Political Scare Tactics

As expected the finger pointing and quotes about scare tactics are in full melee.

Scared yet? Well, you may be soon.

What we almost certainly will see in aftermath of the alleged plot to blow up several planes en route to the U.S. is a thunderous response from President Bush and other Republican leaders.

With the midterm elections less than three months away, they will attempt to scare Americans into re-electing Republicans or risk facing instant annihilation at the hands of an evil and murderous enemy.

Choose us and live. Choose them and die. Your call.

Nice way to end the summer, isn't it?

And

But back to the fear. President Bush gave a brief speech Thursday on an airport tarmac in Green Bay. In the speech he brought up 9/11, which, of course, for him, is a synonym for fear.

Then he moved on to the real point he was trying to make, which is some people (read: Democrats) think the world is made up of sugar and spice and everything nice.

"It is a mistake to believe there is no threat to the United States of America," he said. "And that is why we have given our officials the tools they need to protect our people."

The thing I find amusing about such sentiments is that this is just as much a play to fear as the Repug play on Terrorist fear. The political brinkmanship on fear is a norm. Repugs plays the security fear, Dems play personal freedom and quagmire fears, not to mention the security fear of a different flavor (Iraq distraction, port security, etc.).

An honest editorialist would at least have clearly pointed this factor out.