

Going for broke. With four days to go before the election, Bush-Cheney '04 finally pulled the last stop and started sending out anti-Kerry mailings using images of the burning World Trade Center. The ads are paid for and officially endorsed by Bush's campaign.
posted by XQUZYPHYR (87 comments total)

Actually I think the use of the image is just Bush bragging.
posted by Peter H at 9:09 AM on October 29, 2004

If that's the best October Surprise that Bush/Cheney can manage, I am officially disappointed.
posted by Hogshead at 9:11 AM on October 29, 2004

Since 9/11 happened on Bush's watch, isn't he just as culpable in letting attacks happen? IE, don't these print ads make him look worse than Kerry?
posted by dhoyt at 9:14 AM on October 29, 2004

Most of the images are from newspapers (one isn't).

Is anyone outraged at this? Bush believe he'll do a better job fighting the war on terror. Why is it off limits to use photos from this war?
posted by zelphi at 9:14 AM on October 29, 2004

*believes
posted by zelphi at 9:15 AM on October 29, 2004

Oh come on. Like Bush and Cheney knew about this tiny little pamphlet that's going to a few voters in PA. It's a local campaign office that's over-extended itself... Saying this is down to "Bush-Cheney '04" is a little silly, don't you think?

Does every teeny tiny piece of action which could possibly be construed as someone, somewhere in the Republican campaign doing something that might be a tad against the electroal rules deserve a FPP?
posted by humuhumu at 9:16 AM on October 29, 2004

hogshead, don't worry: there's still plenty of time for osama bin laden to be "found" and "captured."
posted by lord_wolf at 9:16 AM on October 29, 2004

what a bunch of turds.
posted by damnitkage at 9:23 AM on October 29, 2004

Saying this is down to "Bush-Cheney '04" is a little silly, don't you think?

Does the "Paid for by the Republican National Committee and endorsed by Bush-Cheney '04" sticker not make it clear, or are you being sarcastic?
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 9:23 AM on October 29, 2004

Wow. You know, if the Bush campaign is right in all their accusations, I think if someone just killed Kerry, the world would be better off. He's caused so many bad things to happen...

This is almost a softball made of mud.

Knee-jerk defense: You could have triple the amount of defense weapons/spending, and if your commander-in-chief shits his pants for 10 minutes in a classroom, they ain't gonna do you no good...
posted by Busithoth at 9:30 AM on October 29, 2004

look on the bright side: they showed a modicum of class by not including photos of the plane that crashed in PA.
posted by whatnot at 9:30 AM on October 29, 2004

Everything in swing states is approved by the head honchos (which would be Rove/Hughes/Mehlman/etc).

It's a sign of their desperation, and i'm expecting to see Tom Ridge on TV any minute now with a "Terror Alert." The news is killing them--the missing explosives, the FBI investigating Halliburton, the bad Consumer Confidence numbers, etc...
posted by amberglow at 9:30 AM on October 29, 2004

I read something interesting the other day about how if fear trumps anger, Bush wins. This seems to bear that out.
posted by amberglow at 9:32 AM on October 29, 2004

amberglow:

rove and hughes, of course, i know and loathe, but the name "mehlman" was unfamiliar to me.

i googled him: turns out i'm not alone in being unaware of him. found a rather disturbing op-ed piece on him:

http://www.opednews.com/kall0201_ken_mehlman.htm

thanks for bringing his name to my attention.
posted by lord_wolf at 9:36 AM on October 29, 2004

This wasn't just sent out in PA. I got one here in Columbus. I also received a Kerry/Edwards one the same day. It was interesting to compare the two.

Bush = dark, full of menacing Kerry pictures.
Kerry = bright, full of Kerry pictures and cheering crowds.

I can't say I was shocked by it. Just seems like more of the same scare tactics from cheery optimists at B/C '04.

"tiny little pamphlet," heh. Nice try.
posted by Otis at 9:37 AM on October 29, 2004

What's the President's obsession with linking Kerry specifically with Kennedy at every turn? Is Ted Kennedy that much of a boogeyman to undecideds?
posted by nakedcodemonkey at 9:40 AM on October 29, 2004

humuhumu, please tell us you we're being sarcastic. It's not too late. We so want to believe you're not that clueless.
posted by soyjoy at 9:44 AM on October 29, 2004

I should have put Gillespie on that list too. Mehlman has been on CNN a lot lately--he's creepy.
posted by amberglow at 9:45 AM on October 29, 2004

I don't mean to go will somebody please think of the children on y'all, but how in God's name will it be possible to govern after this election is over? There's so much anger and bitterness about this, one fails to see how it can be reconciled.
posted by psmealey at 9:45 AM on October 29, 2004

"I have no ambition whatsoever to use [the 9/11 attacks] as a political issue." -- George W. Bush

If Bush can't manage his own campaign, how can he manage the country?

Also, many of the defense cuts Kerry voted for were part of the post-Cold War defense cuts and were proposed by Dick Cheney when Cheney was secretary of defense.

your commander-in-chief shits his pants for 10 minutes in a classroom

C'mon, now, that's not fair. He said that "immediately following the first attack, I implemented our government's emergency response plans." Apparently the emergency response plan was to sit on his ass until Andrew Card told him America was under attack, then shit his pants. Besides, the shitting-his-pants part was only seven minutes.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:46 AM on October 29, 2004

I saw this on a commercial last night.
posted by stifford at 9:47 AM on October 29, 2004

Much as I cannot stand Gillespie (or Ken "Ratboy" Mehlman), I think Terry McAuliffe is the same kind of prick. I hope I don't end up in the same circle of hell that they're going to.
posted by psmealey at 9:48 AM on October 29, 2004

"Is anyone outraged at this? Bush believe he'll do a better job fighting the war on terror. Why is it off limits to use photos from this war?" -posted by zelphi at 9:14 AM PST on October 29

You're kidding, right? Being ironic, then? Trolling? No? Damn.
posted by loquacious at 9:51 AM on October 29, 2004

A mushroom cloud would have been better, with Osama's head superimposed over it and Kerry wearing a tutu with a crown on his head cowering in the background.
posted by cell divide at 9:58 AM on October 29, 2004

Oh come on. Like Bush and Cheney knew about this tiny little pamphlet that's going to a few voters in PA. It's a local campaign office that's over-extended itself.

Thanks for the laugh. That was the funniest thing I read all day.
posted by terrapin at 9:58 AM on October 29, 2004

Short and sweet. Seriously.
posted by loquacious at 9:58 AM on October 29, 2004

stifford, i've seen that one too--there's a better one by Kerry, with the sister of a dead soldier that shows Bush's jokes about looking for WMDs.
posted by amberglow at 9:58 AM on October 29, 2004

that Seriously one is good : >
posted by amberglow at 10:00 AM on October 29, 2004

How Did It Come To This is great too.
posted by amberglow at 10:06 AM on October 29, 2004

cell divide, that ad has been shot, and it'll go to air Sunday Night. You forgot the stem-cell foetus and the devil horns, but that's the idea.
posted by chicobangs at 10:08 AM on October 29, 2004

Since 9/11 happened on Bush's watch, isn't he just as culpable in letting attacks happen? IE, don't these print ads make him look worse than Kerry?

You're not supposed to remember what happened before 9/11, just Bush's "strong" leadership afterwards.

I've read that in American presidential elections, the more optimistic candidate usually wins (think Reagan). If that trend holds true to form, we're looking at a Kerry victory.
posted by The Card Cheat at 10:10 AM on October 29, 2004

That actually made me laugh out loud. Thanks, loquacious.
posted by psmealey at 10:10 AM on October 29, 2004

How Did It Come To This is great too.

Yeah it was! And apparently very recently created,
with use of the flipping off image and other stuff from within a week or so ago.
posted by Peter H at 10:17 AM on October 29, 2004

More interesting GOP tactics in KY Senate race.

Bunning surrogate David Williams, the Kentucky Senate president, in recent days referred to Mongiardo, a 44-year-old bachelor, as a "limp wrist."

Williams has said he meant no sexual connotation. He insisted he was speaking in athletic parlance by saying that Bunning, a Hall of Fame pitcher, is still capable of "throwing that hard pitch from the mound."


posted by Otis at 10:21 AM on October 29, 2004

how in God's name will it be possible to govern after this election is over? There's so much anger and bitterness about this, one fails to see how it can be reconciled.

That's the Bush/Cheney/Rove faction's long-term planning; to make it impossible for Kerry to do anything then blame him for not doing anything. Our nation's only hope is for the honest conservatives and moderate Republicans to rise up against the Neo-Cons and take back the party. I'm sure McCain and Schwatzenegger and others are sick and tired of defending these slimeballs just to keep from getting the "disloyalty" treatment.
posted by wendell at 10:28 AM on October 29, 2004

We need to take back the Senate too, to stop that, Wendell. Let them keep the House.

(what's going on with that? I know we're picking up Illinois and Alaska, but is that enough to tip it?)
posted by amberglow at 10:32 AM on October 29, 2004

Since 9/11 happened on Bush's watch, isn't he just as culpable in letting attacks happen? IE, don't these print ads make him look worse than Kerry?

I'm blown away at the pass Bush got for 9/11.
All of his accusations against Kerry (that he'd wait to be attacked before going after terrorists, yada yada) stink of his own process. Bush's administration actively discouraged anything being done to thwart terrorism until the towers collapsed. Then he jumped to action.
Unfortunately, that action was conceived in 1998, and had nothing to do with the attacks which gave him the mandate.

your commander-in-chief shits his pants for 10 minutes in a classroom
C'mon, now, that's not fair.

you're right, it isn't. But I can't help but read the 9/11 commission's recommendations and think that they're desperately trying to spread responsibility around, away from the president, since Bush is a prime example of how badly an ignorant, headstrong president can hamstring our defenses.

Really, it just seems too important a job to leave in the hands of the masses, who elect based on who'd they rather play quarters with.

And I'd love to see how exactly anyone could defend the President's position on terror before 9/11. Biggest_free-pass_ever.
posted by Busithoth at 10:35 AM on October 29, 2004

i love the "kerry will return us to a september 10th mentality" meme those assholes keep spouting. if only i could remember who was commander in cheif that day...
posted by quonsar at 10:49 AM on October 29, 2004

This one is amazing, and it's totally appropriate to this thread:
http://homepage.mac.com/duffyb/nobush/iMovieTheater182.html

New Rule: You can’t run on a mistake. Franklin Roosevelt didn’t run for reelection claiming Pearl Harbor was his finest hour. Abe Lincoln was a great president, but the high point of his second term wasn’t theatre security. 9/11 wasn’t a triumph of the human spirit. It was a fuck up of a guy on vacation.

Don’t get me wrong, Mr. President, I’m not blaming you for 9/11 – we have blue-ribbon commissions to do that. And I’m not saying there was anything improper about your immediate response to the attacks – someone had to stay in that classroom and protect those kids from Chechen rebels.

But, by the looks of your convention, you’d think the worst thing that ever happened to us was the best thing that ever happened to you. You just can’t keep celebrating the deadliest attack ever as if its your personal rendezvous with greatness. You don’t see old men who were shot down during World War II jumping out of a plane every year. I mean, other than your Dad. But even your Dad didn’t run for re-election based on a recession and his propensity to barf on the Japanese.

I know you’d like us all to get swept away with emotionalism and stop sweating the small stuff like the deficit and the environment and focus on what’ s really important – how you look in a fireman’s hat.

There’s a name for people who exploit their participation in historical events for political gain. They’re called the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. If you absolutely must win an election on the backs of dead people, do it like they do in Chicago and have them actually vote for you.
posted by xammerboy at 10:54 AM on October 29, 2004

Can I ask metafilter to track down which of these papers endorsed Kerry? I know the Orlando Sentinel did. The Plain Dealer sat out. Las Vegas Sun was Kerry. The Des Moines Register went Kerry. Daily News isn't listed at Editor & Publisher. I can't read the other mastheads. A little help here please.
posted by putzface_dickman at 11:11 AM on October 29, 2004

The biggest newspaper in Germany endorses Bush, fwiw.
posted by dhoyt at 11:16 AM on October 29, 2004

if you compare this to 2002's Cleland=Osama or the McCain fag-army, black-bastard-child horror of the GOP primaries 2000 this is nothing


The biggest newspaper in Germany endorses Bush, fwiw.
well, that changes everything, then.
posted by matteo at 11:24 AM on October 29, 2004

The End is Near, the End is Near, can't you see the rats running for whatever cover they can find?

The depths that the GOP is willing to stoop to in order to fear the nation into reelecting Bush is both infuriating and very sad. These are people that don't care about this country, they only care about furthering their own agenda.

They are traitors to America and should be exiled as such.
posted by fenriq at 11:29 AM on October 29, 2004

hogshead, don't worry: there's still plenty of time for osama bin laden to be "found" and "captured."

Nah, the timing would be too fishy, even to the converted.

What I'm expecting is a "November Surprise" - On Monday, they "catch" a group of "terrorists" about to "bomb" the Capitol or something - as their intended aim would be to disrupt the election, the timing isn't questioned. It becomes the only thing on the news for the next 48 hours, and somewhere in there is a 30-second segment announcing Bush's re-election.
posted by jalexei at 11:39 AM on October 29, 2004

I'm sure McCain and Schwatzenegger and others are sick and tired of defending these slimeballs just to keep from getting the "disloyalty" treatment.

Everytime I see poor McCain defend GW, I keep hoping he'll finally snap and pop Bush in the mouth. No such luck yet, sadly.
posted by jonmc at 11:41 AM on October 29, 2004

Bild may be the biggest paper in Germany, but it's also a trashy rag on par with the New York Post. It's famous for an average sentence length of three words. Frankfurter Allgemeine, Frankfurter Rundschau, Die Zeit, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Der Spiegel--these are publicatons that matter. Bild is a conservative tabloid.
posted by muckster at 11:46 AM on October 29, 2004

yes, but this is German we're talking about - you can say a lot in three words.
posted by jeffj at 12:05 PM on October 29, 2004

Everytime I see poor McCain defend GW, I keep hoping he'll finally snap and pop Bush in the mouth. No such luck yet, sadly.

You're not likely to see it, considering McCain suffers from injuries inflicted from being a POW. He can't raise his arms above his shoulder.

A nice plant to the solar plexus, though...
posted by Busithoth at 12:22 PM on October 29, 2004

The Pittsburgh Tribune Review hasn't run an endorsement.
Florida Today endorsed Kerry.
And that looks like either the Bismarck Tribune or Albuquerque Tribune as far as I can make out by comparing the masthead with the websites of the tribune papers I found. Either one of which endorsed Kerry.

.In summary:
Of the eight papers I could identify on this mailer, 5 endorsed Kerry:
The Orlando Sentinel
The Des Moines Register
The Las Vegas Sun
Florida Today
Bismarck Tribune or Albuquerque Tribune

Three have not run an endorsement:
New York Daily News
The Cleveland Plain Dealer
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

None have endorsed Bush.

Discuss.
posted by putzface_dickman at 12:43 PM on October 29, 2004

the Daily News will endorse Kerry Sunday, I bet.
posted by amberglow at 12:45 PM on October 29, 2004

" Since 9/11 happened on Bush's watch, isn't he just as culpable in letting attacks happen?"
Only I can protect you from what i failed to protect you from before. All this needs is a copy of the briefing entitled "Bin Laden determined to strike" superimposed over the top to drive the point home.

Hey Bushy supporters - how does it feel to be covered in shit?
Would you mind standing over there; it's getting a little ripe in here. A little farther. Thank you.
posted by 2sheets at 12:55 PM on October 29, 2004

Al-Jazeera to broadcast new bin Laden video
Arab TV says al-Qaida leader has message for American people
MSNBC News Services
posted by matteo at 12:57 PM on October 29, 2004

This is reprehensible. Did Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney personally vet this mailing? Unlikely.

However, as an official publication of their campaign organization, it's fair game to question them on it.

The best thing, of course, is that they don't mention that nearly all of the military projects and programs "Kerry voted to cut" were recommended for downsizing or discontinuance by Secretary of Defense Richard Cheney. Whoopsie!
posted by Sidhedevil at 1:04 PM on October 29, 2004

1. putzface_dickman, do you think any media outlet is going to do that research? The closing strategy for the Bush campaign, far as I can tell, is as follows: Here's a building, and here's a picture of Osama, and that's a fetus, and there's two libruls who want to make you go gay, and there's Jesus, and vote for me.

2. This is reprehensible. Did Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney personally vet this mailing? Unlikely.

I think they did. Otherwise why even bother with the "I'm George Bush, and I 'prove this mussage" thing at the end of everything? He's George Bush. He 'proves that mussage. As has been said, this is a swing state here, maybe the swing state. Nothing but nothing goes out to the constituents without passing through every hand twice.

and 3. the Daily News will endorse Kerry Sunday, I bet

... and the NY Post will endorse Bush until two days after the apocalypse.
posted by chicobangs at 1:16 PM on October 29, 2004

More dirtiness from ShrubCo, Bush Campaign Acknowledges Digital "Enhancement" of Photo. Funny, and here I thought we'd actually achieved the "Clone Army".

How can people still stand behind these people when they show nothing but callous disregard for our democratic process, no regard for the American people, less than no regard for them "furriners" and really only seem to care about money and favors for their big business pals.

Only a few more days, a few more days of the nightmare and then a landslide victory for Kerry and Bush gets to tuck his tail in and retire to his ranch with billions in kickbacks from his even more rich friends.
posted by fenriq at 1:24 PM on October 29, 2004

what matteo said--it's all Osama on CNN now...
posted by amberglow at 1:29 PM on October 29, 2004

Al-Jazeera to broadcast new bin Laden video

surprise! good luck, Mr. Kerry. you'll need it. good thing that something like 15% of the expected voters have already voted.

me thinks: "So Bin Laden thinks our president can't protect us. Fuck that greasy bastard, I'm voting for Bush now."

but me also hopes me too cynical.
posted by mrgrimm at 1:30 PM on October 29, 2004

FAZ is pretty damn conservative too. Did they ever adopt the spelling reforms? (I know that several publishers rejected them a couple of months ago, but I don't think FAZ ever started using them. So get used to reading "daß.")
posted by oaf at 1:31 PM on October 29, 2004

d'oh. that would be me thinking like an "average american."
posted by mrgrimm at 1:32 PM on October 29, 2004

I see nothing gained or lost in the fight against Bush by Osama appearing alive.
Much worse for all of us (in a sway the election way) if he was found to be dead.
posted by Peter H at 1:39 PM on October 29, 2004

It proves he's not captured, unlike Bush's vows. It proves he's still free to attack us. It proves we're not safer at all.
posted by amberglow at 1:41 PM on October 29, 2004

and how weird is it that there just was a tape with an American guy, and that got no traction, and now this? Something smells.
posted by amberglow at 1:43 PM on October 29, 2004

I don't think this is going to be good for Bush. bin Laden looks fairly well (so much for "he's dying of kidney failure") and he's taunting Bush about The Pet Goat--what I picked up was "as thousands of Americans were in terror, their President read a story about a little goat". How will this inspire confidence in Bush?

I've got FOX on and they're not talking about it at all.
posted by Sidhedevil at 1:44 PM on October 29, 2004

Much worse for all of us (in a sway the election way) if he was found to be dead.

Please think before you hit Post.
posted by jpoulos at 1:46 PM on October 29, 2004

indeed. i spoke too soon. i didn't realize that he referenced Kerry in the video too. still, i'm not sure how it will play with mainstream americans.

A) Bush still has a job to do, and he's the only one who can do it

or

B) the Bush Administration is completely incompetent and has allowed a leader thought responsible for the WTC/Pentagon attacks to go unpunished.

dunno.
posted by mrgrimm at 1:48 PM on October 29, 2004

jpoulos - apologies.
posted by Peter H at 1:52 PM on October 29, 2004

Not "thought responsible"-- responsible--no doubts about it--it's a fact. It's B--Osama shouldn't still be alive or around to make these tapes.
posted by amberglow at 1:56 PM on October 29, 2004

he's taunting Bush about The Pet Goat



exactly
Osama = Michael Moore
you'll see, they'll say it in 5,4,3,2,...
posted by matteo at 1:57 PM on October 29, 2004

mrgrimm, you say "a leader thought responsible for the WTC/Pentagon attacks"? I think that since a) bin Laden has said many times that he was responsible for the WTC/Pentagon attacks, and b) every sane person on the planet Earth thinks that bin Laden was responsible for the WTC/Pentagon attacks, that it's safe to say "the leader who was responsible for the WTC/Pentagon attacks" when discussing bin Laden.

I think that the "Osama bin Laden isn't going to tell me how to vote" factor is going to be far, far outweighed by the "Hey, um, Osama bin Laden is alive and well and taunting the President on TV" factor. But I've been wrong before.

I was just watching "Crossfire" and Carlson and the suit from the RNC kept trying to divert the conversation from the bin Laden tape to anything else they could talk about, from Yasser Arafat's illness to whether or not those explosives were missing before or after the US invasion of Iraq.

At one point, Paul Begala says, "Well, what about Tora Bora? Tommy Franks admitted that he was wrong about Tora Bora," and the RNC and Carlson both start shouting "John Kerry was wrong about Tora Bora too!"

I still can't even figure out what that means. I know that Kerry is a relatively senior Senator, but when last I checked, he wasn't in the command structure of the US military in any way...
posted by Sidhedevil at 1:58 PM on October 29, 2004

Matteo, I think you're wrong. Certainly, Tucker Carlson and the RNC guy couldn't seem to find any traction for Bush in this tape. Maybe Karl Rove has another point of view, but right now, all the conservatives I see on the media are just trying to make this go away.
posted by Sidhedevil at 1:59 PM on October 29, 2004

I think that by saying it doesn't matter who's president, Osama bin Laden is saying you should vote for Nader.

Ralph Nader: Osama's favorite!
posted by oaf at 2:02 PM on October 29, 2004

...because if your vote doesn't matter, you can feel free to throw it away.
posted by oaf at 2:03 PM on October 29, 2004

when bin laden is "captured" on sunday or monday, we'll be told that experts analyzed the tape for auditory cues, using a method that they can't disclose, and were able to pinpoint his location for the joint u.s./british/pakistani special forces team that went in and got him.

in order to cover up the effects of diebold and voter intimidation, the media will tell us that bin laden's "capture", though some were skeptical about the timing, gave bush enough of a boost in the swing states to make the difference.

people who complain about the timing of the capture will be seen as elitist liberals who are so blinded by their hatred for bush that they don't care about what's good for the country.

bush will appoint 4 supreme court justices, nclb will put an end to education for the disenfranchised, our children's children's children will be left paying the bill for all the actions of this administration, and that'll be that. thanks for playing.
posted by lord_wolf at 2:09 PM on October 29, 2004

Oy. I wonder how long ago this tape really showed up. Launching it just before the weekend before election day doesn't give a lot of time to authenticate it and deal with it. Strange that this happens at the same time that those 9/11 pics make it out in the Pennsylvania GOP mailings and Bush brings 9/11 relatives to the fore in today's stmpt speeches.

And Americans hate being told what to do. Even the fuckwits at The Grauniad have figured that out by now.
posted by maudlin at 2:11 PM on October 29, 2004

A mushroom cloud would have been better, with Osama's head superimposed over it and Kerry wearing a tutu with a crown on his head cowering in the background.
posted by cell divide

Pink. The tutu should be pink. And he should be carrying a sparkling magic democracy wand.

xammerboy's letter to the president; priceless.

What I'm expecting is a "November Surprise" .... jalexei

I'd be willing to lay odds that something will interupt the voting.
posted by dejah420 at 2:15 PM on October 29, 2004

stmpt=stump, of course.

Hey, lord_wolf is even more paranoid than me. Let me take some time to figure out if this makes me feel better or worse.
posted by maudlin at 2:18 PM on October 29, 2004

Hey, lord_wolf is even more paranoid than me. Let me take some time to figure out if this makes me feel better or worse.

;-)
posted by lord_wolf at 2:23 PM on October 29, 2004

i actually don't have much of a problem with the Bush/Cheney 9/11 ad, not only b/c i don't think it will be very effective.

it's still a free country (for now), and they can offend anyone they want to. the event happened during Bush's term, so it's certainly relevant. if Americans want to swallow the bullshit that the Bush Administration did everything possible to prevent 9/11 and then acted appropriately afterward, so be it. it's our job to convince people that they didn't.

on preview: every sane person on the planet Earth thinks that bin Laden was responsible for the WTC/Pentagon attacks

are you calling me insane? ;) what do we really know? all evidence points to his participation, but he certainly wasn't on the planes. if i explain to a bunch of idiots why they should destroy the Golden Gate bridge, and then they go ahead and do it, how "responsible" am i for its destruction? honestly, i wouldn't be surprised if Bush and Bin Laden are working together.

if your vote doesn't matter, you can feel free to throw it away

you're not throwing away your vote by choosing Nader. you're voting for a candidate who has virtually zero chance to win. it's not zero. it's *virtually* zero. what if Bush and Kerry both died this weekend? well, Nader still wouldn't win, but it ups his chances.

there's also the notion of protesting a system that makes it virtually impossible for third-party candidates to compete, but whatever. my fucking party nominated a candidate who's in jail, so maybe i am insane ...

it's not xammerboy's letter, it's a transcription of Bill Maher. and yes, it's brilliant.
posted by mrgrimm at 2:25 PM on October 29, 2004

I would also not be surprised if there was some sort of national 'emergency' that interrupted the voting.

To the extent I've already checked on my emergency supplies and water and such. I have a bugout bag packed. Camping supplies stacked. Etc.
posted by loquacious at 3:00 PM on October 29, 2004

i wouldn't be surprised if Bush and Bin Laden are working together.
This brings up the Saudis--what if they've been pressuring Bush to lay off Osama?

If Bush uses this to create an "emergency" to stop or hinder voting, there really will be a war.
posted by amberglow at 3:10 PM on October 29, 2004

does anyone have any additional links to the validity of this mailing? i have some 'friends' who're disputing this over the fact that the Blue Lemur site is liberally biased.

i googled for any other leads and found none.

anyone?
posted by NationalKato at 3:31 PM on October 29, 2004

Well, Otis said he recieved one in the mail. I suppose Otis could be lying and the scans could be extremely well done Photoshop pieces.
posted by Orb at 4:06 PM on October 29, 2004

that's what i'm trying to find out. citing Otis just ain't gonna cut it. anyone else receive one?
posted by NationalKato at 4:28 PM on October 29, 2004

Call a Philadelphia or Ohio newspaper and ask someone there, NationalKato. I suppose it's possible that the whole thing is a hoax; time will tell.
posted by Sidhedevil at 5:19 PM on October 29, 2004

I thought they pulled out all the stops when they implied Kerry was a VietCong operative and should have been tried for treason. That's the word among my ultra-con family.
posted by mecran01 at 7:10 AM on October 30, 2004

Bin Laden suggested Bush was slow to react to the Sept. 11 attacks, giving the hijackers more time than they expected. At the time of the attacks, the president was listening to schoolchildren in Florida reading a book.

"It never occurred to us that the commander-in-chief of the American armed forces would leave 50,000 of his citizens in the two towers to face these horrors alone," he said, referring to the number of people who worked at the World Trade Center.

"It appeared to him (Bush) that a little girl's talk about her goat and its butting was more important than the planes and their butting of the skyscrapers. That gave us three times the required time to carry out the operations, thank God," he said.

From Canoe
posted by five fresh fish at 10:10 AM on October 30, 2004

citing Otis just ain't gonna cut it. anyone else receive one?

OK Sparky. Is the NY Times good enough for you?

One piece sent by President Bush and the Republican Party attacked Senator John Kerry's record on terrorism with an advertisement that contains several images of the World Trade Center smoking and burning. The caption: "How can John Kerry lead America in a time of war?''
posted by Otis at 7:36 PM on October 30, 2004