[dvan]

Interestingly Kerry stated in another article that after the planes hit New York City and the Pentagon he was unable to even think for about 4 hours. He never called home, never tried to see what he could do, never evacuated till he was told. Great decisive leadership material.

[MizSterious]

Good article, but the author could use an editor--used "no" where "know" would have been the correct word.

[Kornev]

I don't care what anyone says.. I woke up to the radio, instead of music, hearing grave voices of a crash. By the time I got to the TV, the second plane had just hit about 3 minutes earlier.

I didn't panic, I didn't run around. I just sat there, open jawed disbelief. I wasn't even angry. Then I heard the pentagon was hit, and I thought 'wow, they're hitting us hard'.

Just my personal story, but I just can't imagine much more reaction than sheer shock. It wasn't until they collapsed that I got *angry*.. The same anger I feel to this day for revenge.

[o_zarkman44]

Bush didn't want to alarm the children. Isn't it all about the children Kerry?

Where was Kerry at the time of the attacks? Was he even in his DC office? Where was he "evacuated" from? If not, did he have information there was going to be an attack so to not be there? Where was his concern for his fellow Americans that he didn't make the necessary calls home?

[BibChr]

That this is still even discussed, that people like Kerry and Moore can even say this [self-deleted] without being literally howled off the stage by a horrified public and hounded out of public life, is a genuine cringing embarrassment to me as an American.

Dan

[Bob J]

Is it verified anywhere exactly what was said to by the Secret Service to Bush at this moment? I remember watching it on TV but the thought of terrorists was distant until the second plane hit. Up until then, all we knew is that a plane hit the TTs, could have been pilot error, malfunction, etc.

[DaGman]

Just as the swift boat thing has not been a good thing for Bush, second guessing those 7 minutes for Bush will prove to not be a good thing for Kerry. Its nothing more than Monday morning quarterbacking.

[oldenuff2no]

Back to the facts.
The military had a set preconditioned response to situations. These planed reactions are well thought out, are updated as needed, and have been in place for more than 50 years. All the aid had to do is tell the President we were under attack, and emergency plans were being implemented. The only response that Bush had to make was OK. Much was being done right at that moment, our defenses were being initiated, AS PLANNED.
Bush demonstrated that he isn't prone to panic, and that he was thinking clearly by trying not to panic our nation. (Remember he was being taped at the time.)

[boris]

Bush sprung into action and attacked Afghanistan and Iraq.

Did he attack Saudi Arabia (the number-one supporter of terrorists)? Syria? Pakistan?

Did he get a formal declaration of war?

Did he revoke the visas of all citizens of terror-supporting states?

Did he direct the CIA and FBI to work together and begin a massive wave of targeted assassinations of known terrorists and their leaders?

I am not saying Kerry would have done better. I am saying that it is now 2004--and we are still permitting visas to citizens of terror-supporting states; we are still allowing pilots for "Saudi Airlines" to come here to be trained; massive numbers of "OTMs" are crossing our borders; we have done no background checks on naturalized citizens who originated from terror-supporting states (one of the hijackers on 9/11 was a 'citizen' who had received advanced military training in the U.S.), nor have we required colleges and universities to provide more information on citizens of terrorist states who are majoring in, say, biochemistry or biology or chemistry...

--Boris

[Bob]

and then boom, right behind us, we saw the cloud of explosion at the Pentagon.

Hmmmm, does anyone know if the windows in Daschle's office have a view of the Pentagon? It's quite a few miles away too, isn't it?

Is his description of events even remotely possible? (Not that I'd want to call kerry a liar but I find his story more than a little suspicious.)

[AndyJackson]

Mr. Kerry said he would have moved into action much faster than the President on that morning.

And done what? Grab his shotgun, and go crawling on his belly hunting terrorists?

[Smokin' Joe]

I recall the guy who works the opposite 12 hours from me on the rig coming over to the lab and saying a plane had hit one of the WTC towers. I thought whatta screwup, but they have had planes hit tall buildings in New York before.

When he came back over to let me know a second plane had hit the other tower, I just looked at him and said "That's no accident!"

Bush took a few minutes while preparations were being made to go on with business as usual, an important and calming example for a roomfull of kids. He handled it very well, even to the point of not getting the children worked up.

Quality leadership is not just learned by rote, it comes from within.

Kerry apparently does not have that.

[lowbridge]

To play a little devils advocate, I have seen lefties respond to this by pointing out that Bush is the President, Kerry is not. Kerry didnt have the authority to do much of anything at that moment (like order fighter jets to take after the hijacked jets, for example). So while he may not moved as quickly as he said he would have if he were President, there really wasnt much he could have done, if he did move as quickly.

How does one respond to that.

[Fiddlstix]

BTTT

[Pharlap]

If President Bush had done the things Kerry, and the rest of the Democrats, said he should have done, Kerry, and the rest of the Democrats, would now be criticizing him for having done those things. To them this is all a political game and how to make points. Another example: the heightened security alert. No matter when it was announced, the announcement would be criticized as having been made for political purposes.

[VRWC For Truth]

The reality is that the 'Rats would find something to complain about Bush's response to 9/11 no matter what the response. Goes to show they have nothing.