September 11, 2012: Candidates Observe and Reflect
On the eleventh anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, President Barack Obama and the GOP challenger Mitt Romney marked the day with speeches and observances. They also laid aside political rancor and suspended attack ads for the day out of respect for the victims of 9/11.
Following a moment of silence at 8:45 a.m., the approximate time that the first plane hit the North Tower at the World Trade Center, the President said, “So as painful as this day is and always will be, it leaves us with a lesson that no single event can ever destroy who we are. No act of terrorism can ever change what we stand for.”
At the Flight 93 National Memorial Commemorative Service in Shanksville, PA, Vice President Joe Biden, who grew up in nearby Scranton, noted that “no two losses are the same.” He also offered a prayer for the souls of those who died aboard that flight, which crashed as its passengers tried to overpower the hijackers.
Speaking at the National Guard Association Conference in Nevada, Mitt Romney addressed a group that was among the first responders to events on that day 11 years ago. “On this most somber day, those who would attack us should know that we are united, one nation under God, in our determination to stop them and to stand tall for peace and freedom at home and across the world,” Romney said in a written statement released earlier in the day.
Fox News notes that of the three presidential races that have taken place since September 11, 2001, this is the first in which jobs and economy rather than national security has been most significant in voters’ minds.
A Staffer’s Impression
One of our OLE staffers, Hannah Cyrus, writes about her memories of the day her sixth grade class watched events unfold on September 11, 2001. “We knew we were witnessing something that would become a permanent chapter in our nation’s history.”
Teaching Resources
For teachers, OLE offers a variety of materials at elementary, middle grades, and high school level to help students understand more about why we must never forget 9/11.
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