Kerry charges desperation in Bush's ad

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- President Bush's re-election campaign yesterday released a TV ad in which he recalls the agony of September 11, prompting Sen. John Kerry to accuse Mr. Bush of desperation.

The president returned fire later in the day by ridiculing Mr. Kerry's plan to significantly reduce U.S. troop levels in Iraq within the first six months of a Kerry presidency. Mr. Bush said telegraphing such a timetable to the enemy would jeopardize the mission.

But most of the sniping on the campaign trail yesterday stemmed from the president's new TV ad, titled "Solemn Duty."

"My most solemn duty is to lead our nation to protect ourselves," the president says in the 30-second ad, which will run in swing states and on national cable channels.

"I can't imagine the great agony of a mom or a dad having to make the decision about which child to pick up first on September the 11th," he adds as first lady Laura Bush looks on. The ad contains no footage of the terrorist attacks.

"We cannot hesitate; we cannot yield; we must do everything in our power to bring an enemy to justice before they hurt us again," Mr. Bush says.

Kerry campaign spokesman Chad Clanton accused Mr. Bush of invoking September 11 for political gain at a time when the president has been unable to pull ahead of Mr. Kerry in the polls.

"This is Bush's idea of an optimistic campaign?" he said. "The president has his back against the wall, so now he invokes September 11 in his ads."

He added: "If you ever wanted proof that the Bush campaign has reached the point of desperation, now we have it."

But Mr. Kerry himself injected September 11 into the campaign last week by accusing the president of responding too slowly to news of the terrorist attacks. Specifically, the Massachusetts Democrat slammed Mr. Bush for remaining in a second-grade classroom in Florida for five minutes after learning the news.