Group Fears an ‘October Surprise’ in Ad

A new advocacy group has released an online video suggesting that President Barack Obama could be planning an “October surprise” — launching a U.S. military campaign abroad for strictly political purposes.

The video comes from the October Surprise Committee, a new group formed by Defending Our Democracy, an advocacy initiative of the America Foundation, which states it is “dedicated to educating the American public on important social, economic, and national security issues.”

The video posted on the Internet puts forth a nightmare scenario in which Obama commits American forces abroad and calls for the temporary suspension of presidential campaigning.

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In the video, the White House asserts that that Obama’s lagging poll numbers played no role in the decision to launch the military campaign, and denies that the venture is a “manufactured national security crisis.”

But the White House admits that political advisers David Axelrod and Valeria Jarrett played a “consultative” role in the decision.

The video states: “So what is the October surprise? Iran? China? Libya?
“It couldn’t happen. Could it?”

In a statement accompanying the video, the committee points out that the Obama administration used the announcement of the Osama bin Laden raid for political purposes and disclosed vital intelligence that “gave al-Qaida leaders a chance to flee or escape.”

October Surprise spokesman Tommy Sears says: “Everything with this White House is political — everything is about holding on to power.

“While we think the White House will probably play the national security card first; we also think they may try to come up with some last-minute financial or business attack on their opponent.”

Sears adds, “We are trying to do the job that too many journalists are failing to do — ask the White House tough questions.”