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 ...
Would you want W declaring martial law, taking control of Louisiana just because the Louisiana leadership did not care if her citizens drowned if it meant a chance to rebuff a President who could have easily kept the death toll down to a hundred or so? Instead of 1300?
Blank-o made 100% clear to the POTUS that New Orleans should drown rather than accept NG assistance under a Republican Administration, THREE DAYS BEFORE KATRINA HIT.
That was murder of NOLA citizens. I’m sure you hate that, but I’d LOVE to see you try to refute that. Blank-o used the Constitution to MURDER her citizens.
Rehabilitate Pres. Bush’s reputation? He was a great president and we were fortunate to have him at the helm for those 8 yrs. It’s the ungrateful twits around the country that needs rehabilitating .........and an education. It’s unfortunate that the steady negative drumbeat by the left against that fine man managed to sway so many so-called conservatives.
And that drumbeat is trying to figure a way to paint Perry as a horrible man, too.
That drumbeat mesmerized otherwise half-sane people to elect zero into office, and they’re starting Act II as we speak, on this forum and everywhere else.
They’re working with the RINO establishment to associate the TEA party with every wicked thing in the world.
Establishment-driven and financed, they simply can’t cope with self-contained, self-financed under-the-radar subs running silent. Cloward-Piven didn’t address or instruct as to this ‘enemy’.
You are misreading my comments. I am telling you Bush would have been criticized by the opposition no matter how he reacted that day. If you don’t understand that, you are taking your cues from the opposition where you know it or not.
Heck it is a sign that you probably watch CBS or ABC or NBC or MS-NBC or CNN or read something like the NYTimes or Washington Post or etc. How would you expect to be an informed person if you get news from such propoganda outlets?
Blanco was a dolt but not a murderer.
Bush transgressed conservative principles in numerous respects: out of control domestic spending; a federal education bill that was drafted by Teddy Kennedy; an expensive addition of drug coverage to Medicare; poor planning for the occupation of Iraq; failure to control the borders and enforce the immigration laws; and a failure to mediate conflicts among subordinate agencies and officials.
I'm sure most freepers have problems with at least a few of Bush's policy decisions.
But the original post was about his reaction on 9/11.
On that one, you're just going to have to accept that your view is one shared almost entirely with mouth-breathing commies.
Conservatives criticized Bill Clinton for ducking calls from the military because he was in the middle of a golf game, and in another instance, if I recall correctly, Clinton dodged a meeting on a military issue because he was with Monica Lewinsky. Similarly, John Kennedy is said to have cavorted with girlfriends instead of taking meetings with his military aides.
Having embraced such criticisms against Democratic Presidents, we cannot fairly claim that Bush is immune to criticism for not acting immediately when the country is under attack. And, by the way, I learned about the incidents with Democratic Presidents from sources other than the New York Times.
If Bush walked across Lake Ponchatrain during Katrina, his detractors would have said, “See, he can’t swim.”
You lost the argument BIGTIME
Had Clinton or Obama or any Democratic President acted in such a manner as Bush did on 9/11 after learning of the second attack, conservatives would roundly criticize them — and justly so.
I understand you want to rationalize your position and dump it onto others, but sorry, enjoy your commiseration with idiot liberals.
He finished his appearance in the classroom, and then made his way to a podium where he addressed the nation FROM THE SCHOOL.
I would think the time he took in the classroom allowed his staff to get ready for that event, and plan on where the President was going to be taken next.
Given the threat was airborne, using commercial heavies, the time was spent planning where and when to take him.
I personally was hoping he’d have nuked Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Saudia Arabia at the time, but he took nearly a week to announce what he was going to do about things.
In keeping with that protocol and for the sake of safety and communications, Bush ought to have immediately been hustled out of the classroom and into the Presidential limousine, which is heavily armored and has superb communications facilities. The limousine would have then been driven to Air Force One, which would have promptly taken off.
This procedure was followed on 9/11 -- but not immediately. Instead, Bush continued with the scheduled class PR event. In the absence of communications with and directions from President Bush, Vice President Cheney and other officials made critical decisions, such as grounding all air traffic, ordering any errant flights to be shot down, and permitting bin Laden family members -- potential witnesses and intelligence assets -- to leave the country immediately on specially chartered jets that were exempt from the grounding order.
I am with you on nuking the authors of the 9/11 attack. There were plenty of fingerprints that suggest the involvement of the Saudi and Pakistani intelligence agencies. Key information on this point continues to be withheld from the public.
We might disagree on this point, but as CO’s go, I’ve had far, far worse CO’s and CEO’s.
I can’t imagine having Obama handle such a thing. Or Carter.
Bush, in spite of his faults, was far, far better than the Democratic alternatives on offer. And on one key issue — the Iraq surge — he bet against Washington wisdom and won a major victory for himself and the country.
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