Larry, try not to strain yourself figuring this one out. This really has very little to do with Osama bin Laden. It has to do with George Dubya Bush's campaign strategy, okay? It feeds into the conspiracy theory that bin Laden is already in U.S. hands and Bush's people are trying to pick a date to make the announcement.

We're participating in the "wink wink" part of the thread, the "open secret" that everyone knows Bush will try to get the most bang for his $87 billion bucks wasted in Iraq by turning up the carcass of Saudi Arabian citizen bin Laden, dead or alive, somewhere near Afghanistan, in time to try for some gullible voters to think he's doing a good job and vote for him. If Osama turns up too early, voters will forget, but if he turns up too close to the election, even the dumb Americans might figure out that it's a trick. Got it? What matters is how Dubya's spin doctors time any announcement.