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American Morning

Bush 9/11 Publicity Photo Causes Uproar

Aired May 15, 2002 - 08:15   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Lots of fuss in Washington over this photo. This picture of the president calling Vice President Cheney from Air Force One on September 11 is the subject of a Democratic uproar. The Democrats say the White House is exploiting the tragedy by offering copies to GOP donors and they are demanding an end to its use.

The photo furor came just as the GOP held a gala fund-raiser last night in Washington, taking in more than $30 million in campaign cash for the Republican National Committee. They can't do this after November. Everybody says both parties are guilty of trying to beat the clock here.

The lavish black tie event was headlined by the party leader himself, President Bush.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: History is going to look back at this time and people will say did the United States have the courage to lead or did the United States blink? And I'm here to report to you that history will say that the United States of America led the world to freedom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: Joining us now for his take on the partisan bickering, CNN's senior analyst Jeff Greenfield, who happens to be on duty in Washington this morning -- good morning, Jeff.

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.

ZAHN: Let's start off by talking about Photogate. We sort of set up what the argument is that is being made by Democrats. We're going to put up on the screen something that Terry McCauliffe had to say, who is the head of the Democratic National Committee, when it comes to this picture being sold for $150, along with two others of the president.

He said, "We know it's the Republicans' strategy to use the war for political gain, but I would hope that even the most cynical partisan operative would cower at the notion of exploiting the September 11 tragedy in this way." Well, Ari Fleischer, the president's spokesperson, shot back and had this to say about the controversy: "I think that the Democrats are having a very difficult time coming to terms with the fact that this is a very popular president."

Who's right here, Jeff?

GREENFIELD: Well, the very fact that you can use the word Photogate I think shows what the Democrats would like to happen. That suffix "gate" has been attached to every political event since the original.

But I think here's what we ought to remember. Presidents, all presidents have been blurring the line between politics and war time forever. It goes back at least to the Civil War. And there's no question that Bush's stand on terror has been a huge political help. I mean you go back to September 10 of last year, he and Gore were essentially tied.

The problem is you're not supposed to talk about it. So whenever this raises its head, remember that Carl Rove, the White House political adviser, told Republicans back in January we Republicans can go to the country and argue that we are the better party when it comes to fighting terror and the war, and there was a gust up.

So, look, the Republicans are not going to run ads saying fight terrorism, vote Republican and the Democrats are not going to run ads saying oh, yes, where's Osama bin Laden? You haven't found him yet.

But the problem is when it's mixed in with fund-raising, it has another dimension.

Look, George Bush probably would not be in the White House today if it weren't for Al Gore's famous or infamous photo with the those Buddhist monks. And so in this case we've seen that fund-raising always has a kind of taint about it. And I think it was the fact that this relatively innocuous picture -- this isn't a picture of President Bush with soldiers or the cops or firefighters -- was used to raise money is what really helped fuel the Democrats' argument.

ZAHN: And you have Maureen Dowd of the "New York Times" basically saying that this is just a very cheap way to sell the president. She writes, "So, now the White House gets caught peddling 9/11 commemorative photos with all the class of a 1:30 a.m. infomercial for an electronic A.B. stimulator. The GOP pitched donors for a bargain price a pictorial triptych of W.'s defining moment."

Is it in bad taste?

GREENFIELD: Well, you know, I think what this has done is to open a door for people who aren't particularly fond of this president anyway. And as I say, it's the fact that they're using it as part of a fund-raiser that gives it that kick.

But I was thinking back, I don't know where this started -- as I say, the Civil War may be one place -- I remember in 1980 Jimmy Carter put on an ad, a reelection ad in which he was shown talking to the then head of the CIA. And I remember thinking that's odd. You generally don't bring the CIA director into a political event.

It used to be that secretaries of state were never seen as part of a political endeavor. Now they routinely show up at the nominating convention of whichever party happens to be in power.

ZAHN: Hey, Jeff...

GREENFIELD: So there's been a kind of...

ZAHN: Jeff, if you would, hold on. We've got some break news to report.

GREENFIELD: Yes. Sure.

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