9/11 Victims' Families Against Bush Ads?

Democrats in Self-Destruct Mode CCXIV

Here's the rest of the story.

A New York Times article, Mar. 5.

President Bush completed the second day of a campaign swing through California on Thursday, with pointed emphasis on his credentials as commander in chief and a robust defense of his tax cuts.

But throughout the day his aides were scrambling to counter criticism that his first television commercials crassly politicized the tragedy of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The criticism — from a firefighters union, relatives of victims and allies of Senator John Kerry — put the Bush campaign in an uncomfortable position at a time when it had hoped to begin defining the incumbent in contrast to his challenger. Mr. Bush's father had followed a similar strategy, flying into Bill Clinton territory in Arkansas in March 1992, before Mr. Clinton had nailed down the nomination.

On Thursday, the Republican counteroffensive began with Mr. Bush's former communications director, Karen P. Hughes, who appeared on all the major morning news programs and defended the commercials that were first broadcast that day. Two of them show the charred shell of the World Trade Center, and one also shows firefighters removing shrouded remains from ground zero.

Discussing the campaign on CNN, Ms. Hughes said: "I think it's very tasteful. It's a reminder of our shared experience as a nation. I mean, September 11th is not just some distant tragedy from the past; it really defined our future."

The complaints were amplified on cable news after The Daily News in New York put them on its front page. The cable and broadcast news networks featured a series of victims' relatives who thought the spots were inappropriate and others who did not.

On MSNBC, Andrew Rice of Oklahoma, whose brother David died in the south tower of the World Trade Center, said he thought the image of "a real dead body," was "irresponsible to use in such a context."

But Deena Burnett, whose husband, Thomas, was killed on United Airlines Flight 93, said of the images: "I'm glad to see they're being used. I think it serves as a great reminder of those that died."

By day's end, the Bush campaign had issued a statement from Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City, supporting Mr. Bush's right to invoke the attacks.

The current mayor, Michael R. Bloomberg, who like Mr. Giuliani is a Republican, told reporters that he had not seen the spots, but that he did not "have a problem if people remind the country and the world about the sacrifices that the New York City fire department and police department and civilians made."

Late Thursday afternoon, the International Association of Fire Fighters, which supported Mr. Kerry in the primaries, called on the campaign to stop showing the commercials, as did Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, Democrat of New Jersey.

Mr. Kerry kept mum on the brewing controversy, though his staff sent an e-mail message to reporters that included a quote from a 2002 Associated Press article in which Mr. Bush, in seeking more money from Congress to fight terrorism, vowed, "I have no ambition whatsoever to use this as a political issue."

Mr. Bush's aides said that they would not pull the commercials and that the battle over them could even work to their advantage by focusing new attention on what they said was the president's forceful response to the attacks and the continued threat from terrorists.

They said the controversy had been expected and was serving their aim of changing the debate from Democratic turf like health care and jobs to Mr. Bush's strongest suit, national security.

"Are we on the Democrats' issue of health care, or are we on the Republican issue of national security?" said one Republican official with ties to the campaign. "On Wednesday we rolled out the spot — we changed the tone fundamentally. They missed the opportunity to tell the American people what the campaign is about. This is how the president has framed the question before the American people."

But Democrats said they did not believe that the president's aides had expected this much furor.

"We're not debating national security — we're debating tastelessness and a willingness to offend stricken families for political purposes," said Jim Jordan, Mr. Kerry's former campaign manager and a spokesman for the Media Fund, a Democratic advocacy group. "Being accused of insensitivity by the widow of a 9/11 victim is a bad thing — no matter how you slice it."

Even some Republicans expressed worry. Nelson Warfield, a Republican consultant who was the press secretary for Senator Bob Dole's presidential campaign in 1996, said: "I think everyone agrees an asset for Bush is his performance in the aftermath of the terror attacks, and if this spot raises those issues in the debate, it's a positive. But it's certainly a risky move. So far the media is beating him up pretty aggressively."

Mr. Bush and his aides have planned for more than a year to make the president's response to the terrorist attacks the centerpiece of his re-election effort. The reaction to the use of World Trade Center images suggested that the wounds of that day made it a delicate topic for political debate. It also suggested that Mr. Kerry's campaign intended to battle Mr. Bush fiercely over his claim to the mantle of commander in chief in the war on terrorism.

But it complicated efforts by Republicans to seize the initiative after months in which Mr. Bush has often been on the defensive.

Mr. Bush did not mention the commercials during a stop in Bakersfield, Calif., to talk about the economy. Nor did he bring it up at a fund-raiser here, where he used humor, pointed critiques and solemn pledges about his dedication to protecting the nation to draw distinctions between himself and Mr. Kerry, the likely Democratic nominee.

Mr. Bush sought to define himself as optimistic about returning the country to prosperity and experienced at protecting it from terrorism, while suggesting that Mr. Kerry was erratic, intent on raising taxes and driven by expediency.

"Voters have a clear choice between keeping the tax relief that is moving this economy forward or putting the burden of higher taxes back on the American people," Mr. Bush told donors here. "They have a clear choice between an America that leads the world with strength and confidence or an America that is uncertain in the face of danger. I look forward to setting those alternatives before the American people."

Mr. Bush, the son of a president and the grandson of a senator, castigated Mr. Kerry as a Washington insider who has been in Congress so long that he has taken both sides on just about every issue.

Playing to one of the greatest advantages enjoyed by any incumbent, Mr. Bush suggested that now is not the time for the United States to change direction at home or abroad.

"Great events will turn on this election," he said. "The man who sits in the Oval Office will set the course of the war on terror and the direction of our economy. The security and prosperity of America are at stake."

On domestic policy, Mr. Bush credited his tax cuts with nursing the economy back to health after a recession that was getting under way as he took office. He said Mr. Kerry would risk hurting the recovery by raising taxes and return the nation to an era of intrusive big government.

Richard W. Stevenson reported from Santa Clara, and Jim Rutenberg from Washington.

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This "furor" was entirely the concoction of folks who already hated George W. Bush, who would criticize whatever he does (because he does it) or does not do (because he does not do it), aided by some of their willing accomplices in one of the major branches of the Democratic Party: mainstream media.

As Right Wing News revealed the other day, the members of "victims' families" being quoted are already known to be politically active left-wingers — one of them being a campaigner for John Kerry. We also find out at little green footballs that one of the organizations (Peaceful Tomorrows) "protesting" the Bush ads is funded by the Tides Center — a left-wing foundation which is the recipient of Teresa Heinz Kerry's financial largesse.

IOW, the "protests" are purely political, involving active political partisans.

Moreover, an article in today's New York Post cites other 9/11 victims' relatives as supporters of Bush and his ad campaign:

President Bush yesterday defended his use of Sept. 11 footage to get himself re-elected, and more than a dozen victims' families threw their support behind him.

The president caused a firestorm of protest from victims' families on Thursday when his campaign began running commercials using images of the destroyed World Trade Center.

"I will continue to speak about the effects of 9/11 on our country and my presidency," Bush said from his Crawford, Texas, ranch. "I have an obligation to those who died. I have an obligation to those who were heroic in their attempts to rescue [the victims]. And I won't forget that obligation."

Meanwhile, the group of supporters, mostly firefighter families, released an "Open Letter to America" approving the ads.

"There is no better testament to the leadership of President Bush than Sept. 11," the letter states. "In choosing our next leader, we must not forget that day if we are to have a meaningful conversation.

"The images in President Bush's campaign television ads are respectful of the memories of Sept. 11."

Jimmy Boyle, former president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association, spearheaded the letter, signed by 22 people who lost loved ones in the trade center attacks.

Boyle, who said he will be voting for a Republican president for the first time in November, said he decided to ask other families to sign the letter after hearing that the president was being criticized for using Sept. 11 images in campaign ads.

"I don't think he's taking advantage of Sept. 11, and I feel that he's given us the leadership that we need," Boyle said.

The images include the U.S. flag flying in front of the ruins. Another shows firefighters removing the flag-draped remains of a victim....

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Sun. 03/07/04 05:47:55 PM
Categorized as Democrats in Self-Destruct Mode & Media.