I think this is a big mistake...
WASHINGTON - The Republican Party will begin airing a hard-hitting ad this weekend that warns of more cataclysmic terror attacks against the U.S. homeland.
The ad portrays Osama bin Laden and quotes his threats against America dating to February 1998. "These are the stakes," the ad concludes. "Vote November 7."
Brian Jones, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, said the ad would run on national cable beginning Sunday, but he declined to discuss specifics of the buy.
The commercial tracks with Republican Party strategy to make the war on terrorism a central theme of this election. It will air as recent polls show Republicans losing ground as the party best able to combat terrorism.
Last month, President Bush made the war against terrorism a recurrent topic in public appearances. But his message was drowned out by the e-mail sex scandal involving former Republican Rep. Mark Foley of Florida and by increasing fatalities in Iraq.
The ad displays an array of quotes from bin Laden and his top lieutenant, Ayman al-Zawahiri, that include bin Laden's Dec. 26, 2001 vow that "what is yet to come will be even greater."
The ad is also featured on the RNC's Web site. The party said the ad, called "The Stakes," will be e-mailed to millions of GOP supporters, activists and the state parties.
Look, it may technically be true that the Republicans are better at fighting terrorists and defending this country than the namby pamby globalist Democrats but, the message will be missed because it will look like sneaky, 11th hour, election trickeration. It comes across like Johnny Cochran's last minute race-card trick in the OJ trial. Scaring Americans into voting for Republicans is the wrong way to go about getting re-elected. If the Democrats bring it up, that's different, but American voters don't like the smell of desperation in a political Party and I predict the firestorm of negative press this move draws will keep conservative voters home. It just doesn't look like the move of a Party that expects to win.
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