Are Terrorist Alerts Politically Motivated?

There's been widespread suspicion that George Bush has been using fear of terrorism to promote his Presidential campaign, as he hopes the voters do realize how poor a job he has done in defending the country against terrorism. One blogger prepared a chart comparing Bush's approval numbers to the timing of terrorist alerts. Here are his findings:

- Whenever his ratings dip, there's a new terror alert.

- Every terror alert is followed by a slight uptick of Bush approval ratings.

- Whenever there are many unfavorable headlines, there's another alert or announcement (distraction effect).

- As we approach the 2004 elections, the number and frequency of terror alerts keeps growing, to the point that they collapse in the graphic. At the same time, Bush ratings are lower than ever.