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Comment: Tugging at the Heart for Votes (by Zoltan Lorantffy)

September 11/01 was the worst foreign invasion on American soil since Pearl Harbor. The magnitude of such a horrific event has shaken the very foundation of not just American culture but Western society and has forced the world to acknowledge terrorism as “enemy number one”. For the last three years the American people have remembered and the Bush administration has not allowed them to forget. The Republicans have taken a page out of Castro’s military/social guard and have kept the United States under a constant state of war. This has been reiterated through endless speeches by George Bush littered with military references such as, ‘America is under the constant threat of attack and we are a country still at war’. During election time,  the Republicans must show Bush as a war time president, confident under pressure and having a steady hand in making crucial decisions and of coarse, using 9/11 as proof of his infallible leadership. The ‘War on Terror’ has become the hot election punch line forcing Americans and even the Democratic Party to concur at least on the premise. A culture saturated by the fear of terrorism and empathy for 9/11 has made an otherwise ineffective president a national hero. If this strategy succeeds it may consequently translate into votes giving the Republicans another four year, right wing platform to make the world safer through pre-emptive aggression.

In all fairness, any President would have a daunting task of protecting the people of the United States and keeping them informed of possible threats. However, playing to the hearts and memories of Americans concerning the events of 9/11 to sway their decision and bolster support when they cast their ballot at election time, is not surprising, no less audacious and in bad taste. One may only look at a pattern of events and strategy from the Republican camp as of late to witness campaign tactics and political spin.

Firstly, the Republican National Convention held in the heart of New York city, launched the Republican election machine. This is a rather minor region for votes, in terms of demographics according to the Electoral College. Well then why in New York city? To win, George Bush must be portrayed as a president who reacted effectively and confidently during and after 9/11; securing the country, reassuring the population and handling the war on terrorism. The war on terror has become the undisputed election topic pushing aside many other important domestic and international debates to the periphery. What better place to pitch this issue than at the site of 9/11 and what better time than around the actual anniversary?

It’s the best show in town all right, with all the bells and whistles of a WWF wrestling match, but without the ring.  Playing to the crucial undecided and moderate voters; Arnold Swarzenegar, Rudolph Juliani and John McCain - whose speech turned out to be more non-partisan and neutral - came out swinging. During the first two nights, anyone who could stomach the event almost forgot that they were seeing a party convention and not a 9/11 Remembrance Day marathon. This was of coarse the appetizer before the main course. In the days that followed, there were heroic tales of victims' families, personal accounts of events from police, firemen and especially politicians - Juliani, Pataki, including current New York mayor Michael Bloomberg looking on in reverent satisfaction. There wasn’t a dry eye in the place and CNN seemed to capture somber 9/11 moments as beautifully as they made TV watchers believe that there was equal minority representation within the Republican Party.

A short time later with the Republicans up in the polls, over ‘flip flop Kerry’ and his band of bleeding heart liberal Democrats, September 11 2004 was sure to be the Conservative’s grand opus. True to form the Republic machine started off the day from the Oval office with an address to all Americans from Bush, belting out his usual repetitive rhetoric of the war on terror saying that America must “broaden democracy in the Middle East”. Dual ceremonies with Juliani and Bloomberg in New York at the site of the former twin towers, and good old ‘hawk’ Donald Rumsfeld in Arlington in front of the Pentagon, filled the afternoon. It was a day of more than ample Republican media coverage, aimed to show Americans that even if the United States incurs an over $200 billion deficit over a stalling economy, lackluster job growth, unstable markets, loss of international credibility and a mounting death toll on American lives in Iraq, they can still look impressive on television. Statistically during times of war, the people will rally around the President - a point Republicans want to capitalize on.

Unfortunately, the Bush administration is not the only country to exploit the “War on Terror”. The threat of suicide bombers galvanized the people of Israel to vote a hard-line, former war general into office. Ariel Sharon’s no-nonsense approach towards the Palestinians was believed to be the right choice for establishing security and peace in the region. Four years later, that strategy has proven unsuccessful. After a bomb attack in Jakarta recently, national security has become the focal point for Australian elections in October. Prime Minister John Howard, who is a staunch supporter of the Iraq war, justified his countries involvement, “I believe that our capacity to deal with terrorism on our doorstep has not been impaired in any way by the units that we have deployed to Iraq”. Vladimir Putin has been accused of imposing authoritative measures in Russia and using the Chechen conflict as one of the justifications. Russia’s own war on terrorism has been used by the government to suggest that a more Kremlin centered authority, is the only way to secure the nation. Amongst a host of leaders, Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin have openly criticized Putin’s dangerous shifts in policies.

Thus far, these Republican tactics are having an impact on the polls. Bush enjoys a small but substantial lead over Kerry and the Democrats are struggling to impress their candidate on the electorate. Although the war on terror should not be taken lightly, the Republican’s grandstanding of the 9/11 tragedy during these elections is inexcusable. Americans must be weary of this political ploy and take more issues into consideration, before choosing a President.  It is still early and too close in the race to call out a winner. Elections usually revert back to domestic issues. Whether that happens depends on better strategy from the Democrats to broaden the debate. Remember - “it’s the economy stupid!”

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