MORE ON ELECTION POSTPONEMENTS

Election law specialist Rick Hasen has three posts (here, here, and here) that set out his basic views on the matter, which boils down to a) an attempt to highlight news stories that reduce the alarm level, and b) a plea for clear pre-election rules that grant limited discretion. I really doubt that this congress -- focused like a laser beam on other, apparently more pressing issues this week -- is going to put any good policy in place in the next few months, but I could be wrong.

For a good expression of the kind of fears that this discussion has let loose, see this eloquent post.

I hesitated to call attention to the election postponement story because I think that it has the effect of exaggerating the threat from al Qaeda. We have a fear-driven and superficial media culture and an administration that has managed to heighten, not reduce, the fear level.* I don't believe that this climate of fear is necessarily a conscious policy -- we live in a fear-drenched culture -- but I do think that it's a bad thing. See Adam Felber here. And at the end of the day, things probably would have been a heck of a lot better if John McCain were president instead of George Bush.

This is not to say (Charles) that one shouldn't worry about the harm to democracy that might emanate from bungling an eventual election date change. At first glance, tough, I think that current policies would probably prove sufficient to deal with what's likely to happen (nothing), and sufficient to deal with what is unlikely to happen (an attack).

----------

*If you want confirmation of the media's role in creating a climate of fear, look at those Fox news memos again. From the Good Friday memo:

The religious significance of this week is also not lost on terrorists. Be ready if they're successful.

Give me a break.