It's only fitting that Mason, Ohio, teenager Ashley Faulkner will get a chance to see President Bush's inauguration firsthand this week.After all, her ad helped make it happen.
Ashley Faulkner was the focus of Ashley's Story, a pro-Bush campaign ad that aired nearly 30,000 times in the month before the election Nov. 2.
I remember when this ad started running in Ohio. I still can't watch it or read the Enquirer article that started it all without choking up all over again.
At a time when we were being bombarded with negative ads 24/7, this one cut through the noise like nothing else. The emotion on Bush's face in the picture was unmistakable. You knew it - and he - was real.
At the same time, Kerry was out hunting for votes. And the pictures from his trip - which transparently screamed panderer - stood in sharp contrast.
Lynn Faulkner, who runs a foundation for orphaned children, said Ashley "is glad she helped other people see what she saw."
Enjoy your trip Ashley. You are still in our thoughts and prayers.
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