An advertisement for a bar in Guadaljara, Mexico, shows Osama bin Laden and George Bush embracing. (Reuters)

Washington, March 1 (Reuters): President George W. Bush said his 2004 re-election victory over Senator John Kerry was aided by Osama bin Laden, who issued a taped diatribe against him the Friday before Americans went to the polls, The Examiner newspaper reported yesterday.

Bush said there were “enormous amounts of discussion” inside his campaign about the 15-minute tape, which he called “an interesting entry by our enemy” into the presidential race.