Are terrorists planning something around elections?

I received a forwarded email from a friend that a rumor is floating around about a terrorist attack around the elections. Yikes. I cannot verify it, but it would not surprise me if they tried something at that time.

Al-Qaeda knows that an attack before the election would help elect Republican Sen. John McCain, Stremmel says. The terrorists would prefer Democratic Sen. Barack Obama because they believe he would swing the pendulum back to more lenient anti-terrorism policies, Stremmel says.

The months following the election or inauguration of the new administration is prime time for an attack, he says. They will want to impact the new administration and its policies. There is a history of Islamic terrorists wanting to make life miserable for successive administrations.

That is why al-Qaeda attacked the U.S. less than eight months after President Bush took office.