Just a few days before the midterm elections, Saddam Hussein has been condemned to death, and President Bush is using the verdict as a rallying cry for Republicans.
The White House said the timing of the announcement, two days before Election Day, had nothing to do with American politics and had been dictated by the Iraqi court. But Mr. Bush moved quickly to put it to use in what has been his central strategic imperative over the past week, trying to rouse Republican voters to turn out.
The old “whether or not …