Bush's first campaign ads invoke 9/11

[dissention]

Originally posted by strandinthewind
Tasteful my ass

I wouldn't imagine any ass being very tasty.

[strandinthewind]

Originally posted by dissention
As usual, we disagree. She will get the VP nomination, mark my words. Of course she wants to be president, but she'll use the VP seat in order to be do so. As for saying that she'll finish her Senate term, that's hogwash. If the opportunity arises, she take it instantly. And it has nothing to do with the NY vote, they know it'll go to Kerry. They will try to appeal to the female vote and, like it or not, she's very popular with this generation. Many of the baby boomers can't stand her, but they'll vote anyways just to get Shrub out of there. It's a win-win situation: we get Shrub out and a Democrat in, then Hillary will run in 2012.

Don't get me wrong, although I think she is okay even is she most certainly is, like all other politicians, lying opportunistic crapola,. I would not mind her getting the VP nomination. I think, however, it would be a polarization that will make the perhaps 5% swing votes not want to run to Kerry as her needs them to do, etc. But, time will tell

[darklinensuit]

9/11 Victims' Kin Angered by Bush Ads
36 minutes ago Add Top Stories - AP to My Yahoo!


By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Relatives of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and a firefighters union said Thursday they're angry that President Bush (news - web sites)'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 Bush of exploiting the attacks. 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 last three years. The campaign had said in the past that it would not use the attacks for political gain.


"It makes me sick," Colleen Kelly, who lost her brother Bill Kelly Jr., in the attacks and leads a victims families group called Peaceful Tomorrows, said Thursday. "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."


"September 11th 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 September 11 fundamentally changed our public policy in many important ways, and I think it's vital that the next president recognize that."


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 select cable networks. The ads do not mention Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry (news - web sites), focusing instead on improving Bush's image after criticism by Democrats in recent months. Bush is expected to spend a large part of his $100 million war chest on ads.


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 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," Schaitberger said. He said his union is politically independent even though it endorsed 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 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," Potorti said. "I would be just as outraged if any politician did this."


Until 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 Breitweiser, 39, died in the World Trade Center.


"Three thousand people were murdered on President Bush's watch," Breitweiser said. "He has not cooperated with the investigation to find out why that happened."

- Jake

[DeeGeMe]

Watch this--it'll make you ask a few questions:

http://www.takebackthemedia.com/true911.html

[CarneVaca]

Originally posted by dissention
As usual, we disagree. She will get the VP nomination, mark my words.

No way, and you'd better hope not. A lot of Democrats dislike her.

[CarneVaca]

Originally posted by darklinensuit

WASHINGTON - Relatives of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and a firefighters union said Thursday they're angry that President Bush (news - web sites)'s new campaign ads include images of the destroyed World Trade Center and firefighters carrying a flag-draped stretcher through the rubble.

Precisely what I was talking about. If only the Democrats would now use this tastefully to their advantage... very gingerly though.

[dissention]

Originally posted by CarneVaca
A lot of Democrats dislike her.

But they hate Bush even more. Even moderate Democrats despise him. If it came down to Bush/Cheney and Kerry/Clinton, Kerry/Clinton would win. I can't stand the woman myself and am of the mind that she's an opportunistic bitch with not an ounce of truthfulness to her, but that won't matter in November when the main goal is to rid America of Shrub.

[Merf]

Dissention, you and I agree on a lot of things but there's no way in hell that Kerry will ask Hillary to be his running mate.

I just DON'T forsee that happening. She's a Clinton. The Dems made it very clear after Monica-gate that they wanted nothing to do with the Clintons. Yes, she's a senator, but I'm talking about national government here.

I predict it will be John Edwards or Dick Gephardt.

[dissention]

Originally posted by Merf
Dissention, you and I agree on a lot of things but there's no way in hell that Kerry will ask Hillary to be his running mate.

I just DON'T forsee that happening. She's a Clinton. The Dems made it very clear after Monica-gate that they wanted nothing to do with the Clintons. Yes, she's a senator, but I'm talking about national government here.

I predict it will be John Edwards or Dick Gephardt.

We'll just have to wait and see.

I'd like him to pick Nancy Pelosi, but he never will.

[gldstwmn]

Originally posted by DeeGeMe
Excuse me--but remember-on 9/11 Bush flew as far and as fast as he could in the OPPOSITE direction of the East Coast. That's real leadership alright. And it took him how many days to actually go visit Ground Zero following the attack? And does anyone remember the video of him sitting there after Andrew Card told him of the second attack-with that stupid look on his face (well, dumber than usual, anyway). Just sat there, didn't get up, didn't say, "Oops--need to go be presidential now." No, he sat there like the bump on the log that he is. And Afganistan--that was kind of a no-brainer, wasn't it? Did Bush really do anything differently than anyone else would have in the same position?

To add, he never gave the firefighters in NYC all of the money he promised them either.

[gldstwmn]

Originally posted by CarneVaca

But the Democrats are probably going to lose this one. Already I see signs of incompetence. On Tuesday night, when Ralph Reed was accusing Kerry of voting for 236 tax increases (whatever the number was, it was very specific), all Donna Brazil and Rep. Ford could muster when prompted by Wolf Blitzer to respond was vague inarticulate nonsense. Ford said, well, Kerry has voted double or triple the amount of times as that to cut taxes.

You can't fight a very specific number, 236 (or whatever it was) with vague references of "double or triple." It makes you look like you're waffling, which is a huge issue with Kerry anyway. And by the way, I bet that 236 (or whatever it was) most likely was false and out of context. The Republicans are liars.

But the Democrats are idiots and wimpy so they won't get my vote either. [/B]

Carne, can you provide a link to the transcript? I'd like to read it.

[darklinensuit]

Originally posted by Merf
Dissention, you and I agree on a lot of things but there's no way in hell that Kerry will ask Hillary to be his running mate.

I just DON'T forsee that happening. She's a Clinton. The Dems made it very clear after Monica-gate that they wanted nothing to do with the Clintons. Yes, she's a senator, but I'm talking about national government here.

I predict it will be John Edwards or Dick Gephardt.

I agree that Edwards is a top contender, but not Gephardt.

[gldstwmn]

http://www.buzzflash.com/mailbag/04/03/mai04062.html

-snip-

Subj: In case you missed this ....

Alan Fram of the Associated Press reports how the White House would appear to be preparing both for reelection -- and for a spate of staff departures.

"President Bush is making an unprecedented request to use up to $1 million budgeted for a possible presidential transition to train top officials who would join his administration if he should win a second term."

It's apparently "the first time a president has sought to use public transition funds to prepare officials to enter a re-elected administration," Fram writes. "Democrats and experts on presidential transitions say the funds should not be used when a sitting president is re-elected."

[gldstwmn]

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationwo...span-headlines

Air Force One phone records subpoenaed
Grand jury to review call logs from Bush’s jet in probe of how a CIA agent’s cover was blown

[strandinthewind]

Bill O'Reilly had an interesting point on his show last night. What is the difference between Kerry using Vietnam in his ads and W using 9/11 in his ads. BO ( ) pointed out that many more people died in Nam and some of the vets and widows of the vets might find it offensive to promote a political candidate in the same same as the 9/1 people currently find it offensive to use that event to promote a political candidate. BO has a somewhat valid point in that they both are using horrible events for political gain.

I think the difference is 9/11 is more recent and people are still hurting from it far more than people are still hurting from Nam, although Nam clearly fostered a lot of hurt, etc. It is sort of like the 9/11 people are special because of that event. For example, when lay people have expressed an opinion on the memorial at the WTC site, many 9/11 people have stated that because lay people were not directly affected, their opinion was less valid, etc.

In sum, I think W's use of 9/11 as a campaign issue is vailid because his actions, right or wrong, during that time period were part of if not the defining moment of his Presidency. I mean if people want to make it a non-campaign issue or think it is inappropriate to talk about it, then that sword cuts both ways and W should then not be open to attack for it. The D's will never agree to that because they think W's actions after 9/11 and in Iraq (which W directly relates to 9/11) are horrible and reproachable. My only beef with W's ads is these ads again are fostering that whole "if you speak out against W, you are non-patriotic and a traitor," which is not true. Yet, many people buy into that craziness.