03-04) 05:10 PST NEW YORK (AP) --

President Bush's re-election campaign on Thursday defended commercials
using images from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, including wreckage
of the World Trade Center, as appropriate for an election about public
policy and the war on terror.

Some families of the victims of the attacks are angry with Bush for
airing the spots, which they called in poor taste and for the
president's political gain.

"With all due respect, I just completely disagree, and I believe the
vast majority of the American people will as well," Karen Hughes, a
Bush campaign adviser, told "The Early Show" on CBS. "September 11th
was not just a distant tragedy. It's a defining event for the future
of our country. ... Obviously, all of us mourn and grieve for the
victims of that terrible day, but September 11 fundamentally changed
our public policy in many important ways, and I think it's vital that
the next president recognize that."

The first three ads, unveiled Wednesday at campaign headquarters in
suburban Washington, will run on broadcast channels in about 80
markets in 18 states, most of which are expected to be critical to the
election, and nationwide on select cable networks.

"It's a slap in the face of the murders of 3,000 people," Monica
Gabrielle, whose husband died in the twin towers, told the New York
Daily News for its Thursday editions. "It is unconscionable."

Two of the spots show the destruction at the World Trade Center and
include an American flag flying amid the debris. They also feature
images of firefighters working through the wreckage.

"It's as sick as people who stole things out of the place," said
Firefighter Tommy Fee of Queens Rescue Squad 270. "The image of
firefighters at ground zero should not be used for this stuff, for
politics."

The ads do not mention Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry,
focusing instead on improving Bush's image after criticism by
Democrats in recent months.

"I would be less offended if he showed a picture of himself in front
of the Statue of Liberty," said Tom Roger, whose daughter perished on
American Airlines Flight 11. "But to show the horror of 9/11 in the
background, that's just some advertising agency's attempt to grab
people by the throat."