“October Surprises” That Shook Up Presidential Elections

bin laden

Bin Laden’s Video (2004)
President George W. Bush made the 2004 election a referendum regarding the way he handled the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks. Senator John Kerry, a Vietnam veteran, was the alternative to Bush. In late October, Al Jazeera ran a video from Osama bin Laden where bin Laden blasted Bush’s foreign policy. In the backlash that followed, Bush’s poll numbers rose and lifted him to a victory over Kerry.