August 13, 200422 yr Bush blew it the morning of 9/11 by Bill Maher link to article John Kerry has waded into an issue raised by Michael Moore in his film "Fahrenheit 9/11," namely, President Bush's sitting for seven minutes in a Florida classroom after being told "the country is under attack." Republicans are waxing indignant, of course. But the criticism is richly deserved. The fact that Bush wasted 27 minutes that day - not only the seven minutes reading to kids but 20 more at a photo op afterward - was, in my view, the most outrageous thing a President has done since Franklin Roosevelt tried to pack the Supreme Court. Watergate was outrageous but it still did not carry the possibility of utter devastation, like a President's freezing at the very moment we needed his immediate focus on an attack on the United States. This is an issue about the ultimate presidential duty, acting in an emergency. If nothing else in Washington is nonpartisan, this should be. But it is not. Republicans are tying themselves in knots trying to defend Bush's actions that morning. The excuses they put forward are absurd: * He was "gathering his thoughts." This was a moment a President should have imagined a thousand times. There is no time in the nuclear age for a President to sit like Forrest Gump "gathering thoughts" after an attack has begun. Gathering information is what he should have been doing. * From the White House press secretary: "The President felt he should project strength and calm until he could better understand what was happening." I agree that gaining a better understanding of what was happening should have been his goal. What I don't get is how that goal was reached by just sitting there instead of getting up and talking to people. Is he a psychic? Was he receiving the information telepathically? * "He didn't want to scare the children." Vice President Cheney has said of Kerry, "The senator from Massachusetts has given us ample reason to doubt the judgment he brings to vital issues of national security." So Kerry's judgment is suspect, but at a moment of national crisis, Bush's judgment was: Better not to scare 20 children momentarily than to react immediately to an attack on the country! If he had just said, "Hey, kids, gotta go do some President business - be good to your moms and dads, bye!" my guess is the kids would have survived. I cannot see how someone who considers himself a conservative can defend George Bush's inaction. Conservatives pride themselves on being clear-eyed and decisive. They don't do nuance, and they respect toughness. But Bush choked at the most important moment a President could have. We're lucky Al Qaeda had done its worst by the time he pulled himself away from the photo op. Next time, it might not be that way.
August 14, 200422 yr Author What actions or orders do you think the president could have accomplished in this time? Bearing in mind that information was sketchy and incomplete. Given that the prez is now being attacked for "rushing" the Iraq job (which was in the planning stages for many months), what meaningful action could be taken in a mear 27 minutes? This wasn't a Hollywood movie where major decisions and significant action can happen in a half hour. 510682[/snapback] I think anything other than reading "My Pet Goat" while 3000 people are dying would be a good start. At the time it happened, we didn't know what was going on, how many planes they had or what, and to just sit there was piss poor leadership.
August 14, 200422 yr What actions or orders do you think the president could have accomplished in this time?? Bearing in mind that information was sketchy and incomplete. Given that the prez is now being attacked for "rushing" the Iraq job (which was in the planning stages for many months), what meaningful action could be taken in a mear 27 minutes? This wasn't a Hollywood movie where major decisions and significant action can happen in a half hour. 510682[/snapback] I think anything other than reading "My Pet Goat" while 3000 people are dying would be a good start. At the time it happened, we didn't know what was going on, how many planes they had or what, and to just sit there was piss poor leadership. 510812[/snapback] Once again, you criticize the administration, but ONCE AGAIN fail to propose viable alternatives or solutions...this seems to be typical of all you Bush haters! I don't have a problem with people criticizing this administration, b/c Bush isn't perfect...but if you're going to criticize, please, PLEASE provide some suggestions as to what should've/could've been done!!!!
August 14, 200422 yr Author Once again, you criticize the administration, but ONCE AGAIN fail to propose viable alternatives or solutions...this seems to be typical of all you Bush haters! I don't have a problem with people criticizing this administration, b/c Bush isn't perfect...but if you're going to criticize, please, PLEASE provide some suggestions as to what should've/could've been done!!!! 511309[/snapback] Now I don't mean to be insulting, but do you read the other posts before you decide to put your little comments up? In the article I posted, it listed several of the "arguments" that the Bush administration had for just sitting there with "My pet goat", and what should of been done. I would repeat them for you, but you probably won't even read them here before you post again. Please, before you post another "Gotcha!", read the article. I think this is like the 2nd time this has happened with you. "Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives." -John Stuart Mill
August 14, 200422 yr Author OK fine. What might that "anything" be? It should be no problem for you to rattle off a few obvious things if you're so confident something significant could have been done by a president in that time frame while as you admit "we didn't know what was going on, how many planes they had or what" I'll make it easy - how about outlining a single significant action he might have taken? Should be trivial eh? Have at it. The podium is yours. 511379[/snapback] Oh Jesus. Am I talking to a freaking wall here? Are you and your other far right wackos even reading posts before you try and spin your double talk? The Article has a few ideas, but since it seems we are lagging behind in the reading, maybe I'll slow it down to my pet goat level. My Pet President Once apon a time there was a man named Bushy. Bushy wasn't the brighest candle, but through alot of hard work through his daddy's friends, he became president of the United States. It was a tough job, and after the first couple of months, his approval ratings were way down, and it looked like he would be just like his daddy. But one day, while he was reading to some kids, it all changed. An aid of Bushy told him that a plane had crashed into the side of a very big building. Bushy remembered his wife laura reading him a story before he went to bed about a man named Osama wanting to hijack planes. A good president would of put two and two together, and said to the kids, "Excuse me kids, but Mr. Bushy has to go and do something that presidents do" and then he would of gotten up, and gotten on the phone with a magical place called NORAD. He would of told Norad to get some figher planes in the air, and get them up there damn quick. He would do this because he didn't know how many other planes were in the air, and where they were headed. Then Mr. Bushy would get tell his secret service agents to get him the heck out of there, because he was the freaking leader of the free world, and if a terrorist could take over an airline and crash it into a building, what would stop them from trying to kill him and throw the country into even greater chaos. That is what a good leader would do. But what do you think Bushy did? That's right, he kept on reading the book, even after the second plane crashed, makeing it totally clear that it was a terrorist attack. After he finished reading the book, instead of taking command of the country, he decided to stay and have his picture taken, because is was so much easier. So folks, that ends the story of little bushy, but remember, come Novemeber, you can help America by sending littly bushy back home to that scary place called texas. The End.
August 14, 200422 yr Dude, still no response from you as to what the President should've done...call NORAD, stop reading the book...would that make you happy??? How do you expect a President to react after he's been told that a passenger jet just hit the WTC?
August 14, 200422 yr Author Dude, still no response from you as to what the President should've done...call NORAD, stop reading the book...would that make you happy??? How do you expect a President to react after he's been told that a passenger jet just hit the WTC? 511403[/snapback] Did you eat paint chips as a child, or is your plan just to give me an anurism trying to explain this to you? I tell you he should of stopped reading the book, and called norad and gotten our defenses together, and then gotten the fu
August 14, 200422 yr Author Did you not read "My Pet President" I thought I slowed it down pretty good...
August 14, 200422 yr Dude, still no response from you as to what the President should've done...call NORAD, stop reading the book...would that make you happy???? How do you expect a President to react after he's been told that a passenger jet just hit the WTC? 511403[/snapback] Did you eat paint chips as a child, or is your plan just to give me an anurism trying to explain this to you? I tell you he should of stopped reading the book, and called norad and gotten our defenses together, and then gotten the fu
August 14, 200422 yr Did you not read "My Pet President" I thought I slowed it down pretty good... 511414[/snapback] :lol
August 14, 200422 yr Dude, still no response from you as to what the President should've done...call NORAD, stop reading the book...would that make you happy???? How do you expect a President to react after he's been told that a passenger jet just hit the WTC? 511403[/snapback] Did you eat paint chips as a child, or is your plan just to give me an anurism trying to explain this to you? I tell you he should of stopped reading the book, and called norad and gotten our defenses together, and then gotten the fu
August 14, 200422 yr Author Are you 5 years old or something??? HE SHOULD'VE STOPPED READING THE BOOK.....WOW!!!!!! You're tearing him apart because he continued reading the book....now this is pathetic.....I believe your Norad suggestion is a viable one, and I congratulate and give you my most sincere appreciation for your generous act. 511416[/snapback] mhj[uuuu /,c jfl ,hjiylihjylivhl (That was me having an anurism and passing out on my keyboard...) Well unless Bush has invented some sort of telepathic device, I would say stop reading the book would be a good step. But see, you are trying to belittle my points by focusing on "WOW stop reading the book", it doesn't supprise me, it is a typical trick. If you would read past the first sentence of a paragraph, you would see I go into more detail, but why am I even bothering explaining that, you have stopped reading by now.
August 14, 200422 yr Are you 5 years old or something??? HE SHOULD'VE STOPPED READING THE BOOK.....WOW!!!!!!? You're tearing him apart because he continued reading the book....now this is pathetic.....I believe your Norad suggestion is a viable one, and I congratulate and give you my most sincere appreciation for your generous act. 511416[/snapback] mhj[uuuu /,c jfl ,hjiylihjylivhl (That was me having an anurism and passing out on my keyboard...) Well unless Bush has invented some sort of telepathic device, I would say stop reading the book would be a good step. But see, you are trying to belittle my points by focusing on "WOW stop reading the book", it doesn't supprise me, it is a typical trick. If you would read past the first sentence of a paragraph, you would see I go into more detail, but why am I even bothering explaining that, you have stopped reading by now. 511424[/snapback] keep posting dude...like I told you, you're starting to provide some valid suggestions, and that's what this is all about....
August 14, 200422 yr Answer this, what could Bush had done in those 27 minutes? Nothing, everything would have been the same. I do not see what the big deal in this is. Kind of nit picky if you ask me.
August 14, 200422 yr Author Answer this, what could Bush had done in those 27 minutes? Nothing, everything would have been the same. I do not see what the big deal in this is. Kind of nit picky if you ask me. 511435[/snapback] The man prides himself on being a wartime President, and yet when the stuff hit the fan he froze. Maybe he couldn't of done anything, but we will never know. Maybe he could of got that plane before it hit the pentagon.
August 14, 200422 yr Answer this, what could Bush had done in those 27 minutes? Nothing, everything would have been the same. I do not see what the big deal in this is. Kind of nit picky if you ask me. 511435[/snapback] The man prides himself on being a wartime President, and yet when the stuff hit the fan he froze. Maybe he couldn't of done anything, but we will never know. Maybe he could of got that plane before it hit the pentagon. 511439[/snapback] Did we even know about the other hijacked planes???
August 14, 200422 yr Author I see nothing in that article that would have altered the final outcome. Perhaps you can elaborate. 511450[/snapback] Are you trying to drive me insane? Have you not read the 87 thousand posts I had to use to finally explain it to PR? Try reading my pet president, and the posts below, that should help... You people are driving me to drink
August 14, 200422 yr I can remember they thought that there were other planes up there, yes. 511447[/snapback] They thought there were other planes, yes....the nation was in chaos....hundreds of planes flying all over the East Coast, and you propose fighter jet escorts? gime me a break, man!
August 14, 200422 yr Author I can remember they thought that there were other planes up there, yes. 511447[/snapback] They thought there were other planes, yes....the nation was in chaos....hundreds of planes flying all over the East Coast, and you propose fighter jet escorts? gime me a break, man! 511460[/snapback] time to break out the mister wizard on your ass. Airplanes are equiped with a little thing called a "Transponder" in helps with tracking, yada yada yada. When the guys took over the planes, they shut them off. Don't ask my why, I don't know nothing about them, but I know it is something you do if you are up to no good. Put fighters over wash., ny. la. and if a plane has it's transponder off, it gets checked on.
August 14, 200422 yr I can remember they thought that there were other planes up there, yes. 511447[/snapback] They thought there were other planes, yes....the nation was in chaos....hundreds of planes flying all over the East Coast, and you propose fighter jet escorts? gime me a break, man! 511460[/snapback] time to break out the mister wizard on your ass. Airplanes are equiped with a little thing called a "Transponder" in helps with tracking, yada yada yada. When the guys took over the planes, they shut them off. Don't ask my why, I don't know nothing about them, but I know it is something you do if you are up to no good. Put fighters over wash., ny. la. and if a plane has it's transponder off, it gets checked on. 511466[/snapback] thanks for the info...that's basically what I asked for the first time around!
August 14, 200422 yr Finally, someone gets the facts....I can only wonder what fishfan46 will reply. thanks for the info, tonyi...
August 14, 200422 yr that morning proved 1 thing: bush is not running tyhe show. he was waiting for cheney and the boys to figure out what to do. Bush was at a photo op while cheney was in contact with the faa and such. there is no excuse for bush not to be doing what cheney was doing.
August 14, 200422 yr polk ran the show... seriously, bush that day played NO HAND in what america was doing for a good hour or so. he was obviously waiting for higher authorities to tell him where to go. honestly, in a huge attack like that, if you have any hand in running the show, you leave immediately and start contacting whoever you can for info.
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