George Bush defends his Sept 11 ads

6.00pm

CRAWFORD - President Bush has brushed aside calls to pull political ads that use images of the devastated World Trade Centre, and sought to cast himself as the best candidate to grow the economy despite job losses under his watch.

"The economy is getting stronger," Bush said one day after a government report showed the labour market mustered only 21,000 new jobs last month -- as compared to a White House forecast for more than 300,000 new jobs a month this year.

Bush hoped to shore up his public standing this week on national security and the economy with his first election campaign ads after John Kerry locked up the Democratic nomination.

But the ads, drawing on images from Sept 11 attacks, sparked a backlash from families who lost relatives in the World Trade Centre.

The small gain in jobs also disappointed White House officials, who had hoped for stronger evidence of a recovering labour market, and fuelled Democratic attacks that Bush should be thrown out of office in the November 2 general election.

Bush rejected criticism on both counts during a joint news conference with Mexican President Vicente Fox at his Crawford, Texas, ranch.

"We've been through a recession, we've been through an attack, we've been through corporate scandals, we've been through war, and yet our economy is getting stronger," Bush told reporters.

"The question is, who brings forth the best pro-growth policies?" Bush said.

While he said he would make his tax cuts permanent, Bush warned that Democrats would roll them back.

"Raising taxes will make it harder for people to find work," Bush said, adding: "We've got a pro-growth, pro-entrepreneur, pro-small business agenda that is making this economy stronger.

"Do you want to translate that?" Bush asked Fox's translator, adding: "Make sure you tell them: Don't raise taxes like some others want to do."

Democrats blasted Bush for the 2.2 million jobs lost on his watch, and said he was in denial. "As the phrase goes, Houston, we've got a problem," said Kerry, referring to the now-legendary report of trouble aboard the US Apollo 13 lunar mission in 1970.

9/11 COMMERCIALS

Despite pressure from Sept 11 families and firefighters, Bush said he "will continue to speak about the effects of 9/11 on our country and my presidency."

"I have an obligation to those who died. I have an obligation to those who were heroic in their attempts to rescue (the victims). And I won't forget that obligation," Bush said.

But he added: "How this administration handled that day, as well as the war on terror, is worthy of discussion. And I look forward to discussing that with the American people. And I look forward to the debate about who best to lead this country in the war on terror."

The Bush campaign began running the television ads on Thursday in battleground states in the opening salvo of a long campaign.

Two ads referred to the hijacked airliner attacks that killed about 3,000 as the Bush campaign seeks to portray him as a resolute leader.

One television spot shows the ruins of the World Trade Centre behind an American flag while another shows firefighters removing the flag-draped remains of a victim.

The commercials have angered many victims' relatives, outraged at what they say is an attempt to politicise one of the darkest days in the nation's history. The Bush administration has defended the ads as relevant and "tasteful."

Bush will visit a memorial to Sept 11 victims next week in East Meadow, New York.

- REUTERS