"Less than a second."
Bob Garfield, reviewing the Bush ads for his NPR program, "On the Media," calls the ads "tasteful" and "restrained." He defends the image of firemen carrying a flag-draped stretcher out of the ruins by saying it flashes by "in a second; less than a second, really." [Transcripts for the program aren't available yet, so I'm paraphrasing at best.] He adds that no one should criticize Bush for showing images of September 11 because Bush's response to the events of that day surely have an effect on voters' perceptions of Our Leader.
Garfield doesn't quite get it. There are plenty of other images Bush can use to highlight his leadership in the wake of the attacks (and I'm sure he will in future ads). There was the speech in front of the Statue of Liberty, or even his great moment with the firefighters on "the pile." Instead he chose to show dead bodies at a time when we aren't permitted to see dead bodies in Iraq -- at least not dead American bodies.
Widows and others who lost loved ones in the attack are offended because they know Bush & Co. have done everything in their power to weaken the 9-11 commission and delay cooperating with it. Firemen are angry because the Bush tax cuts have forced municipalities to cut funding for first responders.
And the fact that Bush defiantly claims that he stands behind the ads gives the rumor going around -- that Bush will give his acceptance speech at "Ground Zero" this summer -- a lot of credibility.
As Josh Marshall writes, Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address to commemorate a cemetery, not to launch his 1864 reelection campaign.
Marshall also directs us to the web site of those wonderful guys who brought us Willie Horton.
Ok, I'll say it. Put on your tinfoil hats, because between guys like Bossie and Brown and the Bush's cabinet level Dept. of Dis-history, it's going to a truly Orwellian eight months.
Garfield doesn't quite get it. There are plenty of other images Bush can use to highlight his leadership in the wake of the attacks (and I'm sure he will in future ads). There was the speech in front of the Statue of Liberty, or even his great moment with the firefighters on "the pile." Instead he chose to show dead bodies at a time when we aren't permitted to see dead bodies in Iraq -- at least not dead American bodies.
Widows and others who lost loved ones in the attack are offended because they know Bush & Co. have done everything in their power to weaken the 9-11 commission and delay cooperating with it. Firemen are angry because the Bush tax cuts have forced municipalities to cut funding for first responders.
And the fact that Bush defiantly claims that he stands behind the ads gives the rumor going around -- that Bush will give his acceptance speech at "Ground Zero" this summer -- a lot of credibility.
As Josh Marshall writes, Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address to commemorate a cemetery, not to launch his 1864 reelection campaign.
Marshall also directs us to the web site of those wonderful guys who brought us Willie Horton.
Ok, I'll say it. Put on your tinfoil hats, because between guys like Bossie and Brown and the Bush's cabinet level Dept. of Dis-history, it's going to a truly Orwellian eight months.
posted by John at 5:38 PM
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