Actual transcript from Larry King Live.
KING: OK, Walter. What do you make of this?
CRONKITE: Well, I make it out to be initially the reaction that it's a threat to us, that unless we make peace with him, in a sense, we can expect further attacks. He did not say that precisely, but it sounds like that when he says...
KING: The warning.
CRONKITE: What we just heard. So now the question is basically right now, how will this affect the election? And I have a feeling that it could tilt the election a bit. In fact, I'm a little inclined to think that Karl Rove, the political manager at the White House, who is a very clever man, he probably set up bin Laden to this thing. The advantage to the Republican side is to get rid of, as a principal subject of the campaigns right now, get rid of the whole problem of the al Qaqaa explosive dump. Right now, that, the last couple of days, has, I think, upset the Republican campaign.
KING: Are there enough undecideds to tilt this? Or what do you think of the whole election picture?
CRONKITE: Well, I think it's one of the biggest messes we've had in a long time. I believe that we're undoubtedly not going to know the results of this election. I don't want to knock you off the air on Monday night or anything, or Tuesday night. But I suspect that we're not going to know who the next president is, whether it is Bush or the new man, until very probably sometime in the early spring. There's so much controversy that they're planting, deliberately planting at the polls, that there's almost certainly to be a suit going back to the Supreme Court eventually, going through the other courts slowly first.
Letter to the Editor
It's hard to tell how Osama bin Laden will affect the election since his October surprise appearance just 4 days before the polls open. Osama apparently wants to affect the election - but in what way? The conventional wisdom is that Osama helps Bush because in the past whenever there have been terror alerts Bush's numbers have gone up, and Osama is the ultimate boogie man. On the other hand - the very fact that Osama has surfaced and is looking fit and healthy is a stark reminder that Bush failed to capture and kill him like he promised to. And - I hate to agree with Osama on this - but if Bush had ordered fighter jets into the air instead of doing the photo op reading "My Pet Goat" to kids - then those planes might have been intercepted before the could hit us. So Osama hurts Bush because he exists and speaks and reminds us that Bush has failed to get him.
Perhaps we can guess who Osama wants to win by figuring out who will benefit him the most? Does Osama want Bush or Kerry to win? It's been 3 years since 9/11 and Osama is not only free - but he's well dressed and looking fit and trim. Looks like he's doing very well under Bush. America is bogged down is an unrelated war and has become a symbol of fund raising for the terrorists. High oil prices are making the bin Laden family very rich. From that it would seem that he would want to keep Bush.
Furthermore - Osama says that neither Bush or Kerry can keep America safe and that if we don't attack him - he won't attack us. Its like he's trying to make a deal. Bush has been playing down Osama in the last two years saying, "“I truly am not that concerned about him." Perhaps the reason America hasn't been attacked is because Bush made a deal? I would think Osama would want a president who was not concerned about him. So - what is Osama's hidden message? Perhaps he wants you to vote for Nader? Who can tell?