Bush Ads Are in Poor Taste, Relatives of 9/11 Victims Say
Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- Relatives of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and a firefighters union said Thursday they're angry that President Bush's new campaign ads include images of the destroyed World Trade Center and firefighters carrying a flag-draped stretcher through the rubble.
They say the ads are in poor taste and accuse Mr. Bush of exploiting the attacks.
"It makes me sick," said Colleen Kelly, who lost her brother, Bill Kelly Jr., in the attacks and leads a victims families group called Peaceful Tomorrows. "Would you ever go to someone's grave site and use that as an instrument of politics? That truly is what Ground Zero represents to me."
Mr. Bush's campaign defended the commercials as appropriate for an election about public policy and the war on terror, saying they were a tasteful reminder of what the country has been through the past three years. The campaign had said that it wouldn't use the attacks for political gain.
"Sept. 11 was not just a distant tragedy. It's a defining event for the future of our country," Karen Hughes, a Bush campaign adviser, told "The Early Show" on CBS on Thursday. "Obviously, all of us mourn and grieve for the victims of that terrible day, but Sept. 11 fundamentally changed our public policy in many important ways, and I think it's vital that the next president recognize that."
Note the repub and independent quotes below:
The first ads started running Thursday on broadcast channels in about 80 markets in 18 states, most of which are expected to be critical to the election, and nationwide on some cable networks. The ads don't mention Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry, focusing instead on improving Mr. Bush's image after criticism by Democrats during recent months. Mr. Bush is expected to spend a large part of his $100 million war chest on advertising.
One of the ads shows the charred wreckage of the twin towers with a flag flying amid the debris. Another ad -- and a Spanish-language version of it -- use that image as well, alongside another of firefighters carrying a flag-draped stretcher through the rubble as sirens are heard. Firefighters are shown in all the ads.
Harold Schaitberger, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, on Thursday called the ads disgraceful and said they should be pulled.
"We're not going to stand for him to put his arm around one of our members on top of a pile of rubble at Ground Zero during a tragedy and then stand by and watch him cut money for first responders," Mr. Schaitberger said. He said his union is politically independent, even though it endorsed Sen. Kerry and has donated money to Republicans.
Barbara Minervino, a Republican from Middletown, N.J., who lost her husband, Louis, in the attacks, questioned whether Mr. Bush was "capitalizing on the event."
David Potorti, an independent from Cary, N.C., whose brother Jim died in the north tower, called the campaign's use of the images audacious. "It's an insult to use the place where my brother died in an ad," Mr. Potorti said. "I would be just as outraged if any politician did this."
Until Mr. Bush cooperates with the federal commission that is investigating the nation's preparedness before the attacks and its response "by testifying in public under oath ... he should not be using 9/11 as political propaganda," said Kristen Breitweiser, of Middletown Township, N.J., whose husband, Ronald, died in the World Trade Center.
Today on CNN IP, Junior's being hit by flak from the ads, as well as his inept plans to explore Mars, immigration reform, DFA (a hornet's nest according to Bill Schneider), the SOTU (steroid reform?), and MTP. He's in a hole of his own digging, says IP. And fighting back with 9/11 ads is just stirring up more trouble. The ads are not making the media fawn over Junior's inevitability (except for tweety).
Rove? Genius?
Not.