WASHINGTON (CNN) ― "Putting Politics Aside, For One Day"
By Karin Caifa in Washington
The presidential candidates have called a timeout this September 11, pausing to remember the nearly 3,000 people killed in terrorist attacks on the U.S. exactly seven years ago today. Barack Obama and John McCain have agreed that today is not a day for partisan bickering and critical television ads, and have decided to suspend such activity for the day. The two presidential candidates have scheduled two joint appearances in New York to mark the anniversary -- a Ground Zero wreath-laying ceremony, and a Columbia University candidates' forum.
McCain spoke briefly this morning in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed on the morning of September 11, 2001. "It's believed that the terrorists on United Flight 93 might have intended to crash the airplane into the United States Capitol," he noted. "Hundreds, if not thousands, of people at work in that building when that fateful moment occurred could have been destroyed along with a beautiful symbol of our freedom. They, and very possibly I, owe our lives to the passengers who summoned the courage and love necessary to deprive our depraved and hateful enemies their terrible triumph."
Obama, meanwhile, called on Americans to use the commemoration to renew "that spirit of service and that sense of common purpose" that followed the attacks. In a statement released this morning, and posted on his campaign's website Obama also offered a solemn reminder. "Let us remember that the terrorists responsible for 9/11 are still at large, and must be brought to justice," he wrote. "Let us resolve to defeat terrorist networks, defend the American homeland, stand up for the enduring American values that we cherish, and seek a new birth of freedom at home and around the world."
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