Bush's risky 9/11 legacy

If political conventions are designed to showcase a candidate's biggest asset, then George W. Bush's will revolve around one thing: 9/11.

Ever since Republicans chose New York - an overwhelmingly Democratic city in a state certain to back John Kerry - as their convention site, it has been clear that the memory of the 9/11 attacks would be central to the president's reelection effort. Throughout the week, Republicans hope to resurrect what many Americans still see as Mr. Bush's finest hours - his leadership in the wake of the attacks, when many voters bonded with their president and gave him overwhelmingly high approval ratings.

At the same time, the Bush campaign plans to remind voters of the threat the nation still faces, a threat they say is likely to grow more dangerous in the future, elevating the stakes of the upcoming election, and making the choice of president even more important.

Yet as the third anniversary of the terrorist attacks approaches, the legacy of 9/11 has become more complicated for the president, presenting political risks along with opportunity. References to such a searing emotional event could come across as exploiting a tragedy - something critics accused the Bush campaign of doing when it ran its first advertisements using 9/11 footage, months ago.

More problematic, the president's handling of the terrorist threat has lately generated pointed criticism as well as praise - both from neutral sources such as the bipartisan 9/11 commission, as well as partisan opponents such as filmmaker Michael Moore, whose movie "Fahrenheit 9/11" highlighted the seven minutes Bush continued to sit with schoolchildren he'd been visiting after learning that the second tower had been hit.

Notably, the campaign has declared that Bush will not visit the actual site of the attacks, where already one group of activists has held an anti-Bush protest. But the president is planning to visit a firehouse and attend a prayer breakfast while in the city. And the campaign is showcasing the former New York mayor, Rudy Giuliani, who has become all but synonymous with 9/11. Mr. Giuliani campaigned with Bush last week, and will speak before the convention Monday night.

Bush advisers say the convention will pay tribute to the "courage of a generation" that has been through extremely challenging times. The decision to come to New York should be taken as a sign of "respect and reverence for all those who suffered here, and all those who responded," said Bush campaign chairman Marc Racicot at a Monitor breakfast.

Still, they are aware of the need to be cautious in invoking 9/11. "I don't think we'll overdo it," says Charlie Black, a Republican strategist. The attacks will be placed within the broader context of the war on terror, which remains Bush's "strongest asset," he says. "We need to remind people of what he's accomplished and ... what he plans to do in the future about [terrorism]."

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