Political opponents remember 9/11 together
McCain, Obama visit World Trade Center site, agree to suspend television advertisements
David Lightman
Issue date: 9/11/08 Section: Nation & World News
WASHINGTON (MCT) - In a departure from the increasingly nasty environment of the presidential campaign, Barack Obama and John McCain will make a joint appearance on Thursday in New York to honor the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
It's the kind of civility that the public says it wants in politics but rarely gets.
"It says that despite all the differences, they agree broadly on issues of patriotism and the need to oppose the forces that caused 9/11," said John Geer, the editor of The Journal of Politics.
The candidates plan to visit the site of the World Trade Center, which was destroyed in the terrorist attack seven years ago. They also have agreed to suspend television ads on Thursday.
The event will mark the first time since each was nominated that they have appeared together.
"On Thursday," McCain and Obama said in a joint statement, "we will put aside politics and come together to renew that unity, to honor the memory of each and every American who died, and to grieve with families and friends who lost loved ones."
The event's tone will present a contrast to the campaign atmosphere of the past few weeks. While presidential campaigns historically are full of specious charges from both sides, this year's rhetoric is unusually harsh.
Though the Democrat had made no reference to Palin, McCain's camp charged that Obama had insulted the Alaska governor. Palin said in her Republican convention speech last week that the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull is "lipstick." Obama has used the "lipstick on a pig" line for months.
Strategists and analysts are torn over whether a candidate is better served by being statesmanlike or sloshing in the mud.
The dilemma for candidates has long been that "people say they don't want candidates to attack each other, but it's been shown that attack ads work," said Penni Pier, a political communication expert at Wartburg College, in Waverly, Iowa. But not always, she added.
"If you are undecided, you need the adversarial comments, but the candidate also risks a backlash. You can go too far," Pier said. "Candidates also need the cooperative rhetoric."
It's the kind of civility that the public says it wants in politics but rarely gets.
"It says that despite all the differences, they agree broadly on issues of patriotism and the need to oppose the forces that caused 9/11," said John Geer, the editor of The Journal of Politics.
The candidates plan to visit the site of the World Trade Center, which was destroyed in the terrorist attack seven years ago. They also have agreed to suspend television ads on Thursday.
The event will mark the first time since each was nominated that they have appeared together.
"On Thursday," McCain and Obama said in a joint statement, "we will put aside politics and come together to renew that unity, to honor the memory of each and every American who died, and to grieve with families and friends who lost loved ones."
The event's tone will present a contrast to the campaign atmosphere of the past few weeks. While presidential campaigns historically are full of specious charges from both sides, this year's rhetoric is unusually harsh.
Though the Democrat had made no reference to Palin, McCain's camp charged that Obama had insulted the Alaska governor. Palin said in her Republican convention speech last week that the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull is "lipstick." Obama has used the "lipstick on a pig" line for months.
Strategists and analysts are torn over whether a candidate is better served by being statesmanlike or sloshing in the mud.
The dilemma for candidates has long been that "people say they don't want candidates to attack each other, but it's been shown that attack ads work," said Penni Pier, a political communication expert at Wartburg College, in Waverly, Iowa. But not always, she added.
"If you are undecided, you need the adversarial comments, but the candidate also risks a backlash. You can go too far," Pier said. "Candidates also need the cooperative rhetoric."
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