Bush ads anger some 9/11 families
Bush adviser: 'It really defined our future'
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Some families of September 11 victims are objecting to Bush-Cheney 2004 ads that use images from the assaults in New York City.
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NEW YORK (AP) -- President Bush's re-election campaign on Thursday defended commercials using images from the September 11 terrorist attacks, including wreckage of the World Trade Center, as appropriate for an election about public policy and the war on terror.
Some families of the victims of the attacks are angry with Bush for airing the spots, which they called in poor taste and for the president's political gain. (Bush ads tout 'steady leadership')
"I respectfully, completely disagree," Bush adviser Karen Hughes said Thursday on CNN's "American Morning."
"Your viewers saw the ad. I think it's very tasteful. It's a reminder of our shared experience as a nation. I mean September 11th is not just some distant tragedy from the past, it really defined our future."
The first three ads, unveiled Wednesday at campaign headquarters in suburban Washington, will run 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. (Bush takes aim at Kerry, Bush hits fund-raising trail)
"It's a slap in the face of the murders of 3,000 people," Monica Gabrielle, whose husband died in the twin towers, told the New York Daily News for its Thursday editions. "It is unconscionable."
World Trade Center
Two of the spots show the destruction at the World Trade Center and include an American flag flying amid the debris.
They also feature images of firefighters working through the wreckage.
"It's as sick as people who stole things out of the place," said Firefighter Tommy Fee of Queens Rescue Squad 270. "The image of firefighters at ground zero should not be used for this stuff, for politics."
The ads do not mention Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, focusing instead on improving Bush's image after criticism by Democrats in recent months.
"I would be less offended if he showed a picture of himself in front of the Statue of Liberty," said Tom Roger, whose daughter perished on American Airlines Flight 11.
"But to show the horror of 9/11 in the background, that's just some advertising agency's attempt to grab people by the throat."
Copyright 2004 The
Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
