Bush 'Glad' He Met With 9/11 Panel

FoxNews ^ | 4/29/04 | FoxNews

[pookie18]

WASHINGTON — President Bush (search) said he was glad he and Vice President Dick Cheney (search) met Thursday behind closed doors with the panel investigating what went wrong with U.S. intelligence before the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. Speaking in the White House Rose Garden after the meeting, Bush described it as "a good conversation. ... It was wide-ranging. It was important. It was just a good discussion. "They had a lot of good questions. I'm glad I did it. I'm glad I took the time. It's important that they asked the questions they asked ... I answered every question that they asked," Bush said, declining to describe the details of the meeting but acknowledging that Al Qaeda is still a threat to the United States.

[pookie18]

"Ninety-nine percent of the questions were directed to the president," one of two participants in the Oval Office meeting that spoke to Fox News said. "He answered them all ... and didn't have to turn to anyone for guidance," said another. "He knew them all."

[SamAdams76]

It was rude for Bob Kerrey and Lee Hamilton to walk on out of there. Evidently they were discouraged because they realized that they weren't going to trip up the president.

[cynicom]

Glad?? He will be when his "indictment" is handed down by the democrat commission.

[ride the whirlwind]

At one point, one participant told Fox News, one of the commissioners apparently delivered a lengthy statement not unlike those in the public sessions. The president teased a couple of the commissioners about that but in a way that got a laugh even from Richard Ben-Veniste.

I love this maverick president!

[Callahan]

No tv cameras to grandstand for. Kerrey couldn't be bothered.

[pookie18]

I may be wrong, but I'm under the impression that what's reported/recommended will be the thoughts of the majority view of the panel.

[cynicom]

I was tongue in cheek that to me all the members were democrats of one stripe or another.

[Boxsford]

Thank you for the paragraphs. It's appreciated.

[lizma]

ABC radio news ,which in my opinion is actually more biased then CNN radio news had "interesting" take on the meeting. They said that Bush's body language today did not reflect his prior resistance to this meeting.

Well, tell me if I'm wrong, but I thought Bush's prior resistance was from considering separation of power. Sounds like once he made the decision to testify his body language was that of a guy who had nothing to hide.

I think Bob Kerrey and Lee Hamilton left because it has a waste of their time i.e. the moron without gravitas left them in the dust.

[Caipirabob]

If the 9/11 commission does not produce a high quality analysis of useful, immediately implementable measures to correct or improve homeland security, the entire group of commissioners should be "caned" in front of Capital Hill. Fox News should get exclusive rights to it.

[CFC__VRWC]

It was rude for Bob Kerrey and Lee Hamilton to walk on out of there. Evidently they were discouraged because they realized that they weren't going to trip up the president.

I wonder if they're not trying for another shot at getting him in front of their kangaroo court in public, so they can primp and preen and grandstand for the cameras, with the professional 9/11 families booing and hissing away every time the president speaks.

If Kerrey and Hamilton come out and declare that they walked out in protest because they felt the president was lying and being evasive, and if a gush of carefully-selected leaks with an anti-Bush tone start appearing in the media, look for the media to start demanding another appearance by the president, in public.

[PurVirgo]

oh Thank you.... Paragraphs are our friends

[zoso82t]

It bothers me that the session wasn't recorded. The lefties will be able to start whipping up a controversy based on convoluted statements and there won't be much we can do about it.

[VisualizeSmallerGovernment]

I wonder if they're not trying for another shot at getting him in front of their kangaroo court in public

If so, I think they blew it by walking out early. It would be hard for them to make the case that "this is so important, the president needs to devote his time to it", when they couldn't be bothered to reschedule a pedicure or whatever.

[lizma]

It bothers me that the session wasn't recorded.

I don't know what to make of that either other than for Bush to forgo separation of powers he was quite confident there was nothing in his testimony that could be held against him. (After all there are some Repubs on the committee.....sorta)

Although the article stresses that Bush and Chaney didn't use some kind of secret sign language to communicate with each other prior to their answers, something the dims screamed was going to happen, it fails to inform us that Clinton went in there with two of his ole damage controllers from the past. Did he interact with them during the testimony? (I'd bet yes, big time)

Heck I didn't even know that Clinton and Gore were questioned until today!!

[dts32041]

No they had prior engagements one wanted to talk to the the Prime minster of the great white north, and the other wanted to talk to the author of the phrase "jack booted thugs"

[onyx]

I hear ya,
but the "no transcript" must have been at POTUS's demand.

[cyncooper]

Gee, that was the spin used to get Condi in front of the commissions.

It's a completely bogus concern...unless one is bent on "get Bush".

By the way, "we" have records. Our side took notes, too.