# George W Bush Was Only Thinking Of The Children On The Morning Of 9/11.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [July 29, 2011, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696 "2011-07-29T03:36:47Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2011, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/1 "2011-07-29T03:36:47Z")
In a new interview with National Geographic Channel, GWB said his reaction (inaction?) when told of the World Trade Center attacks (he was famously reading from “My Pet Goat” to a Florida elementary-school class when his advisers told him of the 2nd plane hitting the Towers) was calculated to not alarm the children that he was reading to, and that’s why he didn’t immediately get up and leave upon hearing the news.
He said it was crucial for the world to see him as a calm, confident leader…
---
### Author:  [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2011, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/2 "2011-07-29T03:42:50Z")
I don’t think this is the first time he’s said so. No cite, but I remember hearing this before.
---
### Author:  [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2011, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/3 "2011-07-29T03:50:02Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#):
>
> He said it was crucial for the world to see him as a calm, confident leader…
He meant it was crucial for the children to see him as a calm, confident leader…
---
### Author:  [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2011, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/4 "2011-07-29T03:54:30Z")
**POTUS:** See the goat run. Run, goat, run! See–\*
**Aide to POTUS** : _Whisper whisper whisper._
**POTUS:** _Whisper whisper whisper?!?_
**Aide to POTUS** : _Whisper whisper!_
**POTUS:** Hey kids, I’m really sorry, but something has come up, and I’m afraid I’m going to have to leave early. Really sorry about that. Miss Smith, kids–thanks so much for having me! Good-bye, and study hard!
_:POTUS and Aides stride briskly from room:_
\*Disclosure: I actually have no idea what _My Pet Goat_ is about. I presume it involved a goat at some point.
---
### Author:  [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2011, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/5 "2011-07-29T03:56:06Z")
The children?:rolleyes: At most he was thinking about all the children he could use 9-11 as an excuse to orphan and kill.
I doubt that monster has had a compassionate thought in his adult life.
---
### Author:  [@Makeitstop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Makeitstop)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2011, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/6 "2011-07-29T04:43:58Z")
I can’t help but think that this thread is headed to the Pit fast…
---
### Author:  [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2011, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/7 "2011-07-29T05:22:01Z")
I don’t think he was as savvy and controlled as he’d like to have us believe, nor as evil as Der Trihs would have us believe.
Rather I think his thoughts were more along the lines of “What the fuck do I do now?” and “Does Secret Service carry spare underpants?” and “Maybe if I sit here long enough someone will hustle me out of the room.”
---
### Author:  [@Ibanez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibanez)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2011, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/8 "2011-07-29T05:28:56Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#):
>
> The children?:rolleyes: At most he was thinking about all the children he could use 9-11 as an excuse to orphan and kill.
>
> I doubt that monster has had a compassionate thought in his adult life.
Going the foiler route so early ?
What’s next Godwin invocations ?
---
### Author:  [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2011, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/9 "2011-07-29T05:37:24Z")
> [@Ibanez](#):
>
> Going the foiler route so early ?
You talk as if he didn’t actually go out and kill a whole lot of people. And as if he was a man who was known for ever showing compassion.
---
### Author:  [@The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Universe_Lashes_Out)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2011, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/10 "2011-07-29T05:51:08Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#):
>
> I don’t think he was as savvy and controlled as he’d like to have us believe, nor as evil as Der Trihs would have us believe.
>
> Rather I think his thoughts were more along the lines of “What the fuck do I do now?” and “Does Secret Service carry spare underpants?” and “Maybe if I sit here long enough someone will hustle me out of the room.”
Or “I wish my Daddy was still President” or “I wonder what Dick will tell me to do” or “I hope no one is filming this.”
---
### Author:  [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2011, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/11 "2011-07-29T06:01:46Z")
Or “Don’t you cry, you stupid sonofabitch, or so help me I will beat you with an Air Force One ashtray.”
---
### Author:  [@wedgehed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wedgehed)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2011, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/12 "2011-07-29T06:02:32Z")
Yeah, he was just as bad as FDR. Remember how that evil SOB let Japan bomb Pearl Harbor just so he could have an excuse to invade N. Africa, Sicily, & Italy? I’ll bet the only reason we went into Germany was because we were running out of people to kill.
If Bush hadn’t have been a reformed drunk, I’ll bet he would have enjoyed a cocktail hour every day of the war like that boozer Roosevelt.
:rolleyes:
---
### Author:  [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2011, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/13 "2011-07-29T06:21:55Z")
> [@wedgehed](#):
>
> Yeah, he was just as bad as FDR. Remember how that evil SOB let Japan bomb Pearl Harbor just so he could have an excuse to invade N. Africa, Sicily, & Italy? I’ll bet the only reason we went into Germany was because we were running out of people to kill.
A silly comparison. If FDR had invaded Canada or Mexico because of Pearl Harbor you might have a point but he didn’t. And of course there’s the fact that the attack on Iraq was planned long before 9-11; it was just the excuse.
But yes, I do think that a major goal of Bush (and most of his supporters) was to kill random brown Muslims for the sake of killing them.
> [@wedgehed](#):
>
> If Bush hadn’t have been a reformed drunk, I’ll bet he would have enjoyed a cocktail hour every day of the war like that boozer Roosevelt.
That assumes Bush was actually reformed. Somehow I find it more likely that he got drunk and fell on his face than he fainted while eating pretzels.
---
### Author:  [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2011, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/14 "2011-07-29T06:22:25Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#):
>
> \*Disclosure: I actually have no idea what _My Pet Goat_ is about. I presume it involved a goat at some point.
It’s about a girl who owns a goat, and he’s always eating everything, and so her parents want to get rid of it. Then the goat sees somebody trying to steal a car, headbutts him, and is a hero for stopping the car thief.
---
### Author:  [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2011, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/15 "2011-07-29T09:28:58Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#):
>
> It’s about a girl who owns a goat, and he’s always eating everything, and so her parents want to get rid of it. Then the goat sees somebody trying to steal a car, headbutts him, and is a hero for stopping the car thief.
The moral of the story being “goats prevent crime”. Regarding Bush, my theory is he didn’t leave because he wanted to hear how the story ended.
---
### Author:  [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2011, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/16 "2011-07-29T10:04:44Z")
> [@Alka\_Seltzer](#):
>
> Regarding Bush, my theory is he didn’t leave because he wanted to hear how the story ended.
Well to be fair it was one of the only books he had ever read.
---
### Author:  [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2011, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/17 "2011-07-29T12:08:45Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#):
>
> It’s about a girl who owns a goat, and he’s always eating everything, and so her parents want to get rid of it. Then the goat sees somebody trying to steal a car, headbutts him, and is a hero for stopping the car thief.
FFS. Ever heard of spoiler tags? ☹
---
### Author:  [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2011, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/18 "2011-07-29T12:25:42Z")
> **[The Pet Goat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Pet_Goat#George_W._Bush:_9.2F11)**
>
> "The Pet Goat" (often erroneously called "My Pet Goat") is a grade-school-level reading exercise composed by American educationalist Siegfried "Zig" Engelmann. It achieved notoriety for being read by US President George W. Bush with a class of second-graders on the morning of September 11, 2001. After being discreetly informed of the September 11 attacks midway through the reading, Bush waited quietly for the reading to finish before dealing with the unfolding crisis. The episode figures promin...
While sitting with the kids, he was explicitly instructed by his press secretary (in the back of the room, communicating with large text on a notepad) not to say anything yet. In some videos you can see the prez subtly nodding in acknowledgement. Rushing out of the room wouldn’t have accomplished much, since there wasn’t any information available (yet) other than “a second plane has crashed into the other tower.”
---
### Author:  [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2011, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/19 "2011-07-29T12:38:35Z")
> [@Colophon](#):
>
> FFS. Ever heard of spoiler tags? ☹
Old Hogan’s goat was feeling fine
It ate three red shirts right off the line
He took a stick and beat it’s back
and tied him to the railroad tracks
The whistle blew,the train drew nigh
Old Hogan’s goat was doomed to die
He gave three awful shrieks of pain
Then coughed up those shirts and flagged that train
😉
---
### Author:  [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2011, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/20 "2011-07-29T12:53:38Z")
I am by FAR not a Bush fan, but over the course of the past decade, I have kinda started to feel sorry for him on that day (that day only, not the aftermath). I mean, we all think that a president should be able to immediately and without delay leap to the appropriate course of action in the wake of news of an almost-unimaginable tragedy - but I can’t really blame him IF he was thinking “Oh, fuck, what do I do now? Do I leave? Do I stay? Who do I talk to? What happens next?”
He stayed in the classroom for, what, half an hour? After having a decade to think about it, I give him a pass on that. I personally can’t imagine having to process the enormity of the situation that awaited.
Of course, I understand that some people think he was simply thinking “oh, well, someone else will take care of things!” I thought that for a while, too. But at this point, I think at that moment he was having to make decisions based on incomplete information and a card from the back of the room, in a situation where no matter what decision he made, it would always be the wrong one.
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696.md?page=2)