Thursday, October 07, 2004

Primary Colors: Lots of people are expressing their cynicism regarding the Department of Homeland Security's color-coded Terror Alert. I can see why Jon Stewart or Jay Leno would make fun of what is essentially a terrorist-threat mood ring. But some people really believe the alert system is just a political tool for the Bush administration.

Frederick Maryland started a pool a few weeks ago attempting to predict when the whole country would be put on Orange Alert (He picked October 4, but no money was wagered). The expectation is that Bush needs to scare people to remind the voters that he's commander in chief of a nation at war.

Kevin Drum found a study that determined that Bush gets a 2.75-percent increase in his approval rating whenever the alert level is raised. That bump lasts for about a week, then comes back down. That leads Mr. Drum to confidently predict that the alert level will be raised within a week before Election Day. I criticized the cynicism in his comment section, and of course Mr. Drum's extremist entourage began lobbing profane insults at me. I have a lot of respect for Kevin Drum and his opinions. I have hardly any respect for his commenters. They are an embarrassment to everything he believes in.

Then of course there was Michael Moore, who went so far as to call the Orange Alert "fictition". The guy is a moron.

The truth is, we know the terrorists like to coordinate their attacks with elections (ie, Spain). And we know that they desperately want to influence the elections in the United States. That's not because they prefer John Kerry to George W. Bush. It's because they want to show their power by changing the results of the presidential elections.

It should be common knowledge that the terrorists are going to try something just before the election. It would be irresponsible of the Bush administration NOT to raise the terror alert level before Election Day. Sure, they won't mind the insignificant political bounce, but they still have a job to do while in office.

Whenever the alert level is changed, it means something. My building beefs up security, bringing in extra guards and only allowing people with pass keys to enter. And fire, rescue, and police organizations across the country undergo substantial staffing and procedural changes when the alert level is raised. While many people don't pay the alert status any mind, others depend on it. The color-coded system is the most effective way to get the word out.

When the terrorist alert is raised, it's fine for opponents to remind people that this is no reason to give Bush another four years. But to publicly accuse him of doing it purely for political reasons is ridiculous. Critics say Bush is just spreading fear. But his critics do the same thing. Terrorists have already attacked us and killed 3,000 Americans. Bush warns us to fear the terrorists. His opponents tell us to fear Bush. One warning has more credibility than the other.