Four years ago during the 2004 presidential campaign a tape of Osama bin Laden was aired on October 29th, by Al Jazeera just before Americans went to the polls. Many surmised that it was detrimental to Senator John Kerry’s chances of winning the presidency. It was the ultimate trick-or-treat where the American electorate was tricked and where President Bush was treated to another term in office.
Just recently, Senator John McCain stated that if we keep talking about the economy, he loses and given the fact that the economy is in the tank some experts have opined it is the very reason why he finds himself low in the polls. Also one can point to where he said the “fundamentals of the economy are strong” and then stating something entirely different was truly a disconnect with the crisis at hand. The suspension of his campaign which lasted all of two days and his insertion into the bailout talks while calling for a postponement of the first presidential debate showed an instability within him. All of which called into question his ability to lead the American people through tumultuous times.
With early voting taking place within many states some polling done has shown more Democrats showing up as opposed to Republicans. One must ask what October surprise will be pulled out of the magician’s-hat for Senator McCain to ultimately win next week. Also we must ask is it already too late?
Enter our attack on the Syrian/Iraqi border as perhaps a parting gift to Senator McCain from President Bush. The NY Times reported, “An explosion on Sunday killed nine construction workers and wounded 19 others near the border of Iraq and Syria, the police in Anbar Province said.” They went onto report, “Local witnesses said they believed the blast was caused by American shelling,” I suspect this as an October surprise because I do not trust the actions coming from President Bush along with his neo-conservative friends. They are most likely alarmed that their grasp on our government is slipping away right before their eyes.
This strike just inside of Syria is part and parcel of the Bush Doctrine of pre-emptive war-fare that Sarah Palin did not know of as she was quizzed three times by Charlie Gibson within her first television interview. Given McCain’s age and her lack of experience when it comes to national security, this October surprise if it is one is detrimental to all of us especially given our current economic crisis which is still on-going.
According to TPM Election Central as of October 21st, they cite, “The new Pew poll finds Barack Obama with a big lead against John McCain, and also finds that he's made big in-roads on national security issues.” In fact, the Pew Research Survey's title in their poll was, "Growing Doubts About McCain's Judgment, Age and Campaign Conduct" In which they cite "Obama's lead widens: 52%-38%"
Could this October surprise concerning Syria be a little bit too late in the voter’s eyes? That is up to the electorate to answer come Election Day. Pew even cited, "Obama also is inspiring more confidence on several key issues, including Iraq and terrorism, than he did before the debates."
It has been McCain’s statement as of late reacting to Obama’s widening lead, “We’ve got him where we want him” that does bother me and it maybe that he was betting on such an October surprise coming from this attack within Syria’s border.
The thing we as Americans must answer for ourselves is: Will we allow this attack to change our minds especially given a failed Republican leadership in the White House? I do think that it is time that we sever this cord that only Republicans will keep us safe. Also we must question striking within a country that does border Iraq as lessening our national security.
Lastly as I close out this column and looking at the foreign markets, the Nikkei, the Nikkei and the Shanghai markets are all a sea of red. At this moment, CNBC reports in their article, Nervous investors awaiting two big events next week where they reported, “Next week is expected to mark the beginning of the US economy’s entry into a recession and the end of the Federal Reserve’s conventional monetary policy to remedy the situation.” Let us keep an eye on the ball and keep saying, it’s the economy, stupid.
Author’s email address is, xmjmac@optonline.net
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