Will Missing Explosives mean Missing Votes for Bush?

The news this week has been headlined by the disappearance of 380 tons of explosives at Al Qaqaa, a military complex in Iraq. However, it is unknown whether the explosives were lost while Sadaam Hussein was in power or while the Americans controlled Iraq. This could have important political consequences. If the weapons were lost under the Americans, the Democrats could attack Bush for losing the explosives. If they were lost under Hussein, Bush is off the hook. Both candidates have taken this issue seriously. Kerry has criticized the current administration not only for incompetence in Iraq, but also for not providing an explanation for such an important national security issue. Shortly after Kerry made these accusations, Bush spoke of the missing explosives for the first time. He pounced on Kerry for jumping to conclusions and not being aware of what was really going on in Iraq. But with just a week until the election, can the missing weapons really affect the election? It's unlikely but possible. In all probability, there are very few undecided voters remaining at this point, although they could determine the outcome of the election. However, the undecided voters are more likely to vote for a candidate based on more important issues (such as going to war itself, economic issues, social issues, etc.) than this. Also, because no one knows when the weapons were lost, Bush cannot be blamed. The worst case scenario for Bush would be that he loses a handful of votes over this issue, probably not enough to change the outcome of the election.

Works Consulted
Stout, David. "Bush Says Kerry 'Jumps to Conclusions' on Iraq Explosives." The New York Times 27 Oct. 2004. 27 Oct. 2004 http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/27/politics/campaign/27CND-CAMP.html.