DES MOINES — On Wednesday, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton warned Iowa's Democratic voters to consider which presidential candidate was best equipped to confront "unpredictable" problems in an uncertain world.
About 24 hours later, the unpredictable happened.
Whether the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto will prompt voters to reconsider which candidate should lead the country is unclear. But it is clear that some campaigns think when the debate turns to foreign policy and dangers from abroad, their candidates benefit and others suffer.
Clinton and Republicans John McCain and Rudolph W. Giuliani are seen by Iowa and New Hampshire voters as having the best credentials to deal with national security issues.
In Iowa, Clinton is trying to focus voter attention on the job of the presidency, hoping to heighten that advantage.
The New York senator named her final trip through the state before Thursday's caucuses "Big Challenges, Real Solutions: Time to Pick a President Tour" -- an attempt to shift the discussion away from whether she is likable, the one quality in which she lags behind her chief rivals.
"With the assassination of Benazir Bhutto today, the world once again is reminded of the dangers facing those who pursue democracy and free elections in Pakistan and elsewhere in areas that are rife with conflict and violence and extremism and anti-democratic forces at work," Clinton said. She said later that the events in Pakistan "are a stark reminder of how important it is for as many Iowans as possible to be part of charting our country's future."
On the Republican side, the crisis in Pakistan helps McCain and Giuliani shift the focus to their strengths -- and away from the domestic concerns such as social issues, immigration and taxes that have benefited former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
Coincidentally, the crisis in Pakistan coincided with a new Giuliani television ad in which the former New York mayor discusses his leadership after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
And Giuliani was quick to issue a statement Thursday calling the incident a "reminder that terrorism anywhere -- whether in New York, London, Tel Aviv or Rawalpindi -- is an enemy of freedom."
McCain, a Vietnam veteran and Arizona senator with years of experience on the Senate Armed Services Committee, was the most blunt of any candidate in assessing the political meaning of the Bhutto assassination.
