New Bush Ad Invokes 9/11

A new George W Bush ad titled "Solemn Duty" has George, with wife Laura at his side, both sitting in sort of half shadow, speaking, well, solemnly about his duty to protect the US. And while the ad doesn't feature footage from 9/11 or its aftermath as the one from earlier this year did, he does say this:

My most solemn duty is to lead our nation to protect ourselves. I can't imagine the great agony of a mom or a dad having to make the decision about which child to pick up first on September 11.

It's by no means a tasteless ad, and I'd even say it's pretty effective. But the Kerry campaign has come out swinging, accusing the Bush campaign of desperation, trying to pre-emptively blunt any effectiveness the ad may have on this, Bush's strongest (read: only) issue to run on:

If you ever wanted proof that the Bush campaign has reached the point of desperation, now we have it," said Kerry spokesman Chad Clanton. The president has his back against the wall, so now he invokes September 11 in his ads...It's another sign Bush has lost credibility -- he can't speak to a single issue voters care about: not jobs, not health care, not deficits," the spokesman said.

The president has really stepped things up lately. Hopefully The Olympics will serve as sort of a dead political TV zone for a couple of weeks so they don't gain any momentum heading into their convention. The next wave of polls should be interesting to look at.