Exploiting 9/11

Sometimes, someone will do something so shameless that it just makes you have to stop and catch your breath. This is one of those times.

Before we get main event, though, The Advertiser, an Australian newspaper, has a report today on how the New York State government and New York City's City Hall, are proposing legislation that would ban vendors from the Ground Zero site, in an effort to recognize the "sanctity" of the site. This fits in with the general tenor of how people have, for the most part, tried to avoid exploiting the September 11th attacks as a sign of respect for those who died that day.

The Republicans, however, don't seem to feel any need to follow suit. Instead, they've decided to make the most of 9/11 when it comes time for their convention and Bush's push for re-election next year.

The president is planning a sprint of a campaign that would start, at least officially, with his acceptance speech at the Republican convention, which is now set for Sept. 2.

The convention, to be held in New York City, will be the latest since the Republican Party was founded in 1856, and Bush's advisers said they chose the date so the event would flow into the commemorations marking the third anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks.

The back-to-back events would complete the framework for a general election campaign that is being built around national security and Bush's role in combating terrorism, Republicans said.

I certainly expected the events of September 11th and it's aftermath to play a significant role in Bush's re-election campaign - but somehow, the thought of them scheduling the convention in New York City and specifically timing it to coincide with the rememberences of the tragedy to boost Bush's re-election chances is just astounding in its arrogance. "We're here to remember those many people who died on this spot three years ago, and to remind you of what a great job President Bush has done since then to... blah, blah, blah"? "Crass" just doesn't quite cut it. Hopefully, this kind of exploitation will do more to turn people off, offended by it the way so many have been offended by the sales of trinkets, hotdogs and other items at Ground Zero, that it'll just blow up in Bush's face.

Posted by thorswitch at April 27, 2003 02:27 AM | TrackBack