Bush told us he wouldn’t use 9/11 for political purposes.
Bush told us he wouldn’t use 9/11 for political purposes. As reported by the Associated Press on Jan. 23, 2003, President Bush said “I have no ambition whatsoever to use this as a political issue.” Now he’s doing precisely that. Our tragedy is being exploited. By using 9/11 imagery, President Bush’s re-election ads cheapen a profoundly significant event that killed thousands and hurt all of us. Just two weeks ago, the Bush/Cheney campaign attacked the notion of “playing politics with national security.”
As reported in Newsday on Feb. 20, 2004, Bush-Cheney spokesman Kevin Madden responded to charges that the White House has overtly politicized 9/11 by saying “I can’t believe [they] said that. They are playing politics with national security.” Bush still won’t testify in front of the 9/11 commission.
As the Daily News reported, many family members are especially upset because President Bush still refuses to meet with the whole 9/11 commission, which was set up to determine what went wrong in the lead-up to the attacks. The political use of 9/11 is a major part of the Bush re-election strategy. The 2004 Republican Convention is scheduled for the first week of September, timing which, according to the New York Times (April 22, 2003), “will allow Bush to begin his formal campaign near the third anniversary of Sept. 11.”
Sandy Brown
Roseville, Calif.
