For the full report in the National Post click on this link
Bush's 9/11 address sparks suspicions of partisanship - by Sheldon Alberts
U.S. President George W. Bush asked American television networks Friday to air a prime-time address to the nation marking the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, raising concerns among political opponents he might exploit the solemn occasion to help Republicans seeking re-election to Congress in November. The Oval Office speech Monday night will cap an eight-day public-relations blitz in which Bush has delivered a series of campaign-style speeches promoting his administration's efforts to fight the war on terrorism.
"I think he has to be careful. If his speech is about the government providing a reflective account to the people in a non-partisan way, obviously that is an important role that any president plays," said P. J. Crowley, who served as a national security adviser under former president Bill Clinton.
"But it has to be a conciliatory speech. If it is perceived as a political speech, where the Republicans are perceived as taking advantage of 9/11 to push their electoral agenda, I definitely think that could boomerang on him," said Crowley, now director of national defence and homeland security at the Center for American Progress in Washington.
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