President George W. Bush launched his advertising campaign for re-election on Thursday and immediately came under heavy fire from the families of Sept. 11 victims for images of the fallen World Trade Center in one of the ads. But while the clips can be seen as controversial, and have been painted that way by many media outlets, Bush critics should give the president some rope. Sept. 11 has shaped his presidency and should be fair game.

The advertising campaign does treat the subject tastefully – a minimum amount of footage was used and the pictures shown were not of anything offensive. Sept. 11 is arguably one of the largest tragedies of this generation.

Bush’s presidency has been indelibly affected by the tragedy, and hence a huge part of Bush’s campaign can and should deal with how he handled the attacks – both his allies and his opponents should touch on it. While the public is still all too familiar with the events of Sept. 11, showing images of the events in the ads will remind the voters again about how Bush successfully, or unsuccessfully, led the country through such a tragic event.

It is very obvious that Bush is planning to use the attacks as a central focus of his campaign. The Republican National Convention will be held in New York City just a week after groundbreaking on new buildings at Ground Zero. While the families are understandably still upset by such a great loss, the tragedy will continuously come up. Bush’s ads may bring back the pain, but they do so in the most tasteful manner possible.

There is no way to bring up the attacks without reminding everyone of what resulted from the attacks. Showing graphic footage would be offensive, but the ads simply do not do that.

The world was shocked by the terrorist attacks and the country went into a panic. But just as any other war hero or political hero would use his or her track record in a campaign for the presidency, he should be allowed similar rights. It is common practice for an incumbent president to mention important events that took place under his watch. It would be unfair to expect Bush not to use the way in which he handled the Sept. 11 as a part of his presidential record.

In the end, Bush’s campaign strategy may in fact backfire on his quest for reelection. But while he has touched a sensitive nerve, he has done so fairly. Just as his opponents will surely pinpoint his shortcomings in dealing with terrorism and the post-terror situation, they should allow him to claim credit where he thinks it is due.