Fear and Loathing in Bushland

Tom Ridge, Homeland Security secretary during the George W. Bush administration, has given more credence to the mounting allegations that Bush and his officials attempted and successfully managed to sway public political opinion through the use of pollitically motivated fear tactics on the nation.

According to The New York Times and other sources in the media, Ridge claims in his upcoming book that, shortly before the 2004 presidential election, he was asked by the administration to raise the threat level because of a newly emerged video of Osama Bin Laden. What is unusual about this? Two things: (1) the fact that videos had not necessarily constituted grounds for an increase in the threat level until then; and (2) the strong coincidence of this increased threat level with the imminent presidential elections at the time, and the breaking of the virtual tie between Bush and Kerry that had existed in the polls up to that time.

Paul Krugmans thinks this should not come as a surprise to any of us.