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 Two years later
By John Mercurio
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- You'll be hard-pressed to find much non-9/11 activity in politics today, as pols of all shapes and sizes pause to mark the second anniversary of September 11, 2001, a day that continues to reshape this nation's political landscape in ways unimaginable two years ago. All eyes rest on Ground Zero at 8:46 a.m. EDT, when a moment of silence commemorates the time at which an airplane struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Houses of worship toll their bells across New York. A victim's family member reads a short poem at 8:47 a.m. Mayor Michael Bloomberg introduces the reading of victims' names at 8:48 a.m. Children read the names of victims, each child naming about 14 victims. Another moment of silence takes place at 9:03 a.m., at which time a plane hit the South Tower and the nation first realized it was under attack. Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani reads names for two minutes; New York Gov. George Pataki and New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey read names for one minute. Bloomberg concludes the program at noon. For their parts, most '04 Dems are paying tribute or lying low today. Dick Gephardt suspends his campaign briefly for a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. Howard Dean makes no public appearances. Joe Lieberman visits a fire station in Miami. John Kerry is at the Boston Public Gardens at 10 a.m. EDT to attend a 9/11 memorial groundbreaking ceremony with Mayor Tom Menino and Sen. Ted Kennedy. Kerry also plans to volunteer at the New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans at 3 p.m. Perhaps the most vocal '04 Dem today is Bob Graham, scheduled to deliver a speech, "Sept. 11 Two Years Later: Are We Safer?" in Manhattan at 12:15 p.m. EDT before the Council on Foreign Relations. On the other side of an aisle that will effectively cease to exist for a day, Bush remains in Washington today, attending a prayer service at St. John's Episcopal Church at 7:30 a.m. EDT before he observes a moment of silence at the White House at 8:46 am. At 3 p.m., he visits wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital. And on the West CoastOf course, work goes on in the less glamorous, nonpolitical side of politics (read: the courts). At 11:30 a.m. EDT, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena hears oral arguments in the case of Southwest Voter Registration Education Project v. Shelley, otherwise known as the "punch card" voting machine case. The case centers on the continued use of "punch card" voting machines, which led to the Florida 2000 presidential election debacle, in the upcoming recall election. The American Civil Liberties Union wants to delay the October 7 California recall election until March. "As it stands now, close to 8 million voters could be at the mercy of these faulty, unreliable and decertified machines," said Mark Rosenbaum, legal director for the Southern California chapter of the ACLU, which has taken no position on the recall itself. "Californians deserve to go to the polls knowing that their vote will be counted, not discarded."
In California, recall candidates have muted schedules today. At 3:30 p.m. EDT, Gov. Gray Davis attends a ceremony awarding medals of valor to 35 members of the California Highway Patrol who put their lives on the line on behalf of their state. Two hours later, Davis is scheduled to sign two "9/11-related" pieces of legislation in Sacramento. At 9:15 p.m. EDT, Arnold Schwarzenegger is given a tour of Los Angeles' Simon Wiesenthal Center by its founder, Rabbi Marvin Hier. The tour is followed by a candlelight ceremony. Schwarzenegger is not expected to deliver any remarks. Politics resume, of course, this weekend and next week, when sources tell the Grind that Kerry and Edwards will campaign with Davis in California. Kerry is scheduled to stump with Davis on September 17; Edwards plans to do so during a previously scheduled trip September 20 and 21.
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