Bush TV Ads Anger Some Relatives of 9/11 Victims
WASHINGTON — Democratic officials, a firefighters union and some relatives of Sept. 11 victims assailed President Bush on Thursday for using video images from the site of the collapsed World Trade Center towers in the first round of his reelection campaign's television advertisements.
Three of the ads show the ruins of one of the towers. Two of the ads, one in English and an identical version in Spanish, also show firefighters carrying the flag-draped remains of a victim from ground zero. Critics called these ads "unconscionable," "inappropriate" and "in poor taste."
Bush campaign officials strenuously defended the ads as a legitimate and sensitive depiction of the president's leadership in crisis, his commitment to New Yorkers and his resolve to fight terrorism. They circulated a statement from former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani to buttress their argument.
"Sept. 11 is the defining event of our times," Giuliani said. "This was a shared experience that the American people have all been through together."
He added that Bush's "leadership on that day is central to his record, and his continued leadership is critical to our ultimate success against world terrorism."
The campaign officials also noted that many of the ads' critics had been opposed to Bush long before the spots went on the air.
But to some people whose lives were touched directly by the terrorist attacks, the ads went over the line.
"It's offensive that he would have the audacity to use 9/11 in a political campaign," said Kristen Breitweiser, 33, of New Jersey, whose husband, Ronald, died at the World Trade Center. Breitweiser has been critical of Bush's handling of an investigation into the attacks.
As a practical matter, analysts said, it would be all but impossible to expect the president to refrain from visual references to the Sept. 11 attacks as he seeks reelection. But the initial furor sparked in some quarters made it clear that Bush is treading on potentially treacherous political ground.
"I think one needs to be aware that firefighters and those whose families died on Sept. 11 bring a very strong emotional reaction to any use of images from that time," said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and an authority on political advertisements.
