Maybe we need to be more concerned

[EstimatedProphet]

We have all talked a lot about the October Surprise: maybe it will be the capture of Bin Laden; maybe it will be another terrorist attack, maybe it will be hacked voting machines; maybe it will be something we haven't thought of yet.
Well, here's a scary thought for everybody: what if it's all of those? What if all of them happen, and more, 2 days before the election? what if on Halloween they capture Bin Laden, and 2 hours later, there's another terrorist attack that's amazingly foiled at the last minute, and the next day Saddam shows us all where the WMDs are?
If all those things happen, the press will be so stunned that the only possible message to come out will be that Bush is the Second Coming. In an environment like that it would be easy to hack the voting with electronic boxes and have no one even discuss it.
What if these things are tried, but the groundswell is even more anti-Bush? Maybe then they'll try another terrorist attack and declare emergency suspension of the elections. The idea has already been floated.
I do not trust these monsters in any way at all, save that I am positive they will do anything, no matter how underhanded, to get their way. We have no meaning to them whatsoever, except as things to be used. I firmly believe that. And if you believe that, you have to come to the same conclusion that they will not simply abide by the results of anything as common and plebian as an election.

[Norquist Nemesis]

1. Maybe it will be none of them.

They'll just steal it! (seriously)

[EstimatedProphet]

3. Yes, but...

what better way to steal the election than by throwing in so many earth-shaking news events that people even forget to question the results?

[Norquist Nemesis]

8. Yes, but they've been throwing those at us for the last 4 yrs.

[EstimatedProphet]

10. Which is exactly why it will work in their favor

Sometimes I think the last 4 years have been just for training the public...

[Spiffarino]

2. I hate to have to agree, but...

...I have to agree. They do not love the United States of America. They do not love the people, or the Constitution, or our democracy. The only thing these people love is power, and I believe they will stop at nothing to preserve it.

Be prepared.

[Joylaughter]

4. Why wouldn't they do these things over four years?

If they produced Osama anytime before October, it would be more credible proof of a successful admin. If they had founf th WMDs inthe last year and a half that would have been proof of a succful administration. Presidents that are reelected are those who roll out successes as they happen. They don't dissapoint the electorate continuously for four years and then roll out an October surprise. Kerry is the new boss. We nominated him. Let's be firm. Lets hold our ground. Lets wear our buttons and display our banners, signs and bumper stickers. Let us not waiver in our resolve. NONE OF US ARE AS GOOD AS ALL OF US. We mustn't let the August blip become a dip.

[EstimatedProphet]

6. The reason is exactly because of what you said

Presidents that are reelected are those who roll out successes as they happen.
Has Bush done that? Has he even come close? Has he even tried? If that really were all that were possible, then Bush has already lost. I'd like to think that, but the fact is, if Bush has already lost, then your argument means that he will be forced to do something besides run on his record.
This has been an administration of media image and soundbite only. There is no content to speak of. It's all smoke and mirrors.
Had Bush even tried to fix some of the problems that have occurred, he'd have a record to run on. He doesn't. He doesn't because his sole priority, and the priority of his staff, has been to get whatever cash he can for his backers, with whatever method it took to get it. That's the reason we went to Iraq-it was to make Halliburton a fortune. that's the reason behind the Patriot Act-it controls the populace so that questions don't get asked a little too loudly.
The Bush team has no record to run on, so they run on smoke and mirrors, and the bigger the fakery the better. The Swiftboat liars are a perfect example of this. There will be more.
The way the system works with media play, capturing Bin Laden a year ago wouldn't have had any effect by now. Nor would anything else. Remember Saddam Hussein? "We" caught him at Christmas, and we've had him in custody for months. How often does this even come up anymore? If they try an overwhelming production of smoke and mirrors just before the election, it will overwhelm the media in particular, which is exactly what they hope will play into our hands.
I agree with you that we need to back Kerry as much as possible, because that is the only way we have a hope of overriding the October Surprise. If we have an obvious case of Kerry's poll numbers being way up, no matter what stunt comes along it won't look right if they then have Bush suddenly come out with higher poll numbers. In order to steal the election successfully, they will have to make sure that no one believes it is stolen, otherwise it will fall flat. The sole way I can see to prevent it is to keep supporting Kerry as strongly as possible. I just hope it is enough, that's all.

[SheilaT]

5. I think that

anything is possible, and a multiple series of "October Surprises" would not surprise me in the least.

These people will do anything to stay in power. They've already floated the idea of delaying or cancelling elections, and that went over like a lead balloon. They're working real hard on destroying Kerry's credibility as well as diverting all attention from real issues (and keep in mind that any nominee would be facing equal, albeit different, vicious attacks).

And no matter what we all think on the morning of November 3, it's a long time until noon of January 20, 2005.

[grasswire]

7. shock and awe

....it could happen.

Plus, Skull and Bones members are indoctrinated into the use of chaos as a fog in which to act.

[Nordic]

9. I don't see how my being afraid will change anything

what do you suggest we do other than shake in our collective boots?

[EstimatedProphet]

11. I suggest we prepare

and keep fighting the good fight. That's all we can do really.
This is about being aware of what they could possibly do to throw the election again. If we talk about just one October Surprise we are letting ourselves in for some serious letdown if they hit us with 75 things all at once. We should be prepared to refute and examine everything, or we will be in trouble.

[BeFree]

12. Be Prepared

Thanks, EP, for keeping this in the fore-front.

They will stop at nothing to keep power. You can bet they are planning numerous actions to deceive and dupe the voting public. Hopefully Kerry's people will be able to get an inside track and leak some details of the actions before they happen.

[young_at_heart]

13. In 2000, 5% of voters decided on the day of the election

The New Yorker has a very interesting article about voters and statistics. In 2000, eighteen per cent said that they decided which Presidential candidate to vote for only in the last two weeks of the campaign; five per cent, enough to swing most elections, decided the day they voted. Pretty pathetic!

[EstimatedProphet]

14. That is bad

That's like they just walked in and flipped a coin...