the Bush/bin Laden "October Surprise"
Anonymous Liberal mentions a revelation from Ron Suskind’s The One Percent Doctrine that hasn’t gotten much attention yet: bin Laden’s pre-election endorsement of Bush. (Of course, he didn’t come right out and say it, but that’s obviously what he intended.) The CIA noted that “bin Laden's message was clearly designed to assist the President's reelection," and the acting director observed that "Bin Laden certainly did a nice favor today for the president."
AL has several quotes from the mainstream conservative media, whose mouthpieces consistently spun bin Laden’s tape to impugn John Kerry instead. He concludes by saying
Well, irony of ironies, al-Qaeda's real goal was apparently to get Bush re-elected, and it succeeded. All "without firing a shot." I wonder if the President ever sent Bin Laden a thank-you note.