March 4, 2004

U.S. Representative Tom Cole, Republican of Oklahoma, said if Bush is defeated, it's a victory for Osama bin Laden.

Speaking to a group of Republicans on February 28, Cole said: "I promise you this. If George Bush loses the election, Osama bin Laden wins the election. It's that simple. It will be interpreted that way by enemies of the United States around the world."

He went on to make comparisons to voting against Roosevelt during World War II or Lincoln during the Civil War.

"What do you think Hitler would have thought if Roosevelt would've lost the election in 1944? He would not have thought American resolve was strengthening. What would the confederacy have thought if Lincoln would have lost the election of 1860?"

House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland said Cole "ought to be ashamed of himself and Members on both sides of the aisle ought to repudiate [his comments] as completely wrong, unacceptable, and out-of-bounds."