Satan's little minion,This had nothing to do with terrorism, this had to do with the Spanish PM being an American ass kissing liar.That my friend is pure B.S. The populars were ahead...significantly...in every poll until the attack.
Explain to me, if you can, how it is the terrorists will NOT see this as a victory?
Actually not BS. Had the bomb blast not happened then, as you quite rightly point out, the populars would have got back into office. What changed the equation was not the bombing per say it was the way the government handled it. The government blamed the Basques to try and create further internal pressure on them, to demonise them in the eyes of the general public and to sort of trivialise what had happened. They did not want it to be said that the government had caused this by supporting America, so they painted it as the work of an internal faction looking for independance. They lied, that is why people voted for the socialists. Can the terrorists call it a victory? Perhaps. Did they influence an election? only indirectly due to the reaction to their actions. They also managed to get more people out voting who would have not bothered otherwise, most of these were the young who were massively anti war. If the terrorists see it as a victory then who cares? This is not a pissing contest of who can look harder, it's about creating a world which is secure and equitable. If you remove the economic causes of discontent then you remove the support for terrorism. I know it's a radical thought Bush and his new conservative cronies prefer spending dollars on guns rather than removing trade barriers for third world farmers. They would rather see 500 soldiers die than a few rich conservatives make a few millions less. It makes me sick. This was actually a victory for democracy, you do realise that Osama Bin Laden is praying for Bush to get back in in November don't you? If Kerry gets in then he is going to have a much harder time formenting dissent because pragmatic politics will hopefully prevail instead of the machismo arm flexing of someone who dodged the draft during vietnam. In the end it comes down to what you value. There was much made of Clinton's lying during the Lewinsky thing, but hell it was only a blowjob. So what? You chastise someone for getting his pole waxed and support a former drunk who lies to you over something as important as a war? If the American people cannot see the rediculousness of your position then I think the US education system has alot to answer for. Bush is a liar, end of story. Vote for him if you like, but expect the ridicule and comtempt of the educated world for doing so.