Monday, September 20, 2004

Name the October Surprise

I invite readers to submit entries to the "Name the October Surprise" contest by answering this question: "What do you think is a possible October Surprise that Bush will announce in order to try to win a close election?"
This contest emerges out of history -- political history and Bush history.
First, a president or party in power with the ability to create reality or affect events has in the past tried to influence elections with late revelations. The best modern example occurred in 1972 when then National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger announced at the end of the Nixon-McGovern campaign that "peace is at hand" with Vietnam. This was near-perfect example of an O.S. because it provided an upbeat answer to a vexing problem for the incumbent...and couldn't be disproven by Election Day.

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