The Wright Words: Bush television ads not surprising

Should anyone be surprised the Bush campaign is exploiting the attack on the World Trade Center in his bid for reelection? Folks, they don’t care what we think. The president is making it clear that he intends to use that horrific event to push his agenda. Even though our country is safer now than it has been in a long time, he continues to preach security and fear of terrorist attacks. Of course, American citizens want to know what he intends to do about the economy, health care, the enormous deficit, and loss of jobs - little things like that. The 9-11 tragedy will never be forgotten by any of us, but we certainly don’t want to be reminded in political ads. As the presidential campaign continues onward to November, there will be more negative rhetoric by both candidates in the form of ads and speeches. With the amount of cash the GOP has collected for the race, a great deal of it will be spent defending Bush’s record. He is running on his reputation as a wartime president who is strong on national security. Senator Kerry, having served in the Vietnam War, certainly knows about war, and the importance of protecting our country. But he also knows about the importance of peace and goodwill. The Bush campaign has been under a lot of fire from Democrats and some conservative Republicans. The Demos have sharply criticized him because of the economy and huge deficits, and conservatives because of his runaway spending policies regarding the war and health care. And Kerry continues to be lambasted by the GOP, accusing him of flip-flopping on issues in his senate votes. It’s going to be an interesting next few months. But by the time the mud-slinging and name-calling is finished, the majority of people will be ready for the 2004 campaign to be over. Millions of dollars will have been spent by both candidates. Nobody is going to care whether Bush went to his National Guard meetings, or if Kerry knew Jane Fonda back in the 60’s. Bill Wright is a columnist for The Herald Newspapers whose opinion can be found weekly on these pages.