There's been a negative backlash toward the ads President Bush is using. The television spots, which started airing this week, feature footage of the World Trade Center site after the 9/11 attacks.

The point of the ads is to link the president to the events surrounding 9/11. Regardless of the ads or how people feel about them, this president is linked with those events, just as President Wilson will be forever linked with World War I and the League of Nations. Most people probably expected the president to utilize this event as it's been well known he would be running a campaign focused on national security.

To me, it's not the ads that are offensive. The real shamelessness comes in September when the Republican National Convention takes place in Manhattan at Madison Square Garden. Normally the convention would take place in August, but it was pushed back to coincide with the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Unlike traditional party conventions, this one will feature events at several sites outside MSG, at locations like Central Park and Ellis Island.

I'm not convinced Americans won't see through this charade and reject the president for this pandering. Even New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg looks like he wants to minimize his role in this affair.