Actually, accusing Democrats of having September 10, 2001 attitudes about the war on terror dates back to the 2004 election, but Republican presidential contender John McCain's campaign's claim that Democratic rival Barack Obama has a "September 10 mindset" appears to be the first use of 9/10 in this election year.
On Monday, Obama had made remarks ABC News' Jake Tapper, regarding the Supreme Court's 5-4 decision to allow Guantanamo Bay detainees the right to challenge their detention. While the Bush administration stance is that their controversial programs and policies have prevented any terrorist attacks in the country since September 11, 2001, Obama said, "It is my firm belief that we can track terrorists, we can crack down on threats against the United States, but we can do so within the constraints of our Constitution."
Then he also referred to the terrorists arrested for the WTC attacks, "They are currently in U.S. prisons, incapacitated. And the fact that the administration has not tried to do that has created a situation where not only have we never actually put many of these folks on trial, but we have destroyed our credibility when it comes to rule of law all around the world, and given a huge boost to terrorist recruitment in countries that say, 'Look, this is how the United States treats Muslims.'"
Yesterday, McCain adviser Randy Scheunemann belittled Obama's remarks, saying, "Once again, we have seen that Senator Obama is a perfect manifestation of a September 10th mindset... [These terrorists] are very dangerous people. These aren't just your run-of-the-mill drug dealers that are picked up on the South Side of Chicago."
The McCain campaign also brought out Mr. 9/11 himself, Rudy Giuliani, for a quote:
