Bush Uses Olympics in Political Ads. Again.

As if this wasn't bad enough, he's at it again. [registration required, or just use BugMeNot]

This week the Bush campaign debuted a commercial titled "Victory," which conjures images of Olympic stadiums, and credits Bush with liberating athletes from Iraq and Afghanistan so that they can compete here. The U.S. Olympic Committee is not overjoyed with the ad, since the politicization of the Olympics is forbidden by, among other bodies, Congress and the International Olympic Committee.

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The USOC is reviewing the ad and considering whether to ask the campaign to pull it, as an infringement of its exclusive rights to the Olympics. The IOC charter states that the Olympic word, symbol and concept belong exclusively to the IOC (and to the USOC in the United States) and should not be used for political purposes.

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Let's just say that it's not an especially honorable or Olympic thing to do. It's also a highly ironic thing to do, given that before the Games began, former president George H.W. Bush visited here as head of the U.S. Olympic delegation and urged American athletes to refrain from unseemly displays. He asked them to behave with "class and dignity."