Lawmakers call truce on Sept. 11 to honor the dead

Lawmakers took a break from politics Thursday to remember the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, offering tributes around Washington and bringing the two presidential candidates together for a brief span at the site where the World Trade Center once stood.

The day’s most remarkable moment came at the formal Ground Zero site, where Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) spent half an hour together. Both McCain and Obama suspended formal campaigning for the day in favor of the joint appearance.

{mosads}Joined by McCain’s wife, Cindy, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Obama and McCain solemnly shook hands with police, firefighters and construction workers, then each laid single roses at a makeshift memorial before pausing for a brief moment of silence. The two men appeared to interact only fleetingly, avoiding any in-depth conversation and shaking hands in passing as they departed. Neither delivered any public remarks, although both campaigns issued statements earlier in the day.

Earlier, President Bush and Vice President Cheney began the day with a brief ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House at 8:46 a.m., marking the moment that a hijacked commercial airliner first hit the World Trade Center in New York. Bush and Cheney were joined by their wives and a crowd of hundreds that included congressmen, military officials, Cabinet members and White House staff.

Bush later traveled to the Pentagon for the dedication of the Sept. 11 memorial, which consists of 184 benches, one for each casualty from the crash of American Airlines Flight 77 into the building, according to the White House.
Bush was joined by former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, among others, and by families of the victims.

“Seven years ago at this hour, a doomed airliner plunged from the sky, split the rock and steel of this building, and changed our world forever,” Bush said. “The years that followed have seen justice delivered to evil men and battles fought in distant lands. But each day on this year — each year on this day, our thoughts return to this place. Here, we remember those who died.”

The two-acre memorial site includes an extensive walkway dotted with about 80 maple trees near the western front of the building where the plane crashed.

On Capitol Hill, members of Congress came together for a solemn outdoor ceremony marking the anniversary. A sizable public audience, as well as much of the Senate and a smaller percentage of House members, attended what was mostly a quiet ceremony punctuated by brief bursts of music from a military band and a sprinkling of emphatic shouts from Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.).

Congressional leaders focused much of their remarks on the doomed journey of United 93, whose passengers thwarted hijackers’ attempt to fly a plane into the Capitol dome by causing the plane to crash in Shanksville, Pa.

“We were spared because seven years ago today, a handful of ordinary Americans found they owned unthinkable heroism,” said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.). “Because an airplane spiraled out of the sky into a Pennsylvania field 150 miles away, they saved us. They saved that dome.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was among those who noted that the 2001 attacks were responsible for uniting the country, despite the intentions behind them.

“They had hoped we would remember that day and their terrible deeds with fear and confusion and doubt,” McConnell said. “But Sept. 11 has also become a day of solemn pride for our country … Though surely sad, we find new confidence in the strength and the goodness of America.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) contributed similar sentiments, noting that the terrorists “had hoped our nation would crumble as quickly as the buildings they destroyed.”

“But they soon discovered that America’s resolve cannot be measured by the strength of our stone, our cement or our steel,” Reid said. “Our resolve was and has been demonstrated by the first responders and volunteers who saved lives, cared for the wounded and comforted the grieving.”

McCain was the lone presidential candidate to attend a morning ceremony in Shanksville, Pa., at the site of Flight 93’s crash, where he paid tribute to the passengers who overtook the jet.

“I have witnessed great courage and sacrifice for America’s sake, but none greater than the sacrifice of those good people who grasped the gravity of the moment, understood the threat, and decided to fight back at the cost of their lives,” he said.