Manipulation of Events?

In reading through political news of the past week, one of the topics that came to my head is the potential of the GOP to alter the direction of events, namely in regards to the economy and Iraq, immediately before the election in a last ditch effort to make a huge difference. A study released this week showed that the highest levels of violence in Iraq around that time period were right before the election. Perhaps that would make Bush look weak but it could also be used to persuade voters that a strong President is needed. I see much of the same shaping up for this election. With the economy teetering on the brink of full-blown recession, democrats are calling for more stimulus measures while Republicans are saying that the first stimulus checks have not been sent out yet. While this is obviously an exaggeration, what happens if the checks arrive the week before the election? That would probably convince more than a few people to Republican. Likewise, events in Iraq could likely be manipulated, for better or worse, to help meet GOP needs as the election looms. While this might be a bit of a “conspiracy theory,” it is certainly interesting to think about the steps parties will take to try to portray events in their favor.