Terrorism Looms Large in Presidential Campaign

Strategic Insights -

John Kerry was supposed to spend Sunday traveling through small-town Ohio and Michigan, but his campaign was also searching for a secure telephone line so he could discuss the terrorist threat announced in Washington. The threat has shaped the contest and left both campaigns worrying about the unpredictable nature of the threat, which is beyond their control. Tad Devine, a senior adviser to Kerry, said, "In a campaign there are things you can control, and things you can't control. You have to spend as much time as humanly possible worrying about the things you can control."

Key Takeaways:

  • The terrorist threat has become a pivotal issue in the presidential campaign, with both John Kerry and George W. Bush trying to address it in their campaigns.
  • News of the terror threat on Sunday stirred renewed suggestions from some Democrats that the White House was manipulating terror alerts for Bush's political gain.
  • Howard Dean, a former rival of Kerry for the Democratic nomination, told Wolf Blitzer on CNN that he was concerned the White House was playing the "terrorism card" for Bush's gain.
  • White House officials denied the suggestion, and Kerry's advisers also resisted discussing it, with Kerry's deputy campaign manager, Steve Elmendorf, saying, "I certainly hope not. You have to take them at their word."
  • Both campaigns are thinking about how the elevated alert level affects the election and about the possibility of an actual terrorist attack.
  • Mr. Kerry has begun to seize on reports from two commissions that have examined antiterrorism policies to try to undercut Mr. Bush on the subject.
  • Senator Charles Schumer, Democrat of New York, said the focus on continuing threats was evidence that Mr. Bush was highly vulnerable on this issue.
  • Kerry said he did not anticipate sending more American troops to Iraq and hoped to bring "significant numbers" home during his first term.

Statistics:

  • Three commission reports have examined antiterrorism policies over the past six months (1).
  • A terror threat is much more sobering to those who live in New York and Washington, which includes much of the nation's political and news media ranks (1).
  • 37% of voters were more likely to trust the nation's security to Mr. Bush than Mr. Kerry going into the Democratic convention (1).
  • The Sept. 11 commission has recommended changes to be implemented by the president (1).

Sources:

  • The New York Times, [book and author not specified], August [day not specified], 2004 (pg. A13)
  • Reuters, Aug 1, 2004
  • CNN, quoted by Senator Charles Schumer