The underlying theme of the first night of the Republican National Convention was clear: Portray President Bush as a strong, clear-minded and steady leader. The strategy was to repair the schism in the public's mind between the war on terror and the war in Iraq, making the case that they are one and the same. The tactic was to confer the credibility of two of the nation's most popular and well-known moderate Republicans onto the more conservative president.
As the president might say: Mission Accomplished. Butmuch the same way that Republicans say Kerry invited scrutiny on his Vietnam record by putting so much emphasis on his military service at his convention, the convention's first-night emphasis on 9/11 opens the door for increased scrutiny of whether the Bush administration did enough to prevent the terrorist attacks.
Much is bubbling under the surface. The president needs to convince voters that Iraq is not only a part of the war on terrorism, but that he has been a strong leader in the fight against terrorism in general.
A group called 911Truth.org that has criticized the 9/11 Commissior being too narrow in focus promoted a new poll Tuesday morning that suggests nearly half of the people who live in New York city and 40 percent of those who live in the state believe that top government leaders "knew in advance that attacks were planned on or around September 11, 2001, and that they consciously failed to act."
Ken Hence, a New York activist involved with several watchdog groups of family members and concerned citizens, including 911Truth.org, was critical of the tactic.
"Clearly this is the top of the agenda to link the president's immediate response to 9/11, not what he did in the nine months leading up to the attack," Hence said. "He's trying to invoke the emotions and pain about 9/11 and present the image of steadfast, firm commander-in-chief. If you look at the record in advance of 9/11 and the lack of the [9/11] Commission to hold anyone accountable, it's just obscene."
But if last night's program made clear, not everyone who was directly touched by 9/11 agrees with this sentiment. Former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani defended Bush's work in the aftermath of the attacks, and lodged a sustained criticism against Kerry for waffling on his support for the war in Iraq. One of the best lines of the night came when Giuliani said, "at this rate, with 64 days left, he still has time to change his position at least three or four more times.... Maybe this explains John Edwards's need for two Americas - - one where John Kerry can vote for something and another where he can vote against the same thing."
Republicans defend the prominence of 9/11 in the convention by tying Bush to Giuiliani.
"Those who criticize are those who don't believe in the president's agenda," RNC convention spokesman Leonardo Alcivar said in an interview Tuesday. "And they must also disagree with those like Rudy Giuliani who says that you can not ignore 9/11, the reality of 9/11. Last night's discussion was solemn and appropriate. It celebrated the heroes of 9/11 and allowed for Americans to remember the sacrifices of that day by heroic Americans. The reality of it is that it is an issue that affected the whole world and you just can't ignore it. The issue was dealth with in an honest and forthright manner and addressed with dignity and respect."
