A Little Touch of Dubya

This photo of Bush hugging Ashley Faulkner, the daughter of a woman killed in the 9/11 attacks, will be part of the most expensive ad campaign of the presidential race, a buy that is aimed at various key states. The ad apparently will also feature Ashley and her father talking about the President. Its main theme is to remind voters of Bush's personal touch.

I distinctly remember getting quite choked up when this photo first flipped around the Internet this past summer. It still has quite an effect on me (which is one of the reasons I reposted it). As a father myself, I know exactly what is going on here. The combination of grief and comfort, anguish and protectiveness, goes right to the heart. Utterly genuine and transcendent.

Unfortunately, we are now into the sprint of the Presidential campaign and there is no way to avoid the political calculus. For what it's worth, I think the piece is going to connect with middle of the road viewers in a big way - many of whom I'd bet have not seen the pictures or heard about the incident before. Coming on top of Kerry's sudden outburst of tinfoil hat conspiracy theories to shore up his base, this might produce some very significant results. We'll see.

Yips! to Glenn, who's also got the full ad linked.