The question that will, without any doubt, be arising in the next eight months is, how far can Bush go to use 9/11 for his own personal political advantage?

The question first arose when Bush and the GOP tried to sell a photo of Bush on Air Force One on 9/11 to raise funds for the party during midterms elections. For $150, you could get a copy. 9/11 was a national tragedy, sacrosanct in a very real way. The key word there is that it was a national tragedy. Not a Republican one. Not a partisan one in any way. That would belittle it, and demean the price the country paid on that day, and what it means to us as a people. And you don’t lightly go around using such tragedies to ask people for money so you can win an election. At least you’re not supposed to.

Bush & Co., however, have been busy pushing the envelope on that one. It started with the fundraising photo, and escalated when the GOP chose New York for their convention venue this election year. Not that there is anything objectionable about New York, but at this time and with this president it smacks of opportunism. As if to say, “this is where George W. Bush had a good day.” And the GOP is playing this to the hilt: they have delayed their convention to the first week of September so that it will land as close as possible to the 9/11 anniversary, and most likely will blend into the memorial ceremonials to follow, tying Bush’s campaign in with the remembrance of the victims of that day. Add to that Bush’s recent indirect attempt to squash the 9/11 commission from extending their deadline to do the job right because it would come closer to the GOP convention, and what you have is a president crassly using a national tragedy as a showpiece, a PR stunt, a political ad. Three thousand dead to elect a president.

Recent reports that the GOP is seriously considering using Ground Zero itself for Bush to give his acceptance speech are hard to believe, but they’re there. And considering the fact that 9/11 families are already angry just because Bush has used 9/11 images in his new presidential ads, one can only imagine the firestorm of criticism and protest should Bush choose such sacred ground for what is one of the definitive partisan political events in the country. As if the GOP owns 9/11, and Bush has a right to capitalize on it for his benefit.

So you can expect to see a testing of these boundaries, and if the past is any indication, you can expect that testing to be done in a kind of blundering way, as Bush & Co. seem to be more than a little blind to the sensitivities involved.