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9/11 images in Bush ads hit
Boston.com ^ | 3/5/04 | Wayne Washington

Posted on 03/05/2004 8:49:13 AM PST by Tumbleweed_Connection

Edited on 04/13/2004 2:11:45 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]

Firefighters and some relatives of those killed during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks yesterday said they were furious about Bush-Cheney campaign ads featuring fleeting images of a destroyed World Trade Center and of firefighters carrying a flag-draped coffin.

Criticism of the ads, which were aired for the first time yesterday, threatened to blunt the $4.5 million opening salvo of the Bush-Cheney campaign's battle to restore the image of the president, which has been battered during the Democratic nominating process.


(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...


TOPICS: Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 911; ads; gwb2004
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To: Howlin
I posted this on another thread


I was listening to Glen Beck and a fire fighter called in to say how not all the union MEMBERS are backing Kerry and how they are ticked off at how the union LEADERS are using them to get Kerry elected
21 posted on 03/05/2004 9:09:12 AM PST by Mo1 (Do you want a president who injects poison into his skull for vanity?)
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To: KellyAdmirer
Yes indeed, this add has received much more play than the original buy. The man has a plan and he intends to use it!
22 posted on 03/05/2004 9:10:16 AM PST by gumboyaya
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To: Howlin
The union MEMBERS need to start speaking up about their union LEADERS using them
23 posted on 03/05/2004 9:10:57 AM PST by Mo1 (Do you want a president who injects poison into his skull for vanity?)
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To: Tumbleweed_Connection
The Wall Street Journal has a different view of the issue, including a picture of their own view of the scene of the 9/11 attacks from their own windows. They think that the Democrats should shut up, unless they have some positive suggestions for handling the war on terror.

Is 9/11 an Issue?
President Bush talks about his record, and Democrats demand that he shut up.

Friday, March 5, 2004 12:01 a.m. EST

September 11, 2001, marked the worst foreign attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor--the bloodiest ever on the American mainland. It's certainly been the defining event of George W. Bush's Presidency. But according to Democrats and their media echo chamber, it now shouldn't be a campaign issue.

Yes, that was the message being peddled in yesterday's papers by reporters provided with outrage-laden quotes from a single firefighters' union and activist relatives of victims of the World Trade Center attacks. With a series of new campaign ads featuring fleeting images of Ground Zero, they charge, Mr. Bush is "exploiting" the tragedy.





"I'm disappointed but not surprised that the President would try to trade on the heroism of those fire fighters in the September 11 attacks," said International Association of Fire Fighters President Harold Schaitberger, who happens to have endorsed John Kerry way back in September. "It's a slap in the face of the murders of 3,000 people," said outspoken victims' family activist and litigant Monica Gabrielle. The theme was quickly picked up by television talkers.
Please. We write this from offices that are 200 yards from Ground Zero and were rendered uninhabitable for almost a year by the attack. (The photo below was the view from our windows.) The threat of another such assault, and how to prevent it, has dominated our politics for three years. From tax cuts designed to save the economy from the double-whammy of terrorism and recession, to the Patriot Act, to regime change in Afghanistan and Iraq as part of Mr. Bush's "forward strategy of freedom in the Middle East," just about every recent major policy is inextricably linked to the event so mildly depicted in these Bush ads. Isn't an election supposed to be about such things?

Even Democrats know that it is, so they are manufacturing this outrage for a political purpose: President Bush still polls extremely well on his handling of the war on terror, and Democrats are trying to define the debate in a way that keeps him from playing to his strengths. The polls also show that Mr. Bush scores well as a "leader," so Democrats are also trying to stop him from reinforcing that image.

But what is Mr. Bush supposed to do, stop being President? Incumbency clearly has its large (and sometimes unfair) advantages. Yet try as we might, we can't seem to recall similar outrage about Bill Clinton's use of incumbency when he was running for re-election--at least not outrage that got any media traction.

Where, for example, was the tut-tutting about the former President "exploiting" the Oklahoma City bombing by giving an election-year speech there in April 1996? We'd also take the current handwringing a bit more seriously if we heard any similar worries about John Kerry "exploiting" his service in Vietnam.





One of the oddest things about the hullabaloo over the Bush ads is that these are precisely the kind of campaign spots the self-appointed media referees always say they like: positive, and focused on the candidate's message and record, not on tearing down the other guy. Despite Mr. Kerry's crocodile tears about the Republican "attack machine" and "smear" campaign, neither the President nor any other high-ranking Republican has so far taken a serious jab at either Mr. Kerry's character or his record.
Yet in case they eventually do, Democrats are also busy trying to take that off the table. When Georgia Republican Saxby Chambliss recently talked about Mr. Kerry's Senate votes against most U.S. weapons systems, he was assailed for attacking Mr. Kerry's "patriotism." This is an extension of the Max Cleland-as-martyr myth, asserting that it was somehow unfair for Republicans to attack the former Georgia Senator and Vietnam vet in the 2002 elections for his vote against the Homeland Security department.

So the Bush campaign is being presented with something of a Catch-22: Any attempt to talk about the President's own record will be branded "exploitative," while any talk about Mr. Kerry's will be called an attack on his "patriotism." Our advice to Mr. Bush is to choose his message and ignore the whining.

As for Democrats, they'd be wise to get over the idea that Mr. Kerry's Vietnam biography will cover them on the defense issue. For most Americans, 9/11 was the defining event of a generation, and they'll want to hear a serious debate about which candidate has the best policies to keep them safer in the years ahead. The more Democrats complain about Mr. Bush running on national security, the more voters may suspect that Democrats don't have any serious anti-terror ideas of their own.


24 posted on 03/05/2004 9:12:10 AM PST by Eva
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To: Tumbleweed_Connection
The Democrats want voters kept in ignorance of 9-11. They're the ones who want to thrust it down the memory hole so they can go back to weakening our military, appeasing our enemies, and trusting our national security to the U.N. Which incidentally, is John F. Kerry's idea of what to do in response to the threats America faces in this century.
25 posted on 03/05/2004 9:12:32 AM PST by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
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To: KellyAdmirer
So far this ad has been shown at the top of every newscast (local, cable and network). Its viewership will be significantly more than projected in the ad buys.

I believe the Democrats made a mistake here on two fronts.

The reference to 9/11 is pretty innocuous. After people see the ad (run free of charge to Bush-Cheney 2004 on their local news shows) they will realize how silly the Democrats are being. The Democrats will be hard pressed to be taken seriously the next time they complain about something.

The Democrats are now responsible for bringing 9/11 into the discussion. As people replay the images in their mind most people will view Kerry's opinions on the WOT (legal issue) as idiotic. Thanks guys.
26 posted on 03/05/2004 9:16:03 AM PST by AMDG
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To: goldstategop
GREAT POST! The Dems want us to forget because that's what their policy is when dealing with terrorism.

Listening to the whiners on Limbaugh's show. These women are dispicable! They keep saying they should be showing Bush reading to school children because that's where he was on 9/11. GOD, THEY ARE SO DISGUSTING!!!

"Why were 3,000 people murdered on his watch?" I'm gonna be sick.

27 posted on 03/05/2004 9:16:23 AM PST by Wphile (Keep the UN out of Iraq)
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To: AMDG
This reminds me of the uproar over the RNC's pictures of Bush's first year which included one photo from the days after 9/11. The dems went ballistic. The RNC hoped to raise $200,000 from the photos. They ended up getting over $1 million in donations! Ha!
28 posted on 03/05/2004 9:18:03 AM PST by Wphile (Keep the UN out of Iraq)
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To: Wphile
I'm listening to Rush too and he is right. It sounds to me like all of those women were coached. They all used the same words and phrases. No doubt they were faxed talking points by the Democrats. I would say I'm shocked that they are being used by this but I'm really not.

That is why I think this race will be very close. The democrats will stop at nothing to win this election. I have toyed with the thought of not voting for Bush because of some of the things he has done but things like this jolt me out of those thoughts. The democratic leaders are dispicable people. In fact, calling them people is an insult to the human race.

I see nothing wrong with Bushs ads and I am sorry for the VAST majority of family members who might be upset by the images in his commercials but the VAST majority of them will remain silent and handle it in their own way. They won't become political pawns of the democratic party.
29 posted on 03/05/2004 9:28:25 AM PST by WatchOutForSnakes
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To: Tumbleweed_Connection
George W. Bush action doll.

John F. Kerry action doll.

30 posted on 03/05/2004 9:29:18 AM PST by isthisnickcool (Guns!)
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To: WatchOutForSnakes
You know if I were a family member of a victim, I think I would be grateful that the President still remembers 9/11. I would be very upset if I felt the way I really do - that most Americans have forgotten about 9/11 and it's impact on this country. If I were a family member of a victim, I'd want the President to remind the American people what we face because I wouldn't want this to happen to anybody else. I would want to know my President knows this and is doing everything he can to prevent it from happening again. I do not think I'd taken any offense with these ads.
31 posted on 03/05/2004 9:32:56 AM PST by Wphile (Keep the UN out of Iraq)
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To: Wphile; section9; Poohbah; BOBTHENAILER; Howlin; PhiKapMom; Dog Gone; My2Cents; JohnHuang2; ...
My response to the DNC complaints (and that is where these complains come from, people) is this:
Yob tvoyu maht, DNC!

"Your life sucks, it's Bush's fault, vote for me," doesn't work as well as "We've had some challenegs, but we're turning the corner." And Bush has chosen the latter. The fact the DNC and Kerry are yelping means that the stone Bush-Cheney `04 threw has scored a hit.

32 posted on 03/05/2004 9:35:08 AM PST by hchutch (Why did the Nazgul bother running from Arwen's flash flood? They only managed to die tired.)
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To: Tumbleweed_Connection
F#%k all these RAT objectors.

Let the second set of commercials show the jumpers.

Let the American citizens recall the horror of allowing ourselves to go to sleep while we're surrounded by cockroaches.

Let's show Kerry throwing somebody's Nam medals over the fence.
33 posted on 03/05/2004 9:36:46 AM PST by aShepard
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To: Wphile
I think 99.9 percent of the family members do feel that way. It's only those allowing themselves to be used that are getting the airtime. I had no one killed in the attacks so it's really unfair for me to speak as to how I would feel but as an American I frankly don't think we see those images enough. I think they should be shown over and over again so we never forget.
34 posted on 03/05/2004 9:37:30 AM PST by WatchOutForSnakes
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To: Tumbleweed_Connection; All
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1091208/posts
BUSH TRADE CENTER AD SPARKS CONTROVERSY--Judge for yourself
various FR links | 03-05-04 | The Heavy Equipment Guy
35 posted on 03/05/2004 9:37:53 AM PST by backhoe (The balance of Common Sense is tipping toward Non-sense...)
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To: Tumbleweed_Connection
The WHORES OF DEATH were coached by somebody because they all used the same talking points.
36 posted on 03/05/2004 9:38:41 AM PST by CROSSHIGHWAYMAN (I don't believe anything a Democrat says. Bill Clinton set the standard!)
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To: Tumbleweed_Connection
Absurd - 9/11 was a national tragedy and Bush's handling of it affected us all -what arrogance for these few people to think they have exclusive right to the pain and outrage inflicted on the whole country by that event.......
37 posted on 03/05/2004 9:42:25 AM PST by Intolerant in NJ (November is payback time by all us Babykiller Vets, Benedict Kerry)
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To: Wphile; hchutch
We now are aware of the 3 common phrases of these 2 "interviews" - genius Rush. This information must be used.
38 posted on 03/05/2004 9:43:57 AM PST by Tumbleweed_Connection (www.whatyoucrave.com)
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To: Conspiracy Guy
Excellent...worthy of a repeat as a letter to the editor.
39 posted on 03/05/2004 9:44:32 AM PST by PLOM...NOT!
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To: WatchOutForSnakes
Yep, I agree. The really disgusting part about all this is the shamelessness of the media and their willingness to broadcast the 1% who are frankly, making fools of themselves. I feel sorry for the 1% who are being used as tools for the democrats and the media. Shame on them all.
40 posted on 03/05/2004 9:44:52 AM PST by Wphile (Keep the UN out of Iraq)
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