Fred Barnes is warning us.
The problem here is that national security isn’t the leading campaign issue. And saying it should be won’t make it so. What’s needed is an event–a big event–to crystallize the issue in a way that highlights Republican strength and Democratic weakness. It was two events–the foiled British terrorist plot and the need to comply with a Supreme Court decision on handling captured terrorists–that led to the Republican mini-rally in September.
Of course there’s little time left for a major event to occur. The North Korean bomb test wasn’t big enough to change the course of the campaign. So Republicans may have to rely on their two remaining assets: They have more money than the Democrats and a voter turnout operation second to none.
Despite their commanding position with the election only weeks away, Democrats are fearful of a last-minute Republican gambit. What if White House aide Karl Rove has arranged for the capture of Osama bin Laden so it can be announced a few days prior to November 7? Rove is clever, but not that clever. Which is why Republicans and conservatives need to prepare themselves for bad news on Election Night.
You think we’re paranoid? Fred Barnes is praying for a ‘BIG EVENT’. That’s about the same as advocating one.
