It's Come to This
Yes, I'm a little late for writing a post about 9-11, but I'm sure you'll understand. I marked the five-year anniversary of that tragic day in the same way that most Americans did, by remembering where I was on that day, the raw emotions of that day, and how horrible an event that was for our country. However, it didn't take long for what should have been a very solemn occasion to become the basis for yet ANOTHER sniping match between Republicans and Democrats.
Really, it started a few days prior to September 11th, when ABC found itself in hot water over its two-part miniseries, "The Path to 9/11." The series was based on the 9/11 Commission's report and had the Commission's co-chair, former Governor Thomas Kean, as a consultant. Members of former President Clinton's administration were irate that some facts had been played with for dramatic effect, so ABC recut the movie, which was the correct thing to do. However, Clinton continued to demand that ABC pull the plug on the series entirely, and Democrats even now are still insisting that the piece was a hatchet job on the Clinton administration. Some even suggest that this was a ploy backed by Disney (ABC's corporate owner) to help the Republicans in the upcoming midterm elections.
First of all, I should note here that the aforementioned consultant on the series, former Gov. Kean, is a DEMOCRAT. Second, while I'll admit my belief that Disney is one of the most evil corporate entities on this planet, I've never seen them immerse themselves in anything political. Third, all this looks like to me is a refusal by Clinton and his former aides to admit they were at all at fault for what happened on 9-11-2001. There were many parties at fault, the Clinton administration among them, and also the Bush administration, the FBI, the CIA, and Al-Qaida themselves. The 9-11 Commission report said as much, which makes this an accurate reflection. The fact that the Clinton administration takes up so much of the movie is simply due to the fact that the timespan between the 1993 WTC bombing and 9-11 included 8 years of Clinton's presidency and just 8 months of Bush's.
Unfortunately, this is just one example of the bigger problem: the fact that Democrats cannot see anything as not being political. More unfortunate is the fact that Democrats wouldn't even allow this day of rememberance to end before they were once again criticizing Republicans for making something political. In this case, it was President Bush's 9-11 speech, where he referenced the current war in Iraq as being part of the ongoing War on Terror. No sooner did the speech end than New York Senator Charles Schumer went running to a TV camera (as he is often so fond of doing) to proclaim that the president had "politicized" 9-11. At no point in the president's speech did he mention his party, the upcoming elections, or anything of a political nature.
If we are to use Sen. Schumer's logic, then the first person to "politicize" 9-11 on that day was House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who used her speech for the day to once again repeat the mantra "we are not as safe as we should be." The same mantra that Democrats have been using to counter Republican claims that the country is safer since 9-11. It should be noted that no Republican went complaining to the media after Pelosi's speech to accuse her of playing politics.
I find the whole episode sad to see, really, and the worst part is it overshadowed what should have been a solemn occasion. In response to the question that gets asked this time of year, "Have we changed?", I offer that we haven't... if anything, we've gotten worse. 9-11 and its aftermath caused the fringes of our country to pull even closer to their polar opposites, and sadly, they continue to drag the two main political parties with them. I am a moderate, and I know I'm not alone when I look at all the verbal lobbing back and forth and just wonder who's looking out for me. I look at it and I just want to tell both sides to shut up.
The worst part is that the election is still over 6 weeks away, so it will only get worse.
Really, it started a few days prior to September 11th, when ABC found itself in hot water over its two-part miniseries, "The Path to 9/11." The series was based on the 9/11 Commission's report and had the Commission's co-chair, former Governor Thomas Kean, as a consultant. Members of former President Clinton's administration were irate that some facts had been played with for dramatic effect, so ABC recut the movie, which was the correct thing to do. However, Clinton continued to demand that ABC pull the plug on the series entirely, and Democrats even now are still insisting that the piece was a hatchet job on the Clinton administration. Some even suggest that this was a ploy backed by Disney (ABC's corporate owner) to help the Republicans in the upcoming midterm elections.
First of all, I should note here that the aforementioned consultant on the series, former Gov. Kean, is a DEMOCRAT. Second, while I'll admit my belief that Disney is one of the most evil corporate entities on this planet, I've never seen them immerse themselves in anything political. Third, all this looks like to me is a refusal by Clinton and his former aides to admit they were at all at fault for what happened on 9-11-2001. There were many parties at fault, the Clinton administration among them, and also the Bush administration, the FBI, the CIA, and Al-Qaida themselves. The 9-11 Commission report said as much, which makes this an accurate reflection. The fact that the Clinton administration takes up so much of the movie is simply due to the fact that the timespan between the 1993 WTC bombing and 9-11 included 8 years of Clinton's presidency and just 8 months of Bush's.
Unfortunately, this is just one example of the bigger problem: the fact that Democrats cannot see anything as not being political. More unfortunate is the fact that Democrats wouldn't even allow this day of rememberance to end before they were once again criticizing Republicans for making something political. In this case, it was President Bush's 9-11 speech, where he referenced the current war in Iraq as being part of the ongoing War on Terror. No sooner did the speech end than New York Senator Charles Schumer went running to a TV camera (as he is often so fond of doing) to proclaim that the president had "politicized" 9-11. At no point in the president's speech did he mention his party, the upcoming elections, or anything of a political nature.
If we are to use Sen. Schumer's logic, then the first person to "politicize" 9-11 on that day was House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who used her speech for the day to once again repeat the mantra "we are not as safe as we should be." The same mantra that Democrats have been using to counter Republican claims that the country is safer since 9-11. It should be noted that no Republican went complaining to the media after Pelosi's speech to accuse her of playing politics.
I find the whole episode sad to see, really, and the worst part is it overshadowed what should have been a solemn occasion. In response to the question that gets asked this time of year, "Have we changed?", I offer that we haven't... if anything, we've gotten worse. 9-11 and its aftermath caused the fringes of our country to pull even closer to their polar opposites, and sadly, they continue to drag the two main political parties with them. I am a moderate, and I know I'm not alone when I look at all the verbal lobbing back and forth and just wonder who's looking out for me. I look at it and I just want to tell both sides to shut up.
The worst part is that the election is still over 6 weeks away, so it will only get worse.
posted by Dave | 9:36 PM
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