Photo Fund-Raiser Causes a Flap

WASHINGTON -- President Bush is allowing congressional Republicans to solicit money by selling a photograph of him talking on the telephone with Vice President Dick Cheney just hours after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a fund-raising technique that Democrats say exploits the tragedy.

Democrats also accused Bush of being hypocritical after saying for eight months that America’s war on terrorism is not a political issue.

Among those who weighed in Tuesday was former Vice President Al Gore, Bush’s opponent in 2000.

“While most pictures are worth a thousand words, a photo that seeks to capitalize on one of the most tragic moments in our nation’s history is worth only one--disgraceful,” Gore said in a statement issued by his office. “I cannot imagine that the families of those who lost their lives on Sept. 11 condone this--and neither should the president of the United States.”

The White House flatly rejected such criticism. Spokesman Ari Fleischer said Bush has no problem with the GOP’s latest fund-raising effort because the photo is nothing more than “a representation of the president ... doing his job for the American people.”

Fleischer also argued that the furor merely highlights the Democrats’ lack of more substantive issues with which to confront Bush.

“I think the Democrats are having a very difficult time coming to grips with the fact that this is a very popular president,” he said.

The partisan flap erupted just hours before the Republican National Committee’s annual presidential gala, which was expected to raise about $30 million. That amount would break the single-night record for political fund-raising of $26.5 million, set in 2000 by a Clinton-Gore event here.

Tuesday night’s black-tie dinner in Washington provided the GOP with one of its final opportunities to raise a huge amount of “soft money” donations, soon to be banned by recently enacted campaign finance reform.

About 2,500 people were expected at the gala, according to Ricardo Bernal, an RNC spokesman. He said there would not be an immediate breakdown of “hard” and “soft” money donations from the event.

Hard money is given directly to candidates for federal office, while soft money goes to political parties for party-building activities. Current law limits hard-money donations to $1,000 per donor, per candidate, while soft money will remain uncapped until late this year.

The shot of Bush aboard Air Force One on Sept. 11 was taken by a White House photographer. It was released to the news media, which then widely disseminated it.

The other two pictures were taken by news photographers, according to Fleischer--one during Bush’s inauguration in 2001 and the other during his State of the Union speech in January.

All three photographs were purchased by a commercial vendor, Corbis, which sold them to the party. They are being offered by the Republican House and Senate campaign committees.

The GOP pitch touts the photos as demonstrating “the gritty determination of our new president at his inauguration; a telephone call from Air Force One to Vice President Cheney the afternoon of Sept. 11, 2001; and President Bush’s historic State of the Union speech before a joint session of Congress that united a nation and a world.”

The minimum price for the three-picture set is $150. Along with the photographs comes an invitation to a June dinner hosted by the two campaign committees.

There is also a message from Cheney, who touted the dinner as, in part, a chance to honor Bush “for his courageous leadership during this historic time.... “

The vice president’s fund-raising activities also have been criticized by watchdog groups. On the eve of last year’s presidential gala, he held a reception for about 400 top GOP donors at his government-provided vice presidential mansion.

The party’s marketing of Bush’s Sept. 11 photo surprised even some Republicans.

“It’s a sign of sloppiness,” said one GOP strategist. “Why use a picture that’s going to cause a controversy when there are 2 million” others available, he said.

Scott Reed, who managed Bob Dole’s 1996 presidential campaign, added: “Every piece of direct mail that goes out needs to be looked at ... on how it would play vis-a-vis the occupant of the White House.”

None of the photographs was run past the White House, Fleischer conceded, adding: “The party committees made their decision; the White House did not object” to their use for political purposes.

As the November elections approach, and with the control of both houses of Congress in the balance, the president has been increasing his appearances around the country for GOP candidates.

In those speeches, Bush has not deviated from his rhetoric on the war against terrorism, saying consistently that America is united in that effort.

Yet his chief political strategist, Karl Rove, gave critics an opening by telling the winter RNC meeting: “We can also go to the country on this issue because they trust the Republican Party to do a better job of protecting and strengthening America’s military might and thereby protecting America.”

On Tuesday, Democrats let loose.

“For the congressional Republicans to sell an historical photograph of President Bush talking to Vice President Cheney on Sept. 11 is nothing short of grotesque,” said Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

“We know it’s the Republicans’ strategy to use the war for political gain, but I would hope that even the most cynical partisan operative would have cowered at the notion of exploiting the Sept. 11 tragedy in this way. White House photographs are meant to create, present and document a real-time historical record. This potentially illegal misuse of a White House photograph is incredibly disrespectful to the families of the thousands of Americans who lost their lives just hours before this photo was taken.”