No Politicizing

Isn't that what Republicans said about this latest bin Laden tape? What's this then?

"We want people to think 'terrorism' for the last four days," said a Bush-Cheney campaign official. "And anything that raises the issue in people's minds is good for us."

A senior GOP strategist added, "anything that makes people nervous about their personal safety helps Bush."

He called it "a little gift," saying it helps the President but doesn't guarantee his reelection.

Crazily enough, the story undercuts its own argument a couple paragraphs earlier by saying:

Bin Laden popping up like a malignant jack-in-the-box four days before the balloting may bolster John Kerry's argument that Bush should have finished wiping out Al Qaeda before turning his attention to Iraq.

Why is the GOP happy that this guy's alive? Why are they happy that they failed to capture or kill him? Why does the appearance of a bin Laden tape equal "happy" to them at all?