Democrats On The Attack

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Democrats On The Attack
by Linda A. Prussen-Razzano, Dallas Bureau Chief

July 4, 2002

"Candidly Yours"

Linda A. Prussen-Razzano Texas Governors Past and Present - George W. Bush and Rick Perry (R) If you’ve noticed a change in the tenor of Washington, you are not alone. Now that the six-month anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks has passed, once sacred territory is now open fodder for the campaign trail. Unfortunately, what should be constructive debate on the best method to strengthen national security and criticism of policies too far reaching to be effective has devolved into a mud-slinging contest where patriotism is questioned and results are questionable - at best.

Not only will this tactic delay necessary changes, I predict it will be summarily rejected by voters in November. I offer this as a fair warning to both sides: Americans no longer have the patience for these power-play games. If you have a criticism, you had best keep it genuine. Anything less is a political death-knell.

Here are just a few of the attacks currently being circulated:

President Bush ordered Flight 93 shot down. According to interviews conducted with family members almost immediately after the crash in Pennsylvania, where brave passengers rushed the cockpit in an attempt to reclaim the plane, none of them even hinted that they thought the plane was shot down. In an interview with Jeremy Glick’s family, his father-in-law, Richard Macklin, stayed on the phone until it went dead. He heard two sets of screams, which sounded like a "rollercoaster" passing by. The way he phrased it suggested that the screams were heard during a rapid decent, as if someone had put the plane into a nose-dive. He did not mention any large bangs, booms, or other noises indicating an explosion. Neither did relatives of Todd Beamer, who also gave extensive interviews after the crash. Several sources confirmed that such an act could eventually cause the plane to tear apart, resulting in the large debris field mentioned by conspiracy theorists.

President Bush is using the attacks to shamelessly raise money for the Republican Party. Unlike President Clinton, who was caught on tape crying crocodile tears at Ron Brown’s funeral, who rented out the Lincoln bedroom, who had his staff plant rocks on the beach at Normandy for a phony photo op, or even former Vice President Al Gore’s "canoe ride" fiasco, the pictures of Bush were taken as the moment happened. Where was their outrage then? Furthermore, no one on the Right was tactless enough to suggest that President Clinton saw the first attack on the World Trade Center as a freakish, tremendous boon; sorry to say, some commentators on the Left are tactless enough not only to say it, but to suggest Bush is happy about it.

Just a few days ago, MSNBC ran a nasty piece on President Bush, proclaiming he never mentioned the "trifecta" of reasons why he would run a deficit budget. Specifically, Bush claimed he would run into a deficit in times of war, recession, or severe crises. Unlike the MSNBC writer, I did remember hearing Bush mention the "trifecta" of reasons for a potential deficit in response to an attack on his proposed tax cuts. Without a Nexus search vehicle at my immediate disposal, I cannot attest to the exact date he first mention this trio of reasons, but he most certainly did mention them as recently as September 6, 2001, approximately 5 days prior to the attacks, when giving an interview with President Fox prior to their trip to Toledo.

Like I warned, folks, try to keep your attacks based in reality. They might actually gain some traction that way. ***

Photo of Linda Prussen-Razzano courtesy of staff files
Photo of President Bush and Governor Rick Perry (R-TX) courtesy of Tim Sloan and AFP