Is This Herman Cain Campaign Ad The Most Offensive Use Of 9/11 Ever?

Herman Cain. Image from http://theworldisleft.wordpress.com/2011/07/27/do-you-really-know-your-2012-presidential-candidates-well/

It’s probably not a good idea to run a campaign ad featuring the tragedy of the September 11th terrorist attacks, depicting yourself as some kind of savior so you can gain something politically. But that is exactly what Republican Presidential Candidate Herman Cain did.

The two minute ad opens with Cain singing “God Bless America,” and a waving, tattered American flag. The remaining images are iconic CNN newsreel footage, with audio, of the two planes slamming into the World Trade Center towers on 9/ 11, and news reports — including reporters’ voices — describing the terror attacks, followed by, again, iconic images of post- 9/11 grieving, signs, people screaming, “Oh my God!,” images of the Pentagon after the plane hit it, a little girl kneeling in front of a stuffed animal propped up against a wall plastered with photos of the missing, a sign that reads: “Please find my Daddy,” a man standing in front of a fence with thousands of photos, his hand raised to cover his head in astonishment, and more, and more, more.




Here’s the ad:


Cain seems to be depicting himself as some kind of savior who swooped in on a white horse to heal America in her time of need. Except that Cain wasn’t even a political leader in 2001. He was a retired CEO enjoying the simple life of being a small time political pundit in Atlanta, Georgia.

It is shameful for ANY politician to use 9/11 for political gain. Since that day in 2001, many Republicans candidates have used the tragedy to bolster their campaigns. George W. Bush and Dick Cheney both used 9/11 to strike fear in the hearts of voters in 2004. And they used it to start a decade of costly wars in the Middle East. Rudy Giuliani used 9/11 as virtually his only talking point in 2004 and 2008, prompting many to joke that every other word he speaks has to do with it. Politicians that use 9/11 for political gain do not belong in government. It is despicable and shameful to release such an ad at any time, especially during this time when 9/11 weighs so heavily upon all of us.