Solemn Date, Serious Decision: What 9/11 Reveals About Clinton and Trump

[DonViejo]

Joe Conason

September 11, 2016

Each anniversary of the 9/11 attacks is marked with appropriate solemnity, in remembrance of all who lost their lives on that grim day and especially the many who sacrificed themselves in dutiful valor. On these occasions we recall a moment of unity and dignity for our country, a sense that everything had changed, and a determination to rise above all that was narrow, mercenary, and mean in our political culture.

Sadly that atmosphere didn’t last long, vanishing amid the malicious misuse of the terror threat by Republican partisans in the midterm election. Now, after 15 years of turmoil at home and abroad, we confront something far worse: A loud demagogue who aims to divide the country by race, religion, ethnicity, and ideology, a sinister clown who announces his admiration for dictators and inspires a festering fascist underworld.

Despite the specter of Donald Trump, however, it is understandable that many Americans still wish to mark September 11 as a day of patriotism without politics. It is an impulse that nobody should begrudge even during a fateful election. But perhaps they will forgive the rest of us for noticing how much the history of 9/11 reveals about Trump and his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton.

Back then Clinton’s critics on Capitol Hill, in City Hall, and in Albany acknowledged that as a freshman Senator, she responded to the crisis admirably — not just for a day or a season, but for wearying years, working to rebuild downtown Manhattan and to care for the bereaved families and first responders. She brought her characteristic energy, passion, and intelligence to those causes, without respect to party or ideology. She exposed the federal government’s deception about the dangers of the deadly air around Ground Zero. She fought to secure health benefits for those who had suffered the consequences of that crime. (And her husband, teamed with his 1996 rival Bob Dole, helped raise more than $100 million to fund scholarships for the children of 9/11 victims.)

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http://www.nationalmemo.com/solemn-date-serious-decision-what-911-reveals-about-clinton-and-trump/

[MBS]

1. I really like Joe Conason.

Whether or not I agree with him on a particular issue (though I usually do agree with him), I always pay attention to what he writes; he is one of the more thoughtful and sensible voices out there. And I definitely agree with him here.