In their September 12 articles, The New York Times and The Washington Post framed President Bush's prime-time address commemorating the 9-11 anniversary as part of an effort to eschew politics and foster the sense of unity the nation experienced five years ago. Further, these reports cast Democrats as the ones responsible for injecting politics into the day's events, as Media Matters for America noted. But a closer examination reveals that much of Bush's rhetoric in his purportedly apolitical September 11 speech echoed his remarks during numerous recent appearances in support of Republican candidates and in campaign speeches during the 2004 presidential election.

• The terrorists will “follow us” if we leave Iraq. At one point during the televised address, Bush assailed those who support some form of U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. He said, “Whatever mistakes have been made in Iraq, the worst mistake would be to think that if we pulled out, the terrorists would leave us alone. They will not leave us alone. They will follow us.” He went on to say that the “safety of America” is at stake in Iraq. This claim -- that redeploying U.S. troops out of Iraq would invite further attacks -- has appeared in numerous speeches delivered by Bush during the 2006 campaign season at GOP fundraisers nationwide:
• “Make no mistake about it. If the United States leaves before the mission is complete, the enemy will follow us here to America. The stakes are high. We will help this government succeed, and we will achieve victory in Iraq.” (Max Burns [GA] for Congress reception, 9/7/06)
• "[A]s General [John] Abizaid has said, if we leave before the job is done -- if we leave the streets of Baghdad, the enemy will follow us to our own streets in America." [Orrin Hatch [UT] for Senate reception, 8/31/06)
• “If we leave before the job is done, it will have meant incredibly brave souls will have given their lives for nothing. And if we leave Iraq before the job is done, as General Abizaid has said, they will follow us here.” [Bob Corker [TN] for Senate dinner, 8/30/06]
• “If we cut and run, if we don't complete the mission, what would that say to those brave men and women who have volunteered to wear the uniform of the United States of America? If we leave before the mission is complete, if we withdraw, the enemy will follow us home.” [Lynn Swann [PA] for Governor reception, 8/16/06]
• Building the “tools” to fight the threat. In the address, Bush also touted his administration's purported success in giving “those who toil day and night to keep our homeland safe ... the tools they need to protect our people.” Specifically, he alluded to the passage of the USA Patriot Act (“We have torn down the wall that kept law enforcement and intelligence from sharing information”) and cited the controversial warrantless domestic surveillance and bank-tracking programs. In his recent appearances on behalf of various Republican candidates, Bush has repeatedly offered similar lists of the White House's counterterrorism accomplishments:
• “As a matter of fact, part of my job is to assure the American people that we understand the threat, and that people should go on about their lives. Let us worry about it. That's why I've asked to make sure we have all the tools necessary to protect the American people -- tools like the Patriot Act, which Orrin helped get passed. Tools like the capacity to listen to an Al Qaeda phone call. If they're calling in the United States, we want to know why, so we can protect the American people.” [Hatch for Senate reception, 8/31/06]
• “So I need members of Congress who understand that we must give our troops and intelligence and those responsible for protecting America all the support they need. See, in order to stay on the offense, we have got to support those on the front line of protecting the American people. We will use all assets to defend this nation.” [Burns for Congress reception, 9/7/06]
• "I need people in Washington, D.C. who are willing to give those who are responsible for protecting America all the tools they need -- tools such as the Patriot Act; tools such as programs that say if al Qaeda is calling into the United States, we want to why [sic], in order to protect the United States of America." [Corker for Senate dinner, 8/30/06]
• I also want to uphold the Constitution, and I will. I'm also expected to defend the United States of America. And when we think somebody from al Qaeda is calling in to somebody in the United States from out of the country, we want to know why. We want to know why somebody is talking to al Qaeda, in order to protect the United States of America. [...] One way to win the war on terror is to starve the enemy of money. I thought that made a lot of sense. And so the Treasury Department launched a program to track the flow of terrorist money. See, we wanted to watch the money that the terrorists were moving around. It's one way to help protect the American people. [...] The American people expect the government to protect them. That's what you expect. It's our most important job. Jim Talent understands our most important job is to protect the American people. And they want our people to have the tools necessary to achieve victory in the war on terror, and to do our job. [Jim Talent [MO] for Senate dinner, 6/28/06]
• America is “safer, but not yet safe.” Early in the September 11 speech, Bush asserted, “Today, we are safer, but we are not yet safe.” During his 2004 campaign, Bush repeated this line verbatim from the stump on numerous occasions, as the weblog Martini Republic noted:
• “America is safer, but not yet safe.” [Wilmington, Ohio, 11/1/04]
• "[W]e are safer, but not yet safe." [Grand Rapids, Michigan, 10/30/04]
• “America is safer, not yet safe.” [Davenport, Iowa, 10/25/04]
• “America is safer, but not yet safe.” [Second presidential debate, 10/9/04]
• [T]he actions we've take [sic] have made America safer, but not yet safe." [Las Cruces, New Mexico, 8/26/04]
• "[O]ur homeland is safer, but we are not yet safe." [Grand Rapids, Michigan, 7/30/04]
• No attacks in U.S. in five years. In the speech, Bush also asserted that in the five years since 9-11, “our enemies have not succeeded in launching another attack on our soil.” Bush's remarks echoed those of Vice President Dick Cheney, who suggested at a fundraiser for Illinois Republican congressional candidate David McSweeney earlier this year that the administration's counterterrorism policies have prevented subsequent attacks. Cheney stated, “Here in the U.S., we have not had another 9-11. Obviously, no one can guarantee that we won't be hit again. But the relative safety of these years was not an accident. We've been protected by sensible policy decisions by the president, by decisive action at home and abroad, by the round-the-clock efforts on the part of people in the armed forces, law enforcement, intelligence, and homeland security.”