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=> And to all a good night...Bush campaign

And to all a good night...Bush campaign
Posted by Jeff (Guest) jeff@attoz.com - Friday, March 5 2004, 2:48:09 (EST)
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Bush campaign attacked for using September 11 images
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WASHINGTON (AFP) - President George W. Bush (news - web sites)'s campaign launched an advertising blitz that came under immediate attack for using images from the September 11 terrorist strikes.


Bush meanwhile went on the offensive against Democratic contender Senator John Kerry (news - web sites) saying the Massachusetts lawmaker was incapable of defending America against terrorists.


Relatives of the dead from the 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, along with firefighters' unions, accused the president of using pictures of firemen working in the debris of the twin World Trade Center towers for political gain.


The Bush campaign insisted, however, that the adverts -- to be aired in 17 states that could prove decisive in the November 2 presidential election -- were a "very tasteful" portrayal of the nation's shared trauma.


Two of the three new adverts show the devastation after the twin towers' collapse and include a US flag flying over the debris and firemen working in the wreckage at Ground Zero.


Hundreds of firefighters and police were among the 3,000 dead from September 11, and families of some of the dead firemen were furious at the adverts.


"For anyone to use 9/11 for political gain is despicable," said Monica Gabrielle, whose husband died in the attacks.


Tom Roger, whose daughter was a stewardess on one of the hijacked planes, called the adverts "some advertising agency's attempt to grab people by the throat."


Many fire fighters were also angry. Harold Schaitberger, head of the International Association of Fire Fighters, said: "The use of 9/11 images are hypocrisy at its worst."


"Bush is calling on the biggest disaster in our country's history, and indeed in the history of the fire service, to win sympathy for his campaign," Schaitberger said in a statement which added that Bush has since "shortchanged firefighters and the safety of our homeland" by not providing enough funds.


The Kerry campaign called the spots a "new multimillion-dollar revisionist history ad campaign."


"Most astonishing, George Bush's ad features a shot of the wreckage of that tragic September day almost three years ago and the firefighters who so bravely worked to save lives," said Kerry spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter.


"What he doesn't tell you is that only 10 percent of fire departments across the nation have personnel and equipment to respond to a building collapse."


White House spokesman Scott McClellan said: "September 11 was a defining moment for our nation. It was an experience that all Americans shared. It is the reason we are still at war on terrorism."


Bush campaign advisor, Karen Hughes, said the adverts were "very tasteful".


"It's a reminder of our shared experience as a nation. I mean, September 11 is not just some distant tragedy from the past. It really defined our future," Hughes she told CNN television.


Hughes went on: "The campaign is really just beginning today. Today, we go up on air with our television commercials. Today, the race is really on."





And Bush heightened his attacks on Kerry, giving him little time to savour his victory in Tuesday's primary votes that secured the Democratic nomination.

"Great events will turn on this election," Bush told a campaign fundraising luncheon in Bakersfield, California.

"The man who sits in the Oval Office will set the course of the war on terror and the direction of our economy. The security and prosperity of America are at stake."

In a swipe at Kerry, Bush said, "My opponent has not offered much in the way of strategies to win the war, or policies to expand our economy.

Kerry insisted, meanwhile, that despite his strong opinion poll ratings against Bush, he is the "underdog" as the rivals head into a gruelling eight-month battle for the White House.

"We're going to be the underdog in money and the underdog against the incumbent," Kerry told the USA Today daily.

"We're just going to have to fight as I did during the primaries and the caucuses. And I will fight. And we'll do the best we can to raise as much money to answer back."

Kerry said he was surprised to receive a call from Bush congratulating him on winning the nomination following the Democrats' "Super Tuesday" votes in 10 states this week.

The gesture would not hold up the battle, however. "I'm talking about differences of opinion," he said. "It's nothing personal."



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