"Distractions"?
Did you read my post? The "distractions" faced by the Bush team were unprecedented in scope and urgency. Maybe his urgency to keep a major campaign promise to cut taxes, to revamp the economy and head off recession before Congress went on summer break...was a bit indulgent. Maybe he should have been ordering his newly hired Cabinet to immediately fire every political appointee...and writing SOP for who got to check out the keys to the White House tennis court.
Especially 9-11 ...not 8 months after Bush took office....4 months after many of his cabinet were initially installed. One thing you don't have the luxury of doing when war strikes...is to fire and replace your intelligence and foreign policy experts. I guess most people have forgotten how in additon to other "distractions" faced in the first year in office, the Bush team had to avert a feared nuclear war between Pakistan and India, in addition to gearing up for a preemptive war to head off more terror attack on the US mainland.
Granted Clinton's team was ruthless and focused on rooting out "the opposition" (republicans) from his government.....or at least, the co-President Hillary was.
Remember Clinton's first priority and first major action when he took power? Instituting "dont ask, don't tell" in the Les Aspin military. Now there was manly leadership in personnel matters....