Al-Qaeda's two cents.

We confess that we wonder sometimes whether the Al-Qaeda management speaks regularly with Karl Rove. They certainly seem bent on saying everything the Republican Party would wish them to:

“The American people have put their feet on the right path by ... realizing their president’s betrayal in supporting Israel,” the terror leader said. “So they voted for something reasonable in the last elections."

A soundbite made for a GOP TV commercial, no? The subtext: America just backed down by voting Democratic.

Assuming they're clever enough (Al-Qaeda, we mean) to understand the PR implications of their own well-distributed tapes, then the rumors hold true: nine out of ten terrorists prefer Bush in office. Fear begets fear, violence begets violence -- and if you're all in the same business then it pays to scratch backs. It keeps business good all around.

Let us as a nation score our first major victory over Al-Qaida by declaring ourselves too intelligent for their childish manipulations. The briar-patch suits them too well.