Decency Dies In Stages

From the Boston Globe Blog

The death of a taboo
Posted by Sasha Issenberg

ST. PAUL -- One of the most enduring taboos in American politics,
the airing of graphic images from the September 11 attacks in a partisan
context, died today. It was nearly seven years old.


The informal prohibition, which had been occasionally threatened by
political ads in recent years, was pronounced dead at approximately 7:40 CST,
when a video aired before delegates at the Republican National Convention
included slow-motion footage of a plane striking the World Trade Center, the
towers' subsequent collapse, and smoke emerging from the Pentagon.


The September 11 precedent was one of the few surviving
campaign-season taboos.

It is survived by direct comparisons of one's opponents to
Hitler.