When the doorbell rings and the cries of "Trick or Treat!" ring out this Halloween, how would candy givers feel about finding Usama bin Laden on their stoop? Or Mark Foley?
Turns out that though bin Laden's shock value has diminished slightly this year over last, he still wins out over Foley as a totally tasteless costume option. But only by a sliver.
A FOX News poll released Thursday shows Americans would only be slightly more offended by masks in the likeness of the Al Qaeda terrorist mastermind than they would by those representing the disgraced Florida congressman accused of trying to seduce male Capitol Hill pages.
Seventy-two percent of participants in the FOX News/Opinion Dynamics poll believed wearing a bin Laden mask is offensive, compared to 69 percent who think dressing as Foley is offensive.
Of those who fell into the bin Laden-costumes-are-appalling camp, 72 percent reported they were Democrats, 75 percent said they were Republicans and 67 classified themselves as Independents.
Apparently, though, bin Laden is experiencing a small spike in approval ratings as a costume choice for the Oct. 31 holiday. The numbers dipped by 4 percentage points, from 76 percent of those polled in 2005 to 72 percent of those asked this year saying they found bin Laden masks on Halloween inappropriate.
Among those believing Foley disguises are over the line, 71 percent reported they were Democrats, 70 percent said they were Republicans and 64 percent indicated they were Independents.
The poll of 900 participants was conducted by phone Oct. 24-25.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox