9/11 Widows Join Kerry Campaign

John Kerry tried to re-establish his credentials on national security yesterday, recruiting prominent widows from the September 11 terror attacks to support his election campaign.

In an election season dominated by issues of national security, yesterday's endorsement was designed to reassure a doubting American public that Mr Kerry could be relied on to keep the country safe.

The self-styled Jersey Girls, widows who became minor folk icons for their persistent efforts to force a reluctant Bush administration to investigate the attacks, claim their support rises above the usual political fray.

"We will be speaking from the heart, and speaking from our conscience," Kristen Breitweiser, the most prominent of the widows, told the Associated Press on Monday.

At least two of the women are expected to make appearances in key battleground states for Mr Kerry, with Ms Breitweiser campaigning for him full time.

But the political implications of further politicising the September 11 attacks are inescapable. The widows' endorsement marks the most overt use of relatives of those killed in the attacks so far in this election season.

Although President George Bush has made the war on terror the centrepiece of his campaign, and the vice-president, Dick Cheney, went so far last week as to warn that Americans faced another terrorist attack if they elected Mr Kerry, the widows' endorsement could backfire on the Democratic presidential candidate.

As Democrats and Republicans have used the imagery of September 11 - and both parties brought relatives of the dead on stage at their conventions - the attacks have become an increasingly divisive issue in America.

Ms Breitweiser and the other widows have become strongly identified as critics of Mr Bush's administration. In recent months the widows' have been targeted by conservative commentators who call them "rock stars of grief".

But Democratic strategists say the endorsements could be crucial to Mr Kerry's attempts to reduce the 20-point advantage the president currently enjoys on terrorism.

They also hope that it will stem the erosion of another crucial constituency for Mr Kerry: women voters.

A Time magazine poll this week revealed a reversal in the traditional gender gap, with women now favouring Mr Bush over Mr Kerry by 45% to 44%.

The pollsters attribute the shift to "security mums", women who set aside their reservations about the president's conservative agenda because of their concern for their family's safety.

Ms Breitweiser was a registered Republican who voted for Mr Bush in 2000, and the Democrats are now hoping that her support can persuade other women to cross the line as well.

In the three years since the attacks on the World Trade Centre, the New Jersey home makers became respected figures in Washington for their political savvy, and for their dogged pursuit of an independent investigation into the tragedy.

The women, none of whom had prior political experience, showed a flair for publicity - Ms Breitweiser brought her dead husband's wedding ring to Capitol Hill - and members of Congress found it difficult to resist their pleas.

The widows' persistence is widely credited with forcing the Bush administration to establish the investigative commission, and in urging it on to delve more deeply into the attacks.

The commission chairman, Thomas Kean, has said he regularly received suggestions from the Jersey Girls about lines of inquiry to pursue.

Since the commission issued its report, the Jersey Girls have campaigned just as vigorously for the administration to adopt its recommendations wholesale.

But while Ms Breitweiser and the others carry tremendous moral authority, they have become increasingly identified as critics of the administration, especially of the war on Iraq.

That has made them a target of the American right. Earlier this year, they were savaged by conservative commentators for criticising Mr Bush's use of imagery from the rubble of the World Trade Centre during his re-election campaign.