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George W Bush 'was projecting calm' with 9/11 blank look
The Telegraph ^ | 7/29/11

Posted on 07/29/2011 2:21:29 AM PDT by markomalley

George W Bush says his blank reaction to the first news of the Sept 11 attacks while US president was a conscious decision to project an aura of calm in a crisis.

In a rare interview with the National Geographic Channel, Mr Bush reflected on what was going through his mind when he was informed that a second passenger jet had hit New York's World Trade Center.

Mr Bush was visiting a Florida classroom at the time, and the incident - which was caught by television cameras - has often been used by critics to ridicule his apparently dazed response to the attack

"My first reaction was anger. Who the hell would do that to America? Then I immediately focused on the children, and the contrast between the attack and the innocence of children," Mr Bush said.

Mr Bush said he could see journalists at the back of the classroom getting the news on their own cellphones "and it was like watching a silent movie."

Mr Bush said he quickly realised that a lot of people beyond the room would be watching for his reaction.

"So I made the decision not to jump up immediately and leave the classroom. I didn't want to rattle the kids. I wanted to project a sense of calm," he said of his decision to remain seated and silent.

"I had been in enough crises to know that the first thing a leader has to do is to project calm," he added.

(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Extended News; Foreign Affairs; Government
KEYWORDS: 911; bush; conservatives; lamestreammedia; leftists; liberals; media; mentaldisorder; propaganda; socialism; terror; terrorism
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To: ansel12

I am defending my opinion. You seem to think, as the French proverb goes, “This creature is very wicked. He defends himself when attacked.”


121 posted on 07/31/2011 11:06:05 AM PDT by Rockingham
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To: Rockingham

No, I think that you are a nut with a simple opinion, and are obsessed with some trivial matter that in your simple mind is of great national importance and must be repeated over and over and over and over.


122 posted on 07/31/2011 11:17:41 AM PDT by ansel12 ( Bristol Palin's book "Not Afraid Of Life: My Journey So Far" became a New York Times, best seller.)
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To: ansel12

Had Bush made what was perceived to be a wrong call in the first hours of 911 wouldn’t someone have told him?
Had someone in the military decided the President absolutely needed to make the ultimate decision (whatever that is) within the time GW was in the classroom they would have gotten hold of Andy Card or whoever and Andy would walk across the room and again whisper into GW’s ear The President would then get up, apologize for having to go and walked out.
A President who is any good trusts the people around him that make decisions. The idea that GW’s sitting in a classroom for a few minutes was an issue is preposterous. It really shows the absolute vacancy of the left


123 posted on 07/31/2011 11:36:18 AM PDT by woofie
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To: ansel12

What you refer to as a “trivial matter” harmed Bush’s reputation. Fifty years from, the episode will still be talked about.


124 posted on 07/31/2011 11:40:27 AM PDT by Rockingham
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To: woofie

I always thought that Bush handled it like the cool under pressure fighter pilot that he is.


125 posted on 07/31/2011 11:41:33 AM PDT by ansel12 ( Bristol Palin's book "Not Afraid Of Life: My Journey So Far" became a New York Times, best seller.)
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To: markomalley

I am no fan of Bush, whatsoever... but this is just silly. I didn’t see a blank look in his eyes... I saw cold steel. In fact, that very moment told me exactly what he was gonna do, long before the megaphone in NYC. Credit where credit is due - Dubya cannot be faulted for being unsure in a crisis at all.


126 posted on 07/31/2011 11:44:55 AM PDT by roamer_1 (Globalism is just socialism in a business suit.)
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To: Churchillspirit

Bush understood that whatever he felt at that moment, he had to keep his emotions in check. What would people want him to do, yell out, “OH MY GOD!” and go screaming out of the room?

If Bush was a Democrat, the press would have praised him for his calm demeanor.


127 posted on 07/31/2011 11:46:12 AM PDT by dfwgator
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To: Rockingham

LOL, you need to get a life so that you can keep minor things from becoming major historical events to you, it would also help you to stop misinterpreting things.


128 posted on 07/31/2011 11:50:15 AM PDT by ansel12 ( Bristol Palin's book "Not Afraid Of Life: My Journey So Far" became a New York Times, best seller.)
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To: fortheDeclaration

Certainly you don’t want to upset those around you, but there must also be a sense of urgency in his actions.


Bush did it just right. It is not as though the military and federal law enforcement has to wait to do what the President tells them. GW knew it was only a minute or two left. Play it calm, cool, and deliberate.


129 posted on 07/31/2011 11:56:22 AM PDT by cornfedcowboy (Trust in God, but empty the clip.)
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To: ansel12

Bush’s erred in failing to excuse himself promptly from the elementary school class after learning the country was under attack. That Bush addressed the episode in his memoir suggests that he too recognizes its ill effect on his reputation.


130 posted on 07/31/2011 12:10:34 PM PDT by Rockingham
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To: Rockingham

You really do need to go out and find some new interests in life.


131 posted on 07/31/2011 12:24:35 PM PDT by ansel12 ( Bristol Palin's book "Not Afraid Of Life: My Journey So Far" became a New York Times, best seller.)
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To: ansel12

Personal insults are not a compelling form of argument.


132 posted on 07/31/2011 12:59:17 PM PDT by Rockingham
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To: Rockingham

This is your third day of this nuttiness, you have a problem.


133 posted on 07/31/2011 1:14:44 PM PDT by ansel12 ( Bristol Palin's book "Not Afraid Of Life: My Journey So Far" became a New York Times, best seller.)
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To: Rockingham; ohioWfan
I remember seeing the clip once and thinking he did a good job of keeping his cool, and not freaking out the kids (or the country later on).........this is dumb beyond belief to think he did anything wrong or strange. The only people that are concerned with this at all are Michael Moore fans and crazy libs.

Oops. And you.

134 posted on 07/31/2011 1:26:00 PM PDT by Lakeshark (Thank a member of the US armed forces for their sacrifice)
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To: Rockingham

Huh? A twinkle in his eye? Oh boy. Personally I was fine with the 6 minutes it took for security to plan how to move the president.


135 posted on 07/31/2011 1:36:16 PM PDT by linn37
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To: Lakeshark

The President’s chief of staff told him that the country was under attack — and his immediate reaction was to continue with a PR event in an elementary school class. Call me excitable, but I would have ended the event and started doing commander in chief things instead, like asking who was attacking and what needed to be done to defend the country.


136 posted on 07/31/2011 1:47:45 PM PDT by Rockingham
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To: ansel12; Rockingham
No, I think that you are a nut with a simple opinion, and are obsessed with some trivial matter that in your simple mind is of great national importance and must be repeated over and over and over and over.

X1000 As does the rest of the people involved in this discussion. Like they say in the Marines, when you find yourself in a hole stop digging. Right about now you should be hearing a Chinese dialect and smelling wontons.

137 posted on 07/31/2011 1:51:36 PM PDT by verga (I am not an apologist, I just play one on Television)
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To: dfwgator

Exactly.


138 posted on 07/31/2011 1:56:14 PM PDT by Churchillspirit (9/11/01...NEVER FORGET.)
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To: Rockingham

Dude....get a grip, this is silly and not worthy of comment. There are some real serious things to disagree with W on about his actions as president, this is not one that’s even a blip on the radar screen.


139 posted on 07/31/2011 1:56:27 PM PDT by Lakeshark (Thank a member of the US armed forces for their sacrifice)
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To: Rockingham
So, let me get this straight. Instead of Bush excusing yourself from the kiddies and tending to his country under attack, he put on a blank face and pretended that nothing had happened so as not to alarm them? This weak explanation years later will do little to rehabilitate Bush’s reputation.

OK, so he should have leapt up, run out of the room, and done...what?

140 posted on 07/31/2011 1:59:31 PM PDT by Trailerpark Badass
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