So John Ashcroft is warning us all of terrorist attacks, but as my bright friend Oscar noted, “Why hasn’t the color-coded alert level gone up if there’s this big threat?”

To which I responded, “Bush Poll Number Threat Level: High.” Think about it: they’re releasing pictures of people they want to capture, but have no specific threat from them, but there are terrorist attacks coming, but it’s safe to enjoy your vacation as usual, and it’s not worth raising the terrorism alert level.

This is getting to be Bill Clinton-level “Operation: Look, a Baby Wolf!” politics–just not as well-executed. If the threat is real, raise the alert level and get the word out. If the threat isn’t real, stop giving us alerts about how likely John Kerry’s election is this week and have a nice, warm cup of Shut Up.