# George W Bush Was Only Thinking Of The Children On The Morning Of 9/11. **URL:** \ **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:** 2
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **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-9-11/590696/21 "2011-07-29T12:53:39Z")
> [@Crazyhorse](#): > > Well to be fair it was one of the only books he had ever read. A nickle says that when Old Dubbya kicks the bucket and they build a library in his honor, this book will be in a glass display case next to the Information Center. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/22 "2011-07-29T13:01:25Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > [The Pet Goat - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Pet_Goat#George_W._Bush:_9.2F11) > > 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.” The smart thing to do when the country you are leader of is under attack, IMHO, is to get out of the grade-school classroom as soon as possible, simply because you are a high-value target and it might be desirable to not have young kids around to become possible collateral damage. Even if your press secretary disagrees. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/23 "2011-07-29T13:30:37Z")
> [@Makeitstop](#): > > I can’t help but think that this thread is headed to the Pit fast… Good idea. Done. **twickster** , MPSIMS moderator ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/24 "2011-07-29T13:32:17Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > I doubt that monster has had a compassionate thought in his adult life. > **[Former President Bush Rides with Wounded Warriors | Fox News Video](https://www.foxnews.com/video/968464483001)** > > Raising awareness for wounded veterans ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/25 "2011-07-29T13:37:15Z")
I hate Bush as much as the next guy but really, how many times did I have to hear about how Obama played ping-pong in Ireland while tornados tore apart some town in the mid-west. Apparently there is nothing new going on in the world so the thousand and one “news” shows have to trot out this kind of junk, time after time after time. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/26 "2011-07-29T13:45:13Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > [The Pet Goat - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Pet_Goat#George_W._Bush:_9.2F11) > > 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.” So the president’s response to the news of a terrorist attack is supposed to be decided by a PR flack? And this is somehow supposed to be an exculpatory statement? I’ve always assumed he was sitting there waiting for someone else to come and tell him what action was being taken. The fact that is might be true does not reflect well on him. And don’t even bother trying to say that I think he should have rushed around pointlessly. There’s a vast array of options between hysteria (which no one is recommending) and staring vacantly into space (his actual choice). ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/27 "2011-07-29T13:47:59Z")
> [@mebuckner](#): > > **potus:** see the goat run. Run, goat, run! See– > [@](#): > > see the goat run. Run, goat, see– i FTFY 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/28 "2011-07-29T13:51:51Z")
I blame Bush because he’s Bush. And therefore evil. QED, res ipsa loquitor, post hoc proper Veni, Vidi, Vici que sera sera. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/29 "2011-07-29T14:11:00Z")
I’m also kinda curious what his reaction _should_ have been. It’s not like he could yell “SHAZAM!” and turn into Captain Marvel. At best, he could yell “PRESIDENT BUSH!” and turn into President Bush, jr., but he’d done that long before, during the 2000 primaries. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/30 "2011-07-29T14:12:30Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Rushing out of the room wouldn’t have accomplished much … But, of course, at the time Bush didn’t know that. For all he knew, there was a gang of Libyan hitmen converging on the school. It was an emergency. He was in charge. It would have been very simple to politely excuse himself, and step out of the room to begin dealing with it. (“I’m sorry everyone, but a matter has come up that requires my immediate attention.”) The fact that he sat there like a deer caught in the headlights speaks volumes about his utter incapacity as a leader. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/31 "2011-07-29T14:20:39Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I’m also kinda curious what his reaction _should_ have been. He should have had his staff begin feeding him as much information as possible about the situation. With the luxury of retrospect we can say “Well, what difference would it have made?” But he didn’t know that at the time. Proper crisis response would have been to immediately begin finding out what was going on, and if there was \*anything \*that could be done. ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/32 "2011-07-29T14:26:42Z")
> [@Kolga](#): > > 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. I’m not a fan of Bush myself, but I’ve pretty much always thought this. He had incomplete information and I don’t think staying there for those seven minutes would have had any meaningful impact. Nothing he could have done would have done with those 7 minutes would have made a meaningful impact. Consider, he could have walked out of the room and asked for a full briefing, but they were still gathering information, they still had to prepare for him to do a press conference, there was a lot of leg work to be done in the background and I seriously doubt any of them had to wait for a “yeah, gather more info” or “yeah, schedule a press conference” command from him to know to do it. Was it the best possible choice he could have made? Probably not. He make a lot of mistakes and straight up bad decisions during his presidency, but taking 7 minutes to compose himself after the kind of terrible news like that that comes once in a lifetime… I can give him a pass on it. I suppose to those that passionate hate him, it’s easy to grab onto yet another mistake and pile it on. However, I think griping on this as a larger misstep than it is undermines the magnitude of his major failings. So sure, hate him for Iraq or his domestic policy or tax policy or any number of other poor decisions on his part, but just let this one go. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/33 "2011-07-29T14:50:05Z")
\*\*Kolga \*\*and **Blaster Master** said what I wanted to say, and said it better besides. (Damn you and your eloquency!) I think W made a ton of bad decisions during his presidency, but the one he made the morning of 9/11 in that classroom wasn’t one of them. None of us could have done better. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/34 "2011-07-29T14:51:52Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > And of course there’s the fact that the attack on Iraq was planned long before 9-11; it was just the excuse. Sure would like to see a cite on this, but I don’t expect one. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/35 "2011-07-29T15:03:16Z")
> [@Lord\_Ashtar](#): > > Sure would like to see a cite on this, but I don’t expect one. Depending on how generous you are with “planned” and “long”… > [@KENNETH POLLACK](#): > > From the first moments after September 11th, there was a group of people both inside the administration and out who believed that the war on terrorism should target Iraq-- in fact, should target Iraq first. They made Saddam Hussein out to be the greatest threat to the United States and the source of all evil, if not in the world, then certainly in the Middle East. And they were pushing very early on to make Iraq the first stop in the war on terrorism. From the _Frontline_ episode, [“The War Behind Closed Doors”](http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/iraq/etc/script.html), the point being that an existing animus toward Iraq and Saddam (inspired in part by frustrated memories of Bush41’s reluctance to invade and finish Saddam during Desert Storm) was being indulged because of the 9/11 attacks. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/36 "2011-07-29T15:07:12Z")
I’m a crabby guy and I don’t want the POTUS reading stories to school children at any time whatsoever. He’s supposed to have more important things to do, especially at 9AM on a September Tuesday. While reading stories is important, we have professional teachers to do that sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/37 "2011-07-29T15:30:01Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > 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. > > 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. Pretty sure you just got whooshed. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/38 "2011-07-29T15:42:59Z")
> [@shiftless](#): > > I hate Bush as much as the next guy but really, how many times did I have to hear about how Obama played ping-pong in Ireland while tornados tore apart some town in the mid-west. > > Apparently there is nothing new going on in the world so the thousand and one “news” shows have to trot out this kind of junk, time after time after time. And to be perfectly honest, what could Obama do until the storm ended and people could start to see how much damage there was. Isn’t that what _delegation_ is for? Like an entire agency called FEMA or some such nonsense like that?:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/39 "2011-07-29T15:56:03Z")
I think Bush wanted to finish reading the story because he wanted to know how it ended. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/40 "2011-07-29T16:03:07Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > But, of course, at the time Bush didn’t know that. For all he knew, there was a gang of Libyan hitmen converging on the school. > > It was an emergency. He was in charge. It would have been very simple to politely excuse himself, and step out of the room to begin dealing with it. (“I’m sorry everyone, but a matter has come up that requires my immediate attention.”) The fact that he sat there like a deer caught in the headlights speaks volumes about his utter incapacity as a leader. Exactly. Like I pointed out before, the country is being attacked, and he’s a high-value target. If for no other reason at all, he should have left to reduce a possible threat to the kids. It would have been the correct decision with the knowns and unknowns of the moment. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696.md?page=1) [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=3)