Bush campaign's use of 9/ 11 images in his re-election commercials

[jwcrsf]

As a firefighter and someone that was at 9/11 I am disgusted by the ads. People Firefighters and Police officers are losing jobs all over the country. In case no one was paying attention they even closed firehouses in NYC. Is this the plan for making us safer? What about taking the 80 billion thats going to Iraq helping protect us here. Of thats right that goes to all the company's that made campaign contributions. John Kerry did 2 tour in Vietnam while GWB was guarding Texas. Give me a break.

 

[Grog]

I don't think any of us who have not been in their shoes have the right to criticize them for their feelings.

I agree with you on that.

But what about the 9/11 familes who support the ad? Don't they have a say? They might be just as offended if the ad is pulled, and in some cases are already offended by the critisism. I heard an interview on the radio today with a NY firefighter who lost a brother and a cousin (fellow firefighters) in the attacks. He is all for the ads. Do his feelings and opinions not count?

 

[GoofItUp]

I think this is a debate over who you like. (Can I use the 'd' word on the CB?) If you like Bush, you like what he did after 9/11, and you think it is fitting and proper for him to use footage from that day to remind people of how he led the country in the days, weeks, and months that followed. If you don't like Bush, then you find the ads offensive and feel like they are exploiting the event.

Personally, I'm very glad that Bush was our president that day and is today. I think he's led the country in a respectable way that others may not have had the fortitude to do.

BTW, Rudy G (I won't even try to spell the last name!) came out in support of the ads and thought they were very appropriate.

 

[Teacherº0º]

Maybe Bush should just use images of dead bodies coming home from Iraq, or maybe he could use images of people waiting in unemployment lines. That might be less controversial.


Prune the pRESIDENTIAL Shrub in 2004.

 

[KarenC]

Originally posted by tiggersmom2
KaranC,
If you insist on pointing fingers......The Carter administration brought down the CIA. The CIA was downgraded to a large degree in this era and if we had had an adequate one maybe 9/11 would not have happened. All I can say is, I am glad Bush was in office when it did happen because he did what was right for our country.

Well, I voted against Jimmy Carter in 1980...

I was responding to the remark about what Gore would have done/what Kerry would do. I believe their testimony to the September 11 commission will show that Clinton and Gore were not clueless to the dangers that lay ahead.

 

[tiggersmom2]

KarenC,
Glad to hear you voted against Carter in 1980, my parents did too. (no, that was not a stab, I truly am glad you voted against him) I know that Clinton and Gore were not clueless to what was happening, but I do think they would not have used the strong arm that Bush did and protected our country.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Originally posted by Teacherº0º
............

BTW, Teacherº0º, welcome to the DIS.

 

[Melora]

Welcome Teacherº0º!

(I like you already!)

 

[JoeThaNo1Stunna]

I agree with what the earlier poster said. How is Bush so bad for reminding us of the leadership he displayed after 3,000 Americans were killed, but Kerry is fine to brag, boast, and show footage from Vietnam, where 55,000 Americans were killed. The hypocrisy is astonishing.

Kerry's service in Vietnam is commendable, but for his supporters to chastise Bush for using 9/11 in ads is ludicrous. You must also demand that Kerry not reference Vietnam in his ads either.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Originally posted by Grog
Absolutely amazing. Those attacks were not done on a whim. They took years to plan. Bush had been president for nine months at the time. There's enough blame for both his and the prior administration. Some people may find it offensive that he is using 9/11 in his re-election campaign, but I think it's even more offensive when people twist the facts simply because they don't like who is in office.

Well said, Grog. Theads are fine by me.

 

[KingKobra]

If anything, doesn't showing the 9/11 images reflect how vulnerable we were as a country that day, therefore reflecting badly on Bush's administration?

 

[Dan Murphy]

No

 

[Aristocath]

I think 9/11 was such a horrific event for us all that our citizens would have rallied around our President and he would have been a symbol of strength no matter who he was. I mean really, what did Bush do that day that day that was so wonderful? When many of us think back to that horrible day, we think of Rudy, or the brave men and women at the Pentagon, or the courageous people who died in a field in Pennsylvania. We needed a leader and in the days that followed we all felt intense patriotism. Just because he was the President then doesn't make him a great one. I think it is inappropriate for him to use 9/11 images in his campaign ads. I am also surprised that he is using them so far out from the election. Politically, I think they would have benefitted him closer to November.

Also, I am NOT proud that he is from Texas.
From the lonely Texas Democratic Party, Cathy

 

[MICKEY88]

Originally posted by KarenC
After OBL declared war on America, Bill Clinton's daily briefing always contained reference to the latest intelligence on al qaeda. When Sandy Berger handed over the national security files to Condaleeza Rice, he told her that the Bush administration would spend more time worrying about al qaeda than anything else.

After Bush took office, the first mention of al qaeda in his daily briefing was in August, when the "chatter" suggested a big attack. I can't help but wonder if the President was interested in what bin laden was up to, if memos and concerns about middle eastern men enrolled in flight schools coming out of Phoenix, or pilots only wanting to learn to fly, not take off or land, wouldn't have gotten more attention.

Don't forget Clinton also downsized the military and was having coffee parties in the whitehouse as he gave nuke technology to the Chinese.....

 

[Pin Wizard]

Originally posted by KarenC
I believe their testimony to the September 11 commission will show that Clinton and Gore were not clueless to the dangers that lay ahead.

Absolutely! And certainly did NOT step up to the plate to address it and take care of it. I'll admit making a mistake and voting for Gore in the last election as well as my boss who did the same thing. We were discussing it one day and both agreed...we could not even imagine Gore trying to handle 9/11 issues. We both feel the right guy was in office at the time to handle it.

 

[shortbun]

This President and his administration are close friends, have done business with and have protected Osama Bin Laden's family members since the 9/11 attacks on our soil.

September 13-19, 2001: Members of bin Laden's family and important Saudis are "driven or flown under FBI supervision to a secret assembly point in Texas and then to Washington from where they left the country on a private charter plane when airports reopened three days after the attacks." The flights to Texas and Washington occur before the national air ban is lifted. [New York Times, 9/30/01] The Tampa Tribune reports that on September 13, a Lear jet takes off from Tampa, Florida, carrying a Saudi Arabian prince, the son of the Saudi defense minister Prince Sultan (see August 2001 (G), August 31, 2001, August 15, 2002), as well as the son of a Saudi army commander, and flies to Lexington, Kentucky, where the Saudis own racehorses. They then fly a private 747 out of the country. Multiple 747s with Arabic lettering on their sides are already there, suggesting another secret assembly point. The Tampa flight left from a private Raytheon hangar. [Tampa Tribune, 10/5/01] (Raytheon's name keeps coming up in relation to 9/11�(for instance, see September 25, 2001).) Prince Bandar, Saudi ambassador to the US, helps move the bin Laden family out of the US. [London Times, 11/25/02] Ron Motley, the lead lawyer in a 9/11 lawsuit against many Saudis, points to the flights during the air ban as evidence that Saudis are "protected by the Bush administration" because of "oil." [Minneapolis Star Tribune, 8/16/02] There have been conflicting reports as to whether the FBI interviewed these people before they left the country. Osama bin Laden's half brother, Abdullah bin Laden, stated that even a month after 9/11 his only contact with the FBI was a brief phone call. [Boston Globe, 9/21/01, New Yorker, 11/5/01]

It is rumored that Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia is called
"Bandar Bush" by George (senior) and Barbara Bush. Also,
rumored is that Bandar's wife refers to the elder Bush couple
as her 2nd parents. I don't remember how many of the
terrorists were Saudi nationals but more than half.....why have
we not gone after terrorists in Saudi Arabia? Could it be "oil",
Halliburton, family friendships?

George Bush makes me sick. I lost no one during 9/11 but
to see him capitalize on that horrible day rather than honor
the dead and their families is horrifying but not suprising.
The fact that any of the families of 9/11 victims are objecting
to his use of these images to further his political agenda
should stop them immediately. That he has not pulled the
ads is proof of his arrogance and true lack of caring for anyone
but himself. This is my opinion based on facts. I am not going
to debate it. It stands simply put.
Peace out

 

[wdwnutze]

I have no problem with the ads. I can't imagine what things would have been like if Gore had been in office. President Bush was a strong leader in a time when we needed it. I felt a sense of comfort with him in office after the 9/11 attacks. I agree that the attacks were not something planned in a short period of time. I think Clinton handed President Bush a mess when he left office. Someone should have taken care of things a long time ago!

 

[beattyfamily]

I don't see the ads as exploitation at all. I'm thankful that George Bush was and is our President.

I cringe when I think what would have happened to us if Gore were our President on 9/11.

I also cringe when I think of what might happen to our country if Kerry wins in November...wouldn't surprise me in the least if we have another major attack a few months into his Presidency to test him as I don't think anyone will fear him as they do Bush. Kerry wants permission from the UN before he'd do anything and if he didn't get permission, he'd do nothing.

When I say fear President Bush and not fear Kerry, I'm referring to the dictators and terrorists. I want them to fear us and they won't with Kerry as President based on his record.

 

[Teacherº0º]

Originally posted by beattyfamily


I cringe when I think what would have happened to us if Gore were our President on 9/11.

Gore would have returned to DC immediately and addressed the nation from the White House. You see, Gore has actually been to war and isn't afraid of bad guys in planes. Then we'd have caught those responsible. The outgoing administration told Bush where Osama was but the Bushes took no action. There'd have been no need for war in Afghanistan. And 540+ American soldiers killed in Iraq would be alive today.

Instead, we had King W flying around from place to place playing hide and seek rather than addressing the nation immediately. Then while air traffic was stopped for days, W had all his Saudi friends and the family of Osama flown out of the country. You know the rest.

I cringe every time I see the Resident Bush, and I want to vomit every time I hear him speak. (We need a puking smilie)


Flame away.

 

[damo]

I think he should also be using pictures of the anthrax attacks