John Kerry’s figured it out. It wasn’t the Swift Boat Veterans. It wasn’t his kooky scheme to send nuclear fuel to Iran. It wasn’t his 20-year record of doing nothing much. It wasn’t Teresa.

It was that nuisance Osama bin Laden.

NEW YORK—John Kerry believes he lost to President Bush because of the video from Usama bin Laden that surfaced just days before the Nov. 2 presidential election.

The Massachusetts senator told FOX News’ senior correspondent Geraldo Rivera that he believes he lost because the tape may have scared the American electorate.

Rivera spoke to Kerry on Thursday as the senator and a slew of other notable names — including wife Teresa Heinz Kerry, actors Robin Williams and Morgan Freeman and comedian Chris Tucker — were in a holding room prior to the processional leading up to the formal opening of the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Ark.

“Tough luck, senator,” Rivera said to Kerry, referring to the Democrat’s election loss.

Trying to recount Kerry’s words verbatim, Rivera said Kerry responded by saying:

“It was that Usama tape — it scared them [the American people].”

Rivera said Kerry said the tape came out too late for his camp to rebut and the Democratic campaign couldn’t counteract it in time for the Tuesday election.