Posted on 03/04/2004 12:21:22 PM PST by 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)
In any case, there are people who lost loved one's in the terrorist attacks. But we are all 9/11 families.
The UNITED STATES was attacked....every last one of us..and as such...no one can decide who can or can't use the images of that day in an Election.
redrock
Yep, they managed to "squeeze in" one quote in support of the President in the last line of the story. I guess that's what passes for balance at Reuters.
I been debating libs for years. They are in general agreement. They would rather vote for a monkey then Bush. He might of been upset but this is what they think.
On, Off, or grab it for a Media Shenanigans/Schadenfreude ping:
http://www.freerepublic.com/~anamusedspectator/
A tip of the Shenanigans shillelagh to Freeper Dr. frank fan.
THE BUSH ADS [Jonah Goldberg][Color emphasis mine, italicized emphasis in original.]
I'm sorry, but while I have a great deal of sympathy for the families of 9/11 victims, I think these complaints are nonsense squared. A lot more people died during Vietnam than on 9/11 and John Kerry has been running ads with footage from there for months. These families may have a unique relationship to 9/11 but they do not have ownership of that day, politically, culturally or otherwise and it would be absurd if this administration caved on this point, even though I'm sure the media will be delighted to exploit the personal tragedies of these families.
That's gonna leave a mark.
George W. Bush went after those that helped kill their family members. He went after them. Across the planet he sent people to hunt the killers and bring them to justice.
Unlike the people complaining here George W. Bush did not lose any loved ones on 9/11. Also unlike the people complaining here because George W. Bush went hunting for the killers Bush and his whole family will be forever marked for death by the people responsible for the 9/11 murders. But these people are not thinking of that. Because they apparently can't think. If they could they would realize that George W. Bush made an amazing sacrifice. And that was to forever put himself, Laura and the rest of their family in danger. Forever. And one reason he did so was for the people complaining here and their family members they lost on 9/11.
Those who are complaining the loudest are probably card-carrying Democraps.
Ron Willetts son, who was killed in the WTC, and whose father would proudly vote for Saddam Hussein, was a Mel Carnahan political appointee who was defeated by a Republican candidate when he had to answer to the voters. Any journalist worth half a dime would point that out.
God rest the unfortunate sons soul.
Screw the father who would attempt to score political points off his sons murder, while at the same time minimizing the crimes of one of this centurys biggest mass murderers. Scumbag.
The Willetts are not media shy, that's for sure. It does look like John, at least, was politically active at least:
John Willett served as the state's youngest county treasurer. Gov. Mel Carnahan had appointed him to the post at age 23 in 1996, the year after John received his bachelor's degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He served 18 months before losing an election bid to keep the post as a Democrat in a predominantly Republican county. . (9/10/2003)
Boy, the parents love to stir up trouble. (10/9/2002) According to this the son was adopted.
But I think it is safe to say that the Saddam voters are hardcore Democrats.
James Brady has been the poster boy for gun control for the last twenty years. Sarah Brady has made a fortune wheeling her husband around like some sort of circus attraction. Sick, hypocritical.
Nope. The press is running harder against Bush than the Democrats ever will. Bush has to beat both the press AND the Democrats. It's all so odious.
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