POLL: Is it too late for a terrorist attack to help Bush?

[yurbud]

He gave that speech today.

Cheney told the Air Force to draw up plans for using tactical nukes on Iran in response to a terrorist attack, whether or not Iran did it.

They are talking up this bird flu thing.

Even if you don't believe they actually DO this stuff, you know they have to be praying for it.

But is it too late?

[Ignacio Upton]

1. I'm ambivalent, but I think people will rally to support him

The second a subway is blown up, or a suicide bomber hits a mall, Bush's numbers will be at least 60%. After that, there will be a sea of new "Support Our Troops" magnets, and questioning of the Iraq War will halt, and Democrats will regress back to their 2001-2002 spineless years for fear of criticizing the President.

[Lena inRI]

2. Haven't you heard of the "Cry Wolf moral tale" ?

After so many fake alerts to cover his ass, B* will flounder about when the real terrorist attack occurs. . .and we'll be caught in the middle of the mess.

[theantirobot]

3. any leader can make the people bend to his will

just tell them they are being attacked, and criticize the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and emboldening the enemy. A terror attack will always work.

[BeHereNow]

9. Welcome to DU and YES- You are correct

which is EXACTLY why we haven't been attacked
since 9-11.
The terrorists KNOW that another attack will only
bolster support for Bush and further enable him
to justify our occupation of the ME.
Much more to their advantage to let him keep blithering
on about the threat while more Americans die in Iraq.
The terrorists know that every day that passes
with no attack weakens Bush and his support.
Americans are sick and tired of the war and
the more time that passes without an attack
the more Americans will turn against the neocons.
THAT is what the "terrorists" want.
For Americans to wake the fuck up, take a good look
at what is being done in their names and say, "ENOUGH."
My two cents-
BHN

[newyawker99]

12. Hi theantirobot!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[No Exit]

4. I want with all my heart to answer "yes", but

the American people have let me down so much lately, I can't.

I keep forgetting that just because we've woken up (and some of you knew from the beginning) to what this man is, it doesn't mean most people have...

[pansypoo53219]

5. georgie said only HE could protect america

THIS time, he gets the blame. especially when the democrats ain't gonna play ball.

[Erika]

6. W is the worst president we've ever had, bar none

He's destroyed our image, our economy, started a useless war in which almost 2,000 of our own are dead www.icasualties.org Each day, I think it's one less day we'll have to put up with this neocon global idiot.

[grannylib]

7. It would at least get the little moron to quit pounding his podium and

intoning nasally, "Amurka and the wurld are safur" with his nauseating arrogant slimy smirk (he's pathetic when he tries to look tough...what a dipstick. The more he puts on a 'hardass' face, the more like a monkey he looks.)

[Lexingtonian]

8. yes.

The polling says his 'handling terrorism' rating is 49% approval. His overall approval rating spikes to that rating briefly every time there is a successful truly major Al Qaeda attack on the West in the West (NYC/DC, Madrid, London).

And then the 'handling terrorism' rating falls a big chunk. Basically a whole demographic gives up their magical beliefs in the efficacy of what the Bush people do (and don't do).

That's the pattern seen after '9/11' (peak to 92%, fall to 68%), the Madrid train bombings (peak to 68%, fall to 57%), and the London subway bombings (peak lasted less than a day and was in the mid/high fifties, fall off was to 49%).

The next successful major Al Qaeda attack will mean a Bush approval spike to 49% for a very short time and fall off to something like 42% or 38% within days if the pattern identified holds.

The British, Italians, and Dutch are fairly sure there's going to be a major hit on one or more of their countries within the next few weeks. What that next major attack does is crash Bush's polling ceiling from 49% to under 40%- it pins Bush into hell, politically speaking. Bin Laden now literally controls Bush's domestic power.

[longship]

10. A terrorist attack now will turn people against Shrub.

Remember the campaign promises. "Republicans will keep you safe; Democrats will put you at risk."

With the Iraq war going very sour, and people wanting it to end now, and with the Katrina and Rita disasters, and with all the corruption and the cronyism, a terrorist attack will be another grim reminder to everybody just how incompetent this administration is.

A terrorist attack would be the worst thing for Chimpy and Company.

[Blasphemer]

11. He would get a sizeable (plus 20%) but short lived bump

People will rally around him citing that it's not the time for divisiveness but it won't have any real affect on their opinion of his presidency and the direction the country is headed in. After the initial rallying, the questioning will begin and it will be more virulent than it has been up to this point. The long term affect after he fails to explain another security breakdown would be approval ratings near Nixon's worst.

[in_cog_ni_to]

13. Yes. He's suppose to be keeping us "safe", remember?

We have an attack now, it will only show how truly incompetent those people are.

[bj2110]

14. No, another attack proves the fallacy of the war. It didn't work.

[DaveJ]

15. I chose yes the public will see through it

but to be honest I chose it because I think it's important we stay positive. In all honesty I think our fascist leaders are excellent at controlling the minds of enough of the population they need to win. There is no lie they won't tell, nothing they won't do. Whatever they do will be very near the election so that we won't be able to disseminate what's going on until it's too late.