Posted on 08/05/2004 9:37:07 AM PDT by LongsforReagan
“Had I been reading to children and had my top aide whisper in my ear that America is under attack, I would have told those kids very nicely and politely that the president of the United States has something that he needs to attend to,” Kerry said.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Also this is coming from a guy that has not shown up for work in 2 years, thank god for direct payroll deposit
We FReepers do not understand how this is a devastating charge because we do not approach the problem from the Liberal perspective. If one axiomatically assumes that the government is able to solve all problems, then the President should have acted immediately on 9/11 to make the attacks stop.
Of course, that is not reality. In reality, there is not a single thing the President could have done on 9/11 that would have made the slightest difference to the outcome.
This is obvious to us because we know that government is not all-powerful. But if you think that the government is able to and properly should solve all problems, then if something bad happens, it means the government made it happen by letting it happen.
Besides, what Bush was suppose to do? Just bomb someone just becuase what happend? He did the right thing. Even the principal said Bush did the right thing. Signs of desperation from the Kerry camp.
Wow - he knows "special pilot lingo." Oooo.
It was CAFB - Clear and F--- Beautiful.
Your picture of the president and first lady had the anticipated effect. I felt a sweet calm.
I didn't find it posted here but I have read very favorable comments from Principal and/or teacher of the school on how under control President Bush was during this 'seven minute' period.
Sen Kerry should have a talk with Principal the school
I'll have to look for it later .. but I understand she wrote a letter and it was published ... explaining that she was glad Bush was President that day and how he handled himself in front of the kids
She is a Democrat that voted for Gore in 2000 and said supports President Bush
I glad he was not President.
He was probably windsurfing, and skipping a meeting of the Sen. Intel. Committee.
I'd love to help craft a letter that could be broadcast to as many papers in the country. Letters to the editors of newspapers can easily be sent from here: http://www.georgewbush.com/GetActive/WriteNewspapers.aspx
“Had I been reading to children and had my top aide whisper in my ear that America is under attack, I would have told those kids very nicely and politely that the president of the United States has something that he needs to attend to,” Kerry said.
Give me a break. Kerry was not in that situation; he has no idea what he would have done at that moment. What would Kerry have done if his aide wispered in his ear, "Sir, a second jet has hit the world trade center, the United States is apparently under attack from an unknown enemy. We are in communication with the vice-president who is operating from the bunker under the White House. Please give us a few minutes while we make some security arrangments and secure the route to the airport."
Moving the President from one point to another always involves a lot of planning and security. In the minutes following the 9/11 attacks, there would naturally be quite a bit of confusion/uncertainty and a need to revise security plans in light of the attacks. That there was a delay is not only not surprising, it is to be expected. President Bush tried to handle this difficult situation in the best manner he could. The fact that the Dems/Lefties/Liberals would try to use this to attack the President shows that most of them have lost all their scruples. That Kerry would use this while the U.S. is at war, in spite of knowing the complexity of the security involed, shows that he is completely unfit the lead the country.
The report to President Bush, in the classroom, was about the second airplane strike. He already had learned about the first airplane strike.
LJ, as an aside, I've seen a number of your posts this morning, and they've all been terrific! [Now, back to the fray.]
The second plane hit at 9:03 AM. The plane that struck the Pentagon hit at 9:43 AM.
So John Kerry's ACTUAL reaction on September 11th was to sit down for forty minutes and realize that "nobody could think."
Some of those "Democratic strategists" need to remind Kerry he is taking the high road and not engaging in negative, attack-style politics.
Yes, he had a very brief time to collect both his emotions and his thoughts.
Since the American Revolution, there have been exactly TWO presidents other than George W. Bush who had to face a nation-threatening attack on U.S. soil from a foreign enemy: James Madison when the British attacked in the War of 1812, and FDR when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. To the best of my knowledge, history does not record precisely what each man did the moment they were first told of the attack. But I think it's safe to say that neither man dashed about hither and yon just to satisfy their critics.
More to the point, because the experience has been so rare in our history, no president can say precisely what he would do at such a moment. It seems to me more than entirely reasonable for a president to take a brief time to collect his thoughts, collect his emotions, give his staff a bit of time to get an initial handle on things, and then react publicly.
We'd just had a meeting -- we'd just come into a leadership meeting in Tom Daschle's office, looking out at the Capitol. And as I came in, Barbara Boxer and Harry Reid were standing there, and we watched the second plane come in to the building. And we shortly thereafter sat down at the table and then we just realized nobody could think, and then boom, right behind us, we saw the cloud of explosion at the Pentagon.
From his own mouth...Kerry (and the others) could not think. He sat paralyzed.
Don't get depressed, the American people are a lot smarter than they think. If you hear anyone spouting this, just ask them what could he have accomplished pacing in the back room waiting for the hookup with the administration? In the meantime the kids and the teacher would have been scared to death. No, the whole country was watching and the way he reacted reassured everyone.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.