veritas
08-29-2004, 02:01 PM
Do you think the Republicans choosing New York was a good idea?
I think this will backfire on Bush, as he will likely continue to play off of 9/11.
• Iraq: There has been no evidence of weapons of mass destruction or cooperation between al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein. A majority of U.S. casualties have occurred since President Bush declared an end to major combat. There is open rebellion in major cities such as Fallujah and Najaf. A government commission says blame for the Abu Ghraib prison scandal goes all the way to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfield.
• Richard A. Clarke: In March, Bush's former counterterrorism advisor charged that the president ignored his warnings about the threat of al-Qaeda before 9/11. Clarke told families of those killed, "Your government failed you." He also said the Bush administration tried to pin the blame for 9/11 on Iraq, and undermined the war on terrorism by invading it.
• The 9/11 Commission. Although the commission's report broadly criticized the Bush and Clinton administrations, it gave credence to charges that Bush did not take the threat of terrorism seriously enough.
• International opinion. Benjamin, the political historian, says that evoking 9/11 also evokes "a resource lost since the days after the attack – our solidarity with the world since we invaded Iraq."
• Anti-war protests. Massive, violent demonstrations would distract the news media from the Republicans' convention message. "If you want to focus on the candidate's achievements, then you might go to a less charged environment," says Rutgers' Mandel. "This is going to be like walking in a mine field. People wonder, 'Is it gonna go off?'"
But Fred Siegel, a New York political analyst who's worked for Republicans and Democrats, thinks the party that's not here might suffer more from unruly protests than the one that is: "This is their people, their issue, their turf."
• Homeland security funds. Bloomberg constantly complains that the federal government shortchanges New York state, which – despite its array of terror targets – ranks 35th in per capita funding for anti-terrorism. Wyoming is first.
Given all the changes since the convention site was announced, is 9/11 still a winning issue for Bush? "It can be," says Peter King, a Republican congressman from Long Island. "He has to fight to make it one."
Marty Connors, chairman of the Alabama Republican Party, agrees. "All memories fade, and the electorate has a short memory. But (9/11) was the defining moment not only of this presidency, but of recent American history. It's something we're obliged to remind people of."
Which is why they're in New York. "It's a tough choice," says Benjamin, who questions Bush's record on terrorism. "But I don't think he has a good choice."
Sniper on the roof
Bus route changes, street closings, truck checkpoints, snipers on the roof – all for a bunch of Republicans. "This is an enormous political headache for Bloomberg," says Siegel.
The city's doing OK without the convention, having resolved its most serious fiscal crisis in a decade and begun to recover from the recession. Things are so good that New Yorkers are complaining about things like noise from barking dogs and ice cream trucks, both of which Bloomberg has promised to crack down on.
Moreover, the Democratic Convention demonstrated the cost of tight security and terrorism fears. A Suffolk University study estimated the convention's economic impact on Boston at $14.8 million instead of the anticipated $154 million. Boston officials dispute that analysis, but business was so bad that Mayor Thomas Menino was begging suburbanites and tourists to come in during the convention.
Worst of all, the Republican convention has made a nervous city more nervous.
Writing this month in New York magazine, the writer and editor James Atlas observed that until this summer, "life had almost begun to seem normal again." But, he added, "no matter how far away you are from New York these days, you're not far enough."
I think this will backfire on Bush, as he will likely continue to play off of 9/11.
• Iraq: There has been no evidence of weapons of mass destruction or cooperation between al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein. A majority of U.S. casualties have occurred since President Bush declared an end to major combat. There is open rebellion in major cities such as Fallujah and Najaf. A government commission says blame for the Abu Ghraib prison scandal goes all the way to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfield.
• Richard A. Clarke: In March, Bush's former counterterrorism advisor charged that the president ignored his warnings about the threat of al-Qaeda before 9/11. Clarke told families of those killed, "Your government failed you." He also said the Bush administration tried to pin the blame for 9/11 on Iraq, and undermined the war on terrorism by invading it.
• The 9/11 Commission. Although the commission's report broadly criticized the Bush and Clinton administrations, it gave credence to charges that Bush did not take the threat of terrorism seriously enough.
• International opinion. Benjamin, the political historian, says that evoking 9/11 also evokes "a resource lost since the days after the attack – our solidarity with the world since we invaded Iraq."
• Anti-war protests. Massive, violent demonstrations would distract the news media from the Republicans' convention message. "If you want to focus on the candidate's achievements, then you might go to a less charged environment," says Rutgers' Mandel. "This is going to be like walking in a mine field. People wonder, 'Is it gonna go off?'"
But Fred Siegel, a New York political analyst who's worked for Republicans and Democrats, thinks the party that's not here might suffer more from unruly protests than the one that is: "This is their people, their issue, their turf."
• Homeland security funds. Bloomberg constantly complains that the federal government shortchanges New York state, which – despite its array of terror targets – ranks 35th in per capita funding for anti-terrorism. Wyoming is first.
Given all the changes since the convention site was announced, is 9/11 still a winning issue for Bush? "It can be," says Peter King, a Republican congressman from Long Island. "He has to fight to make it one."
Marty Connors, chairman of the Alabama Republican Party, agrees. "All memories fade, and the electorate has a short memory. But (9/11) was the defining moment not only of this presidency, but of recent American history. It's something we're obliged to remind people of."
Which is why they're in New York. "It's a tough choice," says Benjamin, who questions Bush's record on terrorism. "But I don't think he has a good choice."
Sniper on the roof
Bus route changes, street closings, truck checkpoints, snipers on the roof – all for a bunch of Republicans. "This is an enormous political headache for Bloomberg," says Siegel.
The city's doing OK without the convention, having resolved its most serious fiscal crisis in a decade and begun to recover from the recession. Things are so good that New Yorkers are complaining about things like noise from barking dogs and ice cream trucks, both of which Bloomberg has promised to crack down on.
Moreover, the Democratic Convention demonstrated the cost of tight security and terrorism fears. A Suffolk University study estimated the convention's economic impact on Boston at $14.8 million instead of the anticipated $154 million. Boston officials dispute that analysis, but business was so bad that Mayor Thomas Menino was begging suburbanites and tourists to come in during the convention.
Worst of all, the Republican convention has made a nervous city more nervous.
Writing this month in New York magazine, the writer and editor James Atlas observed that until this summer, "life had almost begun to seem normal again." But, he added, "no matter how far away you are from New York these days, you're not far enough."