Exploiting Tragedy

05 March 2004 19:32 blondelibrarian news, politics & society

Yesterday, when I first heard about the new advertisements President Bush is running for his re-election bid, I was prepared to be offended and outraged. After all, not only do I think Bush is a moron who stole the 2000 election, but it sounded to me like he was exploiting 9/11 for his own personal gain.

Here in Europe, for obvious reasons, these ads are not running on my television except for the snippets they are showing on CNN International, so even before I saw the ads I was offended, just on general principle. However, I figured I should at least try to be fair and objective and see the ads. So, I went online and found them. I decided it would be best to go to the source - http://www.georgewbush.com … even though it was a painful thing to do.

After seeing them, my reaction is that I still think Bush is exploiting 9/11 for his own personal gain and I am mildly offended. However, I wasn’t nearly as offended as I was prepared to be. Of course I recognize the significance of 9/11; as an American, how can I not? But personally, 9/11 did not really affect my life or those around me in any profound way. Perhaps if I had had a stronger reaction to the tragedy, I would have been more offended, I don’t know…

One Response

  1. neil Says:
    13 May 2004 at 20:37

    I’m British, not American I can’t vote, threfore my meanings are irrelevant - end of qualifier. When I saw the story about the outrage I too thought ooh that GWB - I’ve watched the ad and the “offending” picture seems to last about a second. I have no idea who I want to win the US election, (mostly because I don’t know what John Kerry actually stands for, whereas I know I don’t like Pres. Bush). but for GWB to not mention the seminal moment of his presidency would be very strange indeed.

    **This comment was transferred from the old blog to this new one by the blondelibrarian on 5/13/04.**