Are we getting an October Surprise in 2008?

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No election in November due to manufactured emergency.

Here what I think the surprise will be. No surprise. Sure, they may be a Rove tactic out there that they will hold onto until right before the election, but it won't have enough weight to battle to fatigue the American public feels toward republican now. And really, republicans sliming their opponents...is that a surprise. Most of us are waiting for it. Up until the day Bush leaves office they will pillage and plunder this country for all its got, as they have been doing for the last eight years. The republicans aren't acting like a party with an ace up their sleeve. They are acting like a party that is ransacking the grocery store after a hurricane. So, Democrats win the election, and the republican party plots and plans to diminish any accomplishment Obama can ever achieve, then they swoop back in in 2012. After all they have done, how can anything they do be a surprise. If Bush were to stand in the Rose Garden before the press and pull of a mask to reveal a alien form beneath and declare the Earth now in the hands of an intergalactic empire, I would not be surprised at this point. Also, as far as martial law being declared, remember the way New Yorkers responded to Guiliani's effort to suspend elections after 911. It didn't happen.

Actually the term "October Surprise" was used before 1980. I recall it being used, by Republicans, as early as 1962, because of the Cuban Missile Crisis that occurred in October 1962, just weeks before the Congressional elections. The Republicans claimed that JFK had deliberately contrived the crisis, primarily by postponing revelations about missiles in Cuba, until just before the elections. ________________________ In fact, this accusation was based on very flimsy evidence. Yes, it was true that a lot of Cuban refugees arriving in the US had told the US government about seeing "rockets" arriving from the USSR ... but these witnesses couldn't distinguish between the smaller defensive, anti-aircraft rockets, and the larger offensive missiles. It took considerable espionage for the US to verify exactly what sort of missiles were being installed. __________________________________ Right now the Republican "October Surprise" may be in place four months early with the gasoline crisis, as a means to provide Dubya and his oilmen buddies a going-away gift of the privilege of drilling wherever they please, even in previously sacrosanct wildlife and wilderness preserves.

A better question would be "What CAN'T happen? The evil bastards screwing over all of us are capable of ANYTHING, including another 911, and possibly with a nuclear device this time. Sounds horrific, but look at the total disregard for human life the bushie degenerates have shown so far. Another possibility is that they just may pack it in and fade away with the hundreds of billions of dollars stolen from us, unless they're gone after by an Obama administration after they're out of power. In any event, if the bushie rat bastards aren't brought up on charges and put in prison for the rest of their miserable lives, NOTHING will change, and we'll continue down the greased chute to national destruction.

Reuters just released the lsit of Obama's foreign policy team, starting with Madeline Albright. You know, I look at these names, starting with Madeline (500,000 dead Iraqi children are worth it) Albright, and Lee (Iran Contra and 911 coverup artist)Hamilton, and have to say that this is ridiculous. The others are basically the same--neocon lite. The people are being played with the bad cop good cop routine, and regardless of the argument about a better Supreme court, the trend is easy to spot. They are basically saying, screw the people, deceive them with not the Audacity, but the Foolishness of hoping to expect anything better from Obama but business as usual. And please note that with Lee Hamilton and Tim Roemer on the panel, you can forget about an Obama led real inquiry into 911. That's IF, there even is a real honest election, which would be a big surprise in itself.

This is all so profitable for Bush & Co., and they haven't even started offshore drilling yet. The suspension of habeas corpus, bills passed by congress to broaden presidential powers, even the dress rehearsal by Musharak, threaten martial law. The Bush boys were not raised to have the attributes of presidents, but of dictators.

Republicans will do their 2nd 9-11.

Cheney is dying to go after Iran, has been for years. Cooler heads have
prevailed, but we may be shocked but shouldn't be surprised if Cheney gets
his way before November.

Colleen Clark
Cambridge, MA

John McCain endured as a POW in the Hanoi Hilton for over 5 years. For that alone he rightly deserves serious respect and admiration as a survivor of war. However, his historical record does not justify the myth of John McCain as some kind of war hero. In combat, he mostly bombed civilian targets over North Vietnam. He got shot down in the process of bombing a civilian third world electricity power plant. That was mostly the nature of the air war in Vietnam by the US at the time. Massive air attack against a much weaker enemy target. North Vietnam endured countless megatons of high explosives from B-52 Stratofortress heavy bombers. Relentless carpet-bombing against civilian targets. Civilian casualties beyond belief. McCain's Naval A4 Skyhawk fighter-bomber was just another smaller payload of tactical death and destruction. John McCain the Third aspires to the the US Presidency in 2008. Why are there so many US Vietnam Veterans seriously opposed to him? Why are there hundreds of thousands of web-pages on the Internet about McCain the Songbird. Lots of them say McCain rolled over and did whatever he could to survive his initial capture and obtain medical attention. He sang like a bird. Republican attack machine Swift-boated John Kerry in 2004. It was ugly, dishonest, but politically successful. Kerry was a real combat war hero but the Rove Republican bullshitted and conned the US media so well that it was Bush who got credit for his non-existent Vietnam war service. Of course Bush was undeniably MIA at every moment of that war. But the low information voters in 2000 and 2004 never understood this too well. In 2008, John McCain needs to explain why he recorded lots of negative criticism about his own government during the Vietnam War. It's all there on the public record. Radio and film broadcasts, press interviews by the North Vietnamese. Subsequent autobiographical fantasies and spin stories. Hey John, how does this make you a war hero???

As in the last election "the Bush family' will again deal with the Saudis and gas will drop to $2.00 a gallon and the masses of short term thinkers will fire up their SUV's and go vote for McCain. As in the book "Dealing With The Devil" By an X CIA agent states it we sold our ass a long time ago for Saudi crude. Get The Book, it will open your eyes!

Bin Laden will be killed. He cannot be captured and brought to trial, because his testimony could create major problems for the Bush/Cheney cartel. He's of no further use to Bush now and should he be caught alive and interrogated he could implicate the Bush administration in a number of crimes and possibly treason. No, Bin Laden will be killed. There will also be increased terrorist threats and perhaps a "thwarted" attack or two released to the press. We'll see the threat level increased, that color coded threat level that makes a great graphic on the evening news. Also, about late September, that increased Saudi oil production should start to reduce gas prices, just in time to make an impact on the November elections.

REMEMBER THIS NOVEMBER.... JOHN MCAIN AND THE GOP WILL FALL!
(Along with mob mentality, short cut band-aid solutions, hypocritical presidents and fascism)

SURPRISE! SURPRISE! SURPRISE! (in the words of Gomer Pyle!)

– SPMOSHER - Santa Fe, NM (Just like Mexico... only new & improved with that classic Mexican taste!)

Mc Cain’s presidential bid will crash as 5 planes that he had piloted. Wouldn't be surprised when Mc Cain is taken out of the race that his replacement is Jeb Bush. People are worried about Obama's safety, I'm worried about Mc Cain's Safety/health. Injecting a sympathy angle with a national security scare after Mc Cain’s demise would be a Republican operatus modi event to overcome Mc Cain's dismal showing once all his baggage is exposed. Many of our WWII GI’s returned from German and Japanese POW camps that were far more torturous and deadly than Mc Cain’s preferential treatment. They nowhere near received POW war hero status that Mc Cain has enjoyed and which he has shamelessly used to his advantage because of his sense of entitlement. When checking his actual voting record he is not even as much a maverick as Ronald Mc Donald. At least Ronald Mc Donald cares about his constituency by re-investing his money in charitable organizations for children. Mc Cain refuses to invest our money into our Veterans health and welfare. True Heroes, especially our civilian soldiers (reservist/national guard troops) on their 4th and 5th tour, are losing their civilian life, jobs and sometime families, if not their lives in a manufactured war. Mc Cain is worst than a hypocrite, he is a traitor to every military person in and out of uniform, but I fear for his Safety and health.

pretty easy question, solved by using riddle-like batman criminal logic. Newt Gingrich revealed the plans with his rant on Face the nation, last sunday june 15th. check out the logic and the wing he goes out on about the Supreme court decision about the Gitmo detainees. (the scapegoat for the suprise was/is to be a former detainee) Ask yourself who is the enemy, and look at what party has been attacked with terrorism in the US. You don't see any anthrax or buildings collapsing in Houston in the last 8 years. Nor do you see any effort winning an election by the Party that has not been attacked. so I say, there will be no election. the "october suprise" will come in the form of a devestating blow against the Party that has a chance to stop the evil wingnuts in the next election. (you know the line: "they hate our freedom") Where will the final blow come from? Listen to the Architects of the Iran war: "You have to remove the head". Where are all the heads going to meet Aug 25-28, 2008? Who has been having problems managing their nukes? What militia is operating as security without congressional oversite? All I can do is vote for hope, whenever we will be allowed to vote again. thanks for the rant space, good luck and may a Godlike thing be with you....

No rate hike from the Fed before November 7; steep rate hikes from the Fed after November 7; pundits claiming it wasnt political.

An attack on Iran will result in oil and gas prices that will send the global economy into massive recession / depression. Gates and the Joint Chiefs Of Staff obviously know this. They also know the huge risks to US Forces stationed in Iraq. Shiite militias would retaliate in ways not yet seen there. Russia and China have huge energy investments in Iran They might also retaliate against an attack on their critically important trading partner. Perhaps economically. Maybe Gates and the Joint Chiefs might even be having some strong thoughts about the thousands of nuclear warheads currently deployed by Russia and China. It is imperative that potential consequences of an attack on Iran be rammed right down the throats of the US media and and the remaining fans of war in the US political establishment.

would be to see that bloody bastard bushwa, and his dick, and most of this scummy lying administration (most of the congress critters included) in Hague, answering for the war crimes they committed. I know, it is only a dream. But a nice dream it is.

I'll try again since my first effort was lost in the cosmos. With the manipulations of the terror alerts fresh in my mind from the last presidential election, October surprises are highly likely. I agree that among the potential October surprises is the discovery of a dead or alive bin Laden. There will also be a high-profile terrorist event against American interests somewhere in the world and/or possibly the U.S. Several terrorists cells will be raided and cranky-looking young middle-easterners will be paraded handcuffed in front of the media (all cases will be dismissed in mid-2009). This will be easy since there are always a handful of wackos (terrorist sympathizers, skin-heads, just plain nut jobs)plotting something. The FBI know where they are as we speak. As for an Iran attack - always possible. Just under the radar is the re-emergence of the Kosovo/Serb/Albanian problem. This one doesn't even need to be contrived...it's lurking & the Bush people may push it to the forefront. As for Jeb Bush replacing a tired, warmongering, adulterer (it's in the bible; Mat 19:9)- I doubt it. Nobody wants to see the name Bush front and center for decades. Romney, the corporate wh*** and the cartoonish radical right-winger, Huckabee are non-starters as well. As for Rice - she even gives Hillary a run for her prevarication money.

This administration has plenty of choices to spring on us for an October surprise. Will it be the release of millions of barrels of oil from the National Petroleum Oil Reserve, so that the price of gasoline and heating oil is lower in time for the election? Or will it be another 911-type "terrorist attack" (this time, a false flag operation designed to look as though Iran is to blame) to scare the bejesus out of us, so that we turn to a Republican big daddy to save us? Time will tell! bodicca

While I whole heartedly agree that any and all of these scenerios are possiable if not even likely, What does it say that we have to have this conversation about these repugnant Lying S.O.B.'s Who Have stolen our country?

The Republicans will merely writhe, lash, coil, foam, blow fuses - racism will be apparent - hope of assassination will be apparent. Discipline will not be apparent. McCain will try to have his base both ways. Any attack on Iran will probably be met with united opposition from the Democrats. The Republicans had hoped for a candidate that would not clearly and forcefully oppose it. Without hope of dividing the Democrats, there will be ever less point. I was very concerned about this for the last 2 years - now, I am feeling more optimistic that it wont happen. The surprise will be: a Landslide.

Between collusion with the Saudis, oil companies, and possible opening of reserves, gas prices will sharply decline in October.

I'm reading Mary Mapes' Truth and Duty, and what strikes me in the early pages is how unprepared they were at CBS for the onslaught of the right-wing slime machine. Within 24 hours they were prostrate under a tsunami of lies, false accusations, invective, and sheer screaming. We can expect much more of the same between now and November. But we have to understand, it's how we react that grants the slime machine credibility or shows them for the lying imbeciles that they are. You don't defend yourself from the tidal wave of lies with endless parries and "no, here's proof I'm not a Communist," "no, I am an American, here's my birth certificate" and so forth, so much as you counterattack by attacking the attackers. While you're defending yourself from Lie A they are slamming you with Lies B, C, and D and preparing an entire alphabet soup of lies to keep hitting you with. Go after the attackers instead. Go after the Bush-McCain slime machine, rip the curtain down, show them for the lying swine they are, and gut their effectiveness at the core. As for a more dramatic October Surprise, there's only so much we can do, but my suggestion is twofold: one, if Bush does something insane like launch unprovoked attacks on Iran on Monday morning, we impeach the hell out of him on Monday afternoon. Two, I can only hope that there are military commanders with the guts, the patriotism, and the common sense to stand up and say, "Hell no" to their supposed "commander in chief." You don't obey a CinC who betrays your military and your country.

If McCain really does step down and Jeb Bush tries to run we have already won. Who in the world (but 28%)wants another Bush in office?

I am afraid that Jeb Bush will replace McCain. Bush has already said that we should now elect him.

I don't think Bush wants to stay in any more. I'm not too concerned about a martial law scenario. I think the only real surprise will be at the great expense of the Republicans with the gas prices crippling the economy, and hopefully Obama's using the cost of living and the Republican's refusal to even consider a windfall profits tax or anti-gouging laws to bring down oil prices. This scenario is virtually identical to the Roaring '20's, when only the crash of the world economy woke people up briefly enough to vote in FDR, who himself stated that people won't vote Democrat (in the period before he ran for President and the market crashed) unless the economy tanked, which it did. Once the Democrats get in again today, as soon as fortunes turn for us to the better, millions of dumbasses will go back to the GOP for another masochistic ride.

The fascist Republicrooks don't have to bomb Iran, and McNasty won't quit the race even if he has to crawl to the finish line. They will wait until Friday, October 31 (appropriately enough), when they can get a full news cycle before the weekend, leaving Obama no time to respond before the Tuesday election.

The fascists will charge him with something completely outrageous and horrendous, and 100% false. Like copy-and-paste video showing him meeting with bin Laden, or abusing children or calling for jihad. More likely, they'll pull a Marion Barry: get him into a hotel room with a hooker and a kilo of crack. They can play the race card w/o having to use the "N word".

We should all make it clear that anyone who participates in this will wish they didn't.

Osama will be caught and jailed. Then just before the trial, or before sentencing, he'll be 'found dead' or he'll 'die' in his cell . . . sort of like Ken Lay. But - like Ken Lay - he'll actually be secreted away to a tropical paradise as he was promised all along for playing his hired roll so perfectly. Sounds like a bad movie plot, I know . . . but with this bunch, it is easy to pull off. They are the masters!! Remember, you heard it here first!

OK, for what it's worth here's my worst-case scenario, and it'll come as no 'surprise': Besides the déjà fuckin' vu of an attack on Iran, a real one this time, 'Baby Doc' Bush will declare martial law, suspend elections indefinitely, decree himself President For Life for reasons of national security, and wipe his ass with what's left of the Constitution.

They'll pull bin laden's frozen body parts out of cold storage from Area 51 and stick in their thumbs and pull out an eye and say, "My, My!! Heckuva job Brownie!!!"

Trumping up an excuse to bomb Iran is well on its way.  The only thing that might prevent it is honorable defiance on the party of the military brass.

If you are a resident of NYC, you can download and sign a petition below that will place on the NYC November 2008 ballot a referendum to create a 5-year Independent NYC 9/11 Commission, 100% paid with private funds but with subpoena rights and the right to demand sworn testimony from those people called to Commission Hearings. http://nyc911initiative.org/index.html

I quake in my boots to surmise what sort of surprise may be in store. Worst scenario: A false-flag operation similar to 9/11, this time on the West Coast. The Rethugs will blame it on Iran, and retaliate with "tactical" nukes. Meanwhile, Bush declares martial law. The Halliburton "detention centers" open for business. Fascism prevails.

I posted this in the mailbag, but here it goes. Two things. One: bin Laden will be "found" or "killed" and the media will somehow spin it so that McCain looks like a genius. Two: we'll bomb the hell out of Iran and the WH and McCain will force Barack Obama to say he supports it or condemns it. Either way, he's screwed. That's all they need--those two things--nothing more dramatic like suggested above.