Today Show Uses 9/11 Relatives to Flog Bush Campaign over Use of WTC Images

The Today Show

[governsleastgovernsbest]

For a second day, The Today Show continued its assault on the Bush campaign for its use of fleeting images of the WTC on 9/11 in its current round of campaign ads.

To be fair and accurate, I must say that Katie Couric's words themselves were not nearly so provocative or accusatory as those of the guests she chose to bring on.

The three guests, three women, were relatives of people who had died in the WTC.

One was a seethingly angry, partisan, Bush-hater. How's this for a formulation: "President Bush has only agreed to come before the 9/11 Commission for one hour. That's 2 seconds for every life that was lost."

The same woman said that she was frustrated with the Bush administration and "fighting to get the President to come before commission given that 3,000 people were murdered on his watch." Then, apparently a devotee of the Howard Dean/Cynthia McKinney school of history, she stated "the Bush administration did nothing to stop it despite all warnings they had and did nothing to mitigate things on the day of the attack."

Katie tipped her hand with this little Freudian slip. She referred to the Bush "ad blitz," then tried to recover, saying "uh, ad campaign, I should call it." She mentioned that some relatives were upset, but then addressed the one pro-Bush guest, saying: "I understand you're fine with it, you don't think it was inappropriate?"

The woman stated: "Prior to 9/11 we reacted to attacks very minimally and I appreciated the leadership of Pres. Bush. He realized it wasn't merely a crime but [part of a war.]

A second guest, who was clearly anti-Bush but not as virulent as the first guest said: "I don't think images of death and destruction on 9/11 should be used for political gain. The issues yes, but not the images."

To Katie's credit, she did ask "would you feel the same way if Kerry used them?" The woman claimed that she would, "asolutely."

Then it was back to the vituperative guest. "They were nice warm fuzzy ads, with nice music, but that's not my reality of 9/11. We need to examine Bush's actions on 9/11. On 9/11, he was in a classroom listening to children reading to him. He has stonewalled the 9/11 commission. The time, money and energy used to produce the ads should be used to cooperate with commission."

Giving Katie her due, she made the following statement:

"It's really hard to discuss the state of the country without mentioning a seminal event in our lives, the biggest news event in our lives - I know it wasn't a news event for you. It's Hard to totally stay away from it, isn't it?"

The Bush-supporting guest opined "I think the ads were done tastefully." News agencies use the ads all the time.

Guest #2 stated that "it's OK to use footage for news piece or historical retrospective. But not for political gain."

Katie concluded by stating that "I'm sure the controversty will continue." Which if Katie has anything to do with it, it certainly will.

[onyx]

Fox News interviewed several Black women, whom never in their lives voted for a Republican, said they supported Arnold because of the demonrats dirty tricks.

We have folks here on FR who will tell you that the black women still haven't voted for a Republican, because they do not consider Governor Arnold a "Republican."

[PGalt]

Well stated. Thanks.

[governsleastgovernsbest]

If President Bush was in a school room having milk and cookies on 9/11, I wonder what Bill Clinton was up to on the days the WTC was first attacked in 1993, when the US embassies in Africa were attacked, when the Khobar towers were attacked and when the USS Cole was attacked?

[moonman]

I hope to hades that Republicans use the film footage showing Kerry before the Senate back in 1972 stating all the atrocities he claimed were commited to innocent Vietnam villagers and villages, without as much as Republicans saying a word. Just let the viewer arrive at their own conclusions.

[VRWC_minion]

but the Bush campaign people are going to have to think even more carefully about how they handle the related issues and images in future ads.

Why ? This is working like clockwork. The press is like Charlie Brown who always trys to kick the football.

They went bonkers on the photos of 911. Result: Approval ratings increase. They went bonkers on the aircraft carrier landing. Result: Approval ratings increase. Do you see a pattern here ? Do you think this reaction isn't the desired reaction ?

[Born Conservative]

"President Bush has only agreed to come before the 9/11 Commission for one hour. That's 2 seconds for every life that was lost."

What about all of the time he has spent in the War on Terror, which is a direct result of 9/11?

[Conspiracy Guy]

Thanks. I will probably post that every time the subject comes up. It says what I feel and that will save typing time. I can't type worth a poop.

CG

[mystery-ak]

These two women are the same two that was on Chrissy's show las night. Chrissy asked the one lady whose husband was killed at the WTC who she voted for in 2000, she couldn't remember..LOL

Also, all these relatives are using the new catch phrase *it happened on his watch*(Bush)...that is the new Dem talking point, watch for it.

[Puppage]

LOL

Thanks, I appreciate that.

Pete

[rube]

Shannon Burke who is on FLA 540 here in Orlando has info on the 6 family members who are aghast at the president's use of the 9/11 footage. I can't supply the details due to work, but they are connected with anti-Bush organizations in one form or another. Maybe someone else can contact him. He has done his homework.

[alpha-8-25-02]

the more i see and hear this trash,the more i get into combat mode;however this is the greatest country in the world.i often contemplate my time in the corps was spent to insure that the slime would have the free right to spread there vile garbage;however again america sleeps well under the watch of W then under the watch of someone who is more concerned with the panties of a fat intern

[Prodigal Son]

Giving Katie her due, she made the following statement:

Do you suppose Katie is catching any flak from her higher ups lately? Diane Sawyer's morning show beat Couric's in ratings recently according to Drudge. Also there was a recent article that portrayed Katie in a fairly negative light in a Cable TV Industry publication.

I bet she's been told to try to be more balanced. You know, I have no problem with her attacking what she sees as fallacies in the GOP platforms, but I think she should go after the Democratic ones as well and there are loads of 'em with Kerry.

Hopefully, her ratings will keep falling.

[GraceCoolidge]

Just out of idle curiosity, does anyone know what Bill Clinton was doing the morning of the Oklahoma City bombing? A lot of possibilities spring to mind. I think, though, that the media may actually be overplaying this to the point that people are going to get impatient with these 9/11 families and their "my relative was killed, so I get to control the President's campaign" attitude. When you think of how Bill Clinton politicized Oklahoma City (using it to attack conservative commentators), how John Kerry politicizes his Vietnam service, how the Democratic party exploited James Byrd's death... the list goes on. Let's face it, when it comes to politicizing anything, the Democrats are tragedy pimps. Their conduct is a disgrace, and their complaints about the President's campaign are pathetic. By the way, when Howard Dean opined that it was "interesting" to wonder if the President had advance notice of 9/11, was that "politicizing" the event? When John Kerry touts his "firefighters for Kerry" union endorsement, is that politicizing 9/11? I just don't get why it is headline news that out of the families of 3000 people, some of these relatives obviously hate President Bush. The idea that their tragic, but random, status as relatives of 9/11 casualities gives their opinion some special weight makes no sense. Talk about politicizing the event! I guess now we can add John Kerry's "vanguard of victims" to his "band of brothers" at every campaign stop.

[Publius6961]

One was a seethingly angry, partisan, Bush-hater. How's this for a formulation: "President Bush has only agreed to come before the 9/11 Commission for one hour. That's 2 seconds for every life that was lost."

Sounds like the same popeyed little freak who was on O'Reilly last night. There are people who hate Bush with a passion that is disproportionate to anything, even before 911. A TV commercial, or anything else for that matter, will set them off, and would have, had they lost a relative in the 911 mass murder or not.

Assuming there were 10 relatives and close friends associated to every victim, that would make 28000 people, roughly, among which there has to me a fair number of nutcases. That the media will parade over and over the half dozen that they have found doesn't surprise me.
What does surprise me is that they have found so few. After all half the voters voted for Gore, a sure sign of a sick mind.

[Toespi]

Let's take a step back, the TERRORISTS created these images for us, the TERRORISTS created over 3200 heros in one hour, and the TERRORISTS created a cause for this nation to never forget.

[chimera]

On 9/11, he was in a classroom listening to children reading to him.

Hell, this is an improvement over his predecessor, who was getting "service" from an intern while on the phone to an ambassador or Congressman or somebody. Clinton was probably the hero of this "relative", and Lord knows the things he was doing "on his watch", fund-raising, counseling interns, doing unmentionable things to the White House sinks, whatever.

[gunnedah]

Right ON! I would never had known it had it not been on here unless I ran across it channel surfing then maybe I would have glanced. I have now set my remote up to handle about five or six channels and none of them are CBSCNN>MSNBC>. There were two shows I watched and have quit watching them because they have become so PC. Conservatives are tunning out but we need greater numbers . The so called "Mainstream" has an agenda and it is set to destroy American values. This country is being destroyed from within by the EVIL DEMOCRATS and the LIBERAL MEDIA. Our kids and grandchildren are going to see things that we cannot even imagine.

[Anarchist]

Strange that no-one ever asks these malcontents if they are affiliated with the Democrat party and if they are active in the party.

I suspect that they are Democrats and that they were "supplied" by the Democrat party.

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Do you suppose Katie is catching any flak from her higher ups lately? Diane Sawyer's morning show beat Couric's in ratings recently according to Drudge. I bet she's been told to try to be more balanced.

It's hard for me to say. As much as I make me "living" on FR exposing Katie's liberal bias, I think she is actually a more sophisticated journalist than some of my FR are willing to give her credit for.

Perhaps she's making a conscious effort to be more fair, but I sense it was also her journalistic instincts at work. She realizes that it is just unrealistic and unfair to expect the President not to discuss the most important event in his presidency and in the lives of most Americans.

[Darnright]

>Ya know.. 9-11 didn't just happen to the people who lost family on 9-11..it happened to ALL of America. WE WERE ATTACKED!!!!<

To put this in perspective, think how ludicrous a relative of an attack on Pearl Harbor victim would appear if he or she acted like these modern partisan complainers.