Sept. 11 Families Disgusted by Bush Campaign Ads

Yahoo (Reuters) ^ | 3/4/04 | Mark Egan

[The_Victor]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Families who lost relatives in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks voiced outrage on Thursday at President Bush (news - web sites)'s first ads of his re-election campaign that use images of the devastated World Trade Center to portray him as the right leader for tumultuous times.

"Families are enraged," said Bill Doyle, 57, of New York, who is active in several Sept. 11 family groups. "What I think is distasteful is that the president is trying to use 9/11 as a springboard for his re-election."

"It's entirely wrong. He's had 3,500 deaths on his watch, including Iraq (news - web sites)," said Doyle, whose 25-year-old son Joseph died at the trade center.

Long time Bush adviser Karen Hughes defended the four commercials -- which began running on Thursday in at least 16 important battleground states -- as "tastefully done."

"September 11 is not some distant event in the past," Hughes told ABC's "Good Morning America."

"It's a defining event for our future and important that we learn the lessons of that day. All of us feel deeply that tragedy but it's also important to recognize the impact it had on our national public policy," she said.

Two ads refer to the hijacked airliner attacks as the Bush campaign seeks to present him as a leader who rose to the challenge. One ad shows World Trade Center ruins behind an American flag. Another shows firefighters removing the flag-draped remains of a victim.

Ron Willett of Walnut Shade, Missouri, said he was disgusted when he saw the ads. Willett, who lost his 29-year-old son, John Charles, when planes hit the trade center, said he is now so upset, "I would vote for Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) before I would vote for Bush."

"I think it is an atrocity," his wife, Lucy, added. "He should not be allowed to use those images at all."

STAY AWAY FROM GROUND ZERO

With Republicans holding their political convention in New York in late August, victims said they hope Bush does not make it worse by speaking at the site now known as Ground Zero, which many view as sacred.

"If he does, there will be a protest and it could get ugly," said Doyle.

Several family members said their annoyance at Bush's using the emotional images stems in part from his refusal to testify in open session before the federal commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

"There is really a hypocrisy here. The Bush administration will not cooperate fully with the 9/11 commission and at the same time they are trying to invoke and own 9/11 and use it for his re-election," said Stephen Push from the Washington office of "Families September 11th." His wife died on the plane that crashed into the Pentagon (news - web sites) that day.

The International Association of Fire Fighters, which endorsed Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry (news - web sites), also denounced the campaign spots as "hypocrisy at its worst."

"I'm disappointed but not surprised that the president would try to trade on the heroism of those fire fighters," the union's general president, Harold Schaitberger, said.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he had not yet seen the ads but had no objections.

"I haven't a problem in reminding people in the country and the world of the sacrifices that the New York City fire department and police department and civilians made," Bloomberg said.

And not all relatives of victims were upset by the ads.

"I don't have a problem with his pointing to his leadership at that time. He helped us weather it. To me it was a tasteful ad," said Patricia Reilly, who sister Lorraine Lee died in the New York attacks. (additional reporting by Larry Fine)

[observer5]

Interesting, when some Veterans were outraged by the Kerry ads it didn't make any headlines.

Wonder why... NOT

Propaganda... propaganda... CNN... propaganda... propaganda... CNN...

[Mich0127]

Okay..so would they rather vote for Ketchup boy, who stated "Bush created terrorists"-basically saying that we dreamed up 9/11-now that is distasteful

These idiots will do anything to try to make something good that Bush does look like it is something bad.

[DocCincy]

Direct quote from my brother (whose wife lost her sister in the WTC), when I asked him if he or his wife were offended by the president using the WTC in his ad footage:

"Heavens no....that's the liberal media picking at the advertising because they know that Kerry doesn't have the $$$ to run his own. Fact is, he responded to the crisis as best he could...and the country rallied behind him. It might have "happened on his watch"....but it all started on the Liar's watch. So, it could have been avoided if Clinton hadn't been more concerned with diddling his intern and covering his ass."

[RichInOC]

I went to see the ads on the website. I have to wonder how many of the folks who are offended at them actually saw them first.

[Williams]

Exactly. Imagine the illogic of NOT dealing with 9-11 in the presidential election. Gee, I guess that's the democrat aim isn't it. The quoted jerk is transparent when he adds the Iraq death toll to 9-11. Further, as you point out, NOT reelecting this president means selling out to those who didn't/ won't protect us. We were ALL attacked on 9-11 and I DEMAND protection.

[alrea]

would vote for Saddam Hussein before I would vote for Bush."

I'd give my vote to Bin Laden before Bush.

[Conspiracy Guy]

Bump

[Blessed]

They will get the boom dropped on them tonight I believe.I understand Kerry ran a 9/11 ad in Sept. Chris Mathews is going to talk about it on Hardball.

[alrea]

more relatives of victims are doubtless proud of the fact that Bush actually did something to prevent more 9/11s, and destroyed the training infrastructure of the terrorists guilty of the atrocity, than are in any way outraged enough to become mindless shills for the political party that enabled Bin Laden to commit this heinous crime in the first place. Mr. Rove please note: these ads hit the spot! Do more and more and more and more! Watch the cowardly anti-American UN sucking left squirm!

masterful

[Conspiracy Guy]

"Why doesn't the Media interview me. I could tell them how offended I am by John Kerry's traitorous activities since coming home from Nam.

Another thing is, though I feel for the families who lost someone on 9/11, the attacks are not their private property. The attacks were aimed at every American. I am sick of people acting like because they lost someone, this is private. Their loss is private but the attacks were not. I will never forget it.

God Bless America and George W. Bush.

CG"

[Williams]

Imagine being "disgusted" by honoring the dead attacked at Pearl harbor?

Repubs wake up. The dems will try to make everything good and honorable you do into an embarrassment. don't allow it. Go after them wildly for it. They deserve it.

Kerry has an ad using and attacking Bush on the aircraft carrier and the "mission accomplished" sign. I didn't notice any media analysis about him daring to use and question the accomplishments and sacrifices of our troops.

[BlkConserv]

REUTERS ALERT

Anything from Reuters has about as much credibility as Bill Clinton.

[Chunga]

Ron Willett of Walnut Shade, Missouri, said he was disgusted when he saw the ads. Willett, who lost his 29-year-old son, John Charles, when planes hit the trade center, said he is now so upset, "I would vote for Saddam Hussein before I would vote for Bush."

I'd like to meet this person face-to-face and ask him about his quote.

[Puddleglum]

Here's how they work:

1. The media swamp the press with anecdotal "outrage"
2. The media interview each other about the "outrage"
3. The talking heads comment on the outrage
4. Repeat Step 1 through 3 for one week
5. The media construct and skew a poll that shows the "American people are 'outraged'
6. The media continue to wonder why 'flyover America' thinks the press is at best irrelevant

[jimbo123]

Reuters writer here:

mark.egan.reuters.com@reuters.net

+1 646-223-6190,
fax +1 646-223-6289

[section9]

The following is a reprint from the locked thread.

The WTC should not appear in any ad, period. Rove and Bush made a mistake. I hope they correct it posthaste.

Bullshit. Stop being a candy-ass. 9-11 belongs to EVERYBODY; it happened to all of us. Bush showed SUPERB leadership in the face of terror. Bush has every right to point to his record on the war on terror.

If television had existed in 1944, Roosevelt would have run ads praising his leadership. They would have run that film of the Number Two Gun magazine going up on the Arizona. And FDR would have been right to run it; up until Yalta, his war leadership was superb.

Don't fall for the claptrap from the Dems, and DON'T let Democrats pretend that 9-11 belongs to them. It belongs to everybody. And there's no sense in allowing Dems to dictate our campaign.

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[Dog]

What the hell do you mean by that comment?

[jimbo123]

Someone should ask this Reuters writer if he is disgusted by Kerry's 9/11 ad.

[Dog]

Details?

[aculeus]

These people put their own political agenda ahead of the country's safety.

That good-looking blond is an anti-Bush fanatic.