Devil's Advocate

I've been thinking about something recently. Many people believe that the President and/or his administration will allow (or perpetuate) another massive terrorist attack on the United States in 2004. The reasoning is that they will do this to insure Bush's election in 2004, allow martial law to be declared, or to get the American people whipped up in another mindless patriotic fervor so they can invade another country.

Well, I've started to think that at this point, a terrorist attack might work against the administration's schemes rather than for. They have been very sure to portray themselves as tough on terror and national security. They're claiming to be winning the "war on terruh". But if there's another terrorist attack, the people might start to think they didn't do what they promised. Them might start to think that the War in Iraq, which was supposed to help stop terrorism, was pointless. Or even that Bush's actions have stirred up more terrorism around the world.

Also, another attack would no doubt crush whatever improvement there has been in the economy and take away something Bush will try to take credit for in the his election campaign.

I know this isn't likely considering the administrations power over the media and the media's power over American public opinion. There is the fact that most people aren't too bright and their first reaction to a terror attack would be "nuke em, nuke em, nuke em, the damn arabs, kill em all!!"

But its a possiblity that a terrorist attack wouldn't be in the administration's favor....it might be TOO much.

Yes..maybe if there was another attack people may begin to wake up a little bit..but unfortunantly..the government already has the laws in place to insure their power cannot be touched[patriot act 2.passed on the day they caught saddam]..they already won IMO.its to late for america as far as freedom goes..our freedoms will be disappearing at an alarming rate. I dont think it is 100% gonna happen..but i think its very possible.No more "land of the free"..sorry..its over

[Edited on 30-12-2003 by McGotti]

......spot on, Grasshopper!

It's been nothing but a perception management mind fyyuck from the 1999 campaign to present.
Think about what was actually being packaged: A failure at academics who didn't have the grades for TCU so he needed to go the legacy route in the Ivy, a failure at business who bankrupted everything he touched and only got into those companies through family connections, afailure at leadership who left the state of Texas much much worse in every way possible than he found it.

THIS WAS MARKETED WITH THE PERCEPTION

That HE was the answer to a nation which had just cycled through a several million jobs a year growth, had thwarted attempts at domestic terror, had negotiated trade deficit fixes with our global partners and had reduced the headcount of those living below the poverty line.

So YES

Look at the small measures of tinkering to predict which perception on allowing another terror attack they'll take.
The saving grace is that they are so full of hubris/arrogance, that they feel untouchable. Every misstep that allowed a peek behind the Green Curtain as shown that, and arrogance was alway to blame.