This just seems like such a poor strategy to me but let me see if I can get it straight.
We were attacked on 9/11 by 19 terrorists who hijacked 4 airplanes in American airspace. The mission was spearheaded by Osama Bin Laden. After the attack, the country, then united against the threat posed by terrorism, invaded Afghanistan yet let Osama Bin Laden get away at Tora Bora because not enough ground troops had been committed there.
Then, in the face of that screw-up, in order to keep the public behind them, the GOP, led by none other than George Bush, took us to war in Iraq where thousands of soldiers have died, tens, if not hundreds of thousands (possible in the range of 665k+) of Iraqis have died, up to 1 million Iraqis have been displaced, Bush himself has admitted that Iraq could be compared to Vietnam, the US military has admitted that the security situation in Iraq is a failure, and now, an Iraqi militia has completely taken over an Iraqi city.
So what else are embattled Republicans to do when the stakes are so high and their prospects in the 2006 elections are looking more and more grim? They trot out Osama Bin Laden
Republicans took a page from President Johnson's Cold War-era presidential campaign with an advertisement set to air this weekend called "The Stakes," which prominently features al Qaeda leaders threatening to kill Americans.
...
The ad features al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and his top lieutenant, Ayman al-Zawahiri, speaking, but the only sound is a ticking clock in the background. The terror leaders' quotes are posted on the screen and key phrases in the quotes stand alone as the rest of the quote fades out.
In one instance, bin Laden is quoted as saying, "With God's permission we call on everyone who believes in God ... to comply with His will to kill the Americans." As the text of the quote fades out, "kill the Americans" remains on the screen.
Another bin Laden quote: "They will not come to their senses unless the attacks fall on their heads and ... until the battle has moved inside America" -- fades out, leaving only "inside America" on the screen.
Meanwhile, footage of terrorists engaged in martial arts and weapons training rolls in the background. One scene shows terrorists traversing monkey bars over fire.
And of course, knowing that they are losing massive amount of support for this war, they decide to use someone
else's strategy and have conjured up former President Johnson and his presidential ad campaign.
The ad plays off of Johnson's powerful "Daisy" ad, which CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider called "the most famous political ad in American history." Johnson used the ad in his successful re-election bid against Barry Goldwater.
In the "Daisy" ad, a small girl counts to 10 as she picks petals from a flower. When she reaches 10, the camera zooms in on her eye and an ominous voice counts backward from 10 to zero.
When the countdown reaches zero, a nuclear bomb explodes, followed by Johnson speaking.
"These are the stakes to make a world in which all God's children can live or to go into the dark," Johnson says on the ad. "We must either love each other or we must die."
Of course, something is different this time around and it should be pointed out.
A voice follows Johnson's, urging viewers to re-elect the Texas Democrat and says, "The stakes are too high for you to stay home."
Now don't let the ad fool you. It certainly isn't fooling the DNC.
The Democratic National Committee issued a statement saying the new Republican ad was an attempt to distract voters from GOP failures.
Those are the issues. The GOP has failed on so many fronts, both domestic and foreign.
So is it any surprise that when under fire from all sides and unable to resonate a message with the voters who have turned sharply against them, they not only recycle a Democrat's ad, but they trot ol' Beezelbub himself, Osama Bin laden.
By the way, where is Osama Bin Laden? I don't think that was touched on in the ad...
[NOTE] - Mind you, this is the same Osama who, according to Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter is "irrelevant" and who George Bush is not too concerned with since he's been marginalized.
So why trot out an irrelevant, marginalized terrorist whom the President of the United States himself is not too concerend with? How does that possibly resonate with voters?