Whatever your opinion about George W. Bush, the so-called "furor" over his campaign ad (which briefly alludes to 9-11) is nonsense.

If the commercial were blatantly fear-mongering or sensationalizing 9-11, the detractors might have a point. But to claim that the President ought not to reference it at all during the campaign is ridiculous. Did FDR never mention World War II in a campaign?

The fact is, 9-11 happened during George W. Bush's presidency. The fact is, it changed this country. And the fact is, it has a great deal to do with the future of the country. To say that the Bush campaign cannot legitimately raise the issue as a defnining moment in the Bush presidency, or can't ask who we would want to be president in a 9-11 situation, is absurd.

The "furor" only confirms what had been murmered all along: Democrats see Bush as being one lucky fella for getting to be president when 9-11 happened. Many of them were openly lamenting that Bill Clinton never had an "opportunity" for a moment like that. They'd love for terrorism to be ruled out as an issue in the campaign because its an issue they get killed on. They dread the thought of anyone asking of their candidate, "Would you want this man to be president if a 9-11-type attack occurred again?"

They know that even they wouldn't have wanted Al Gore to be president on September 11, 2001. Thus, they need to have the issue declared out of bounds in order to get their next guy elected.