# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/141 "2011-08-01T02:50:07Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > I don’t buy it. I think he was in shock and disbelief - just like the rest of us. It’s a perfectly normal human reaction. The rest of us were in shock and disbelief watching it live on CNN, ABC, or NBC. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/142 "2011-08-01T02:51:48Z")
> [@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. And we don’t think you’ve ever had an intelligent one in yours. ---
**Author:** ![SherwoodAnderson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@SherwoodAnderson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SherwoodAnderson)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/143 "2011-08-01T03:04:50Z")
> [@punch\_line\_loser](#): > > somebody please agree with me that there is a difference between evil and incompetence, and the following popular ideas are total bullshit: > > 1. the war was the impetus of the president alone, and that the president has enough power to initiate a war singlehandedly, and > > 2. no matter how stupid and unjustified and poorly executed the war was, the idea that it was declared in the first place solely in the interest of murdering thousands of people > > i’m not coming to anyone’s defense, but come on, get a grip here 1. The war is irrelevant to the issue at hand, but assuming Der Trihs brought it up and not you, I wont hold it against you. Having said that, the Iraq war was sold to the American public on a false pretext, and it’s clear that Bush and his administration knew that they were at least severely overstating the case, and most likely de facto lying. We know that from the congressional investigations that were made into pre-war intelligence. Thus, the Bush administration imho bear sole responsibility for the war. 1. Agreed. But pretty much no-one has argued that. Maybe Der Trihs, i wouldn’t know, and he’ll speak for himself. But since you claimed this a “popular idea” and thereby implied that this was ever a mainstream critique of Gulf II and the Bush admin, that’s false and arguably a strawman. ---
**Author:** ![punch\_line\_loser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e7dd6/32.png) [@punch\_line\_loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/punch_line_loser)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/144 "2011-08-01T03:34:55Z")
> [@SherwoodAnderson](#): > > 1. The war is irrelevant to the issue at hand, but assuming Der Trihs brought it up and not you, I wont hold it against you. > > Having said that, the Iraq war was sold to the American public on a false pretext, and it’s clear that Bush and his administration knew that they were at least severely overstating the case, and most likely de facto lying. We know that from the congressional investigations that were made into pre-war intelligence. Thus, the Bush administration imho bear sole responsibility for the war. > > 1. Agreed. But pretty much no-one has argued that. Maybe Der Trihs, i wouldn’t know, and he’ll speak for himself. But since you claimed this a “popular idea” and thereby implied that this was ever a mainstream critique of Gulf II and the Bush admin, that’s false and arguably a strawman. right i’m not disagreeing with you - maybe it’s just because i split my time between boston and montreal, two bastions for liberal fascists if ever there were, but folks round those parts just love to talk about how stupid bush was and how evil he was for starting the war, even though as you said it was his whole administration that was responsible, nevermind the role of congress - i’m just gonna end this line here because we’re getting off topic, but i do wanna point out that in my experience it has been a pretty popular idea, though not perhaps in a mainstream journalism sort of way back to the point of the OP, there is a tendency to dehumanize unpopular leaders - i don’t know that the guy’s reaction was as thoroughly justifiable or totally indefensible as many have claimed. i will say, though, that in the event of a national freakin’ emergency, it probably would have been wise to let the teacher take over - a missed photo op and a classroom full of spooked kids is nothing compared to the mass panic it was his responsibility to go deal with ---
**Author:** ![eddiec3434](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cab0a1/32.png) [@eddiec3434](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eddiec3434)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/145 "2011-08-01T03:35:35Z")
Say what you will about G.W. B. on that horrible day, but just try to imagine someone whispering that nightmare scenario in your ear. I mean you must maintain composure especially in public. I’m sure he wanted to say "those mother f…s” As for the war, we had to show the world we will show up and level the largest Middle Eastern country. Now, right or wrong, I don’t know but al qaeda has not hit us on our soil since 911. I’m not so crazy about GWB, but he is quick on his feet. Remember the day that RHP launched a size 10 right at his noggin? The president didn’t panic, his foot work was flawless, and he quickly ducked to the left avoiding the stinky Bruno Magli. He sprung back into podium position and second later, another was launched from the same source. He again was quicker than the shoe. He was far from perfect, but he could think on his feet………LOL! ---
**Author:** ![SherwoodAnderson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@SherwoodAnderson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SherwoodAnderson)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/146 "2011-08-01T04:02:07Z")
> [@punch\_line\_loser](#): > > right i’m not disagreeing with you - maybe it’s just because i split my time between boston and montreal, two bastions for liberal fascists if ever there were, but folks round those parts just love to talk about how stupid bush was and how evil he was for starting the war, even though as you said it was his whole administration that was responsible, nevermind the role of congress - i’m just gonna end this line here because we’re getting off topic, but i do wanna point out that in my experience it has been a pretty popular idea, though not perhaps in a mainstream journalism sort of way Look, it’s the same problem as with the latest hit movie that the critics like. It may be true that it really is a great movie, but there are still idiots aplenty in the world so you’ll get tired hearing about it. Doesn’t make it less true that it’s a decent flick. And some guy off the street saying something stupid doesnt change the fact that the Bush admin knew that Saddam was most likely not at all close to making a nuke, or very prone to give it to Al Qaeda if he had it. They still told the public that was why we had to go and they told congress the very same thing. So on account of misleading the public and misleading congress, the responsibility is the Bush admins. Why did we go? If you ask me we went because Saddam challenged the US vocally and publicly (and tried to assassinate GHWB) and he was a credible threat to Israel. Key actors in the Bush admin thought that was enough to merit getting him out of the way, and after 9/11 they saw a feasible way to make it happen. I think history has proven what an unwise decision that was, and the way they went about it subverted the democratic process and shattered the international framework that GWBs father had been so successful in improving upon. For that (and for making torture official US policy), they deserve to be remembered as an example of how not to go about things, and to enjoy a fair measure of infamy for years to come. > [@punch\_line\_loser](#): > > back to the point of the OP, there is a tendency to dehumanize unpopular leaders - i don’t know that the guy’s reaction was as thoroughly justifiable or totally indefensible as many have claimed. i will say, though, that in the event of a national freakin’ emergency, it probably would have been wise to let the teacher take over - a missed photo op and a classroom full of spooked kids is nothing compared to the mass panic it was his responsibility to go deal with Agreed. ---
**Author:** ![BigDadWolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@BigDadWolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigDadWolf)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/147 "2011-08-01T12:28:58Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > I don’t buy it. I think he was in shock and disbelief - just like the rest of us. It’s a perfectly normal human reaction. Except he had seen a briefing paper the prior month warning that Bin Laden was planning attacks involving aircraft and/or national landmarks. According the to the timeline in [http://www.historycommons.org/essay.jsp?article=essayaninterestingday](http://www.historycommons.org/essay.jsp?article=essayaninterestingday) he was told of the first plane striking the tower before he even entered the classroom. At that point he should have known that the warning he received the prior month was now a reality and that it was time to lead and not a time to read to children. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/148 "2011-08-01T12:57:21Z")
> [@eddiec3434](#): > > Say what you will about G.W. B. on that horrible day, but just try to imagine someone whispering that nightmare scenario in your ear. I mean you must maintain composure especially in public. I’m sure he wanted to say "those mother f…s” He was probably controlling the urge to cheer and dance. A bunch of dead New Yorkers (evil liberals, don’t you know), an excuse to run wild; the only thing that would have made him happier would be if it had been a nuke. > [@eddiec3434](#): > > As for the war, we had to show the world we will show up and level the largest Middle Eastern country. We attacked Iraq, which had nothing to do with 9-11 and hated Al Qaeda. We demonstrated that America really is as evil as its opponents claim it to be. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/149 "2011-08-01T14:16:52Z")
> [@punch\_line\_loser](#): > > somebody please agree with me that there is a difference between evil and incompetence, and the following popular ideas are total bullshit: > > 1. the war was the impetus of the president alone, and that the president has enough power to initiate a war singlehandedly, and > > 2. no matter how stupid and unjustified and poorly executed the war was, the idea that it was declared in the first place solely in the interest of murdering thousands of people > > i’m not coming to anyone’s defense, but come on, get a grip here Agreed. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/150 "2011-08-01T14:19:43Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > Not me. I agree with **Der Trihs** more than I disagree with him. Sorry to hear that. You may want to seek some professional help before the frothing around the mouth starts. ---
**Author:** ![Plumbkrazy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f05b48/32.png) [@Plumbkrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plumbkrazy)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/151 "2011-08-01T14:28:02Z")
In response to the OP: I had no idea George Bush was a Catholic priest. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/152 "2011-08-01T14:30:33Z")
> [@BigBadWolf](#): > > Except he had seen a briefing paper the prior month warning that Bin Laden was planning attacks involving aircraft and/or national landmarks. According the to the timeline in [http://www.historycommons.org/essay.jsp?article=essayaninterestingday](http://www.historycommons.org/essay.jsp?article=essayaninterestingday) he was told of the first plane striking the tower before he even entered the classroom. At that point he should have known that the warning he received the prior month was now a reality and that it was time to lead and not a time to read to children. It’s too bad that, [when 9/11 was being investigated](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9/11_Commission), we didn’t get to hear from Bush/Cheney what they had learned before that date. Or what they thought on that day. > [@](#): > > George W. Bush - President; testimony not under oath. The session was not officially transcribed because the White House considered it a “private meeting” in which highly classified information would be discussed. Asked to limit the length of testimony to one hour (However, the meeting lasted for three hours and ten minutes). Testimony took place in the Oval Office. Initially, Bush insisted that he testify only to the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the commission, but later agreed to testify before the full panel. > > Dick Cheney - Vice President; testimony not under oath. The session was not officially transcribed because the White House considered it a “private meeting” in which highly classified information would be discussed. Testimony took place in the Oval Office. Since notes were not taken, even posterity will never know what went through their minds. In fact, they “testified” together. Why ask hard questions about such a silly topic? Why risk the President “lying under oath”? Why not save those investigative powers for questions about blowjobs? I remember sitting at work, talking with shocked colleagues, learning what we could on the Internet & hunting down TV’s. (I saw the second tower fall.) The question for many hours: Where the heck is the President? He should have cancelled his little PR junket, been whisked away to safety so he could work on the emergency & released some comforting message ASAP. (Yeah, I’m sure Cheney was doing all the work. But somebody could have strung a few vague sentences together & had Bush read them from Air Force 1.) (Oh, work is already underway for the Bush Library at SMU–although the theology department protested. But some are [happy at future prospects](http://thewoundedbird.blogspot.com/2010/10/george-w-bush-library-s-m-u.html)!) ---
**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:** [August 1, 2011, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/153 "2011-08-01T16:04:29Z")
Can we all at least agree that Bush’s statement quoted in the OP that he didn’t want to “alarm” the children is really, really stupid? Nobody is suggesting he should have screamed “WE’RE UNDER ATTACK!” and ran out of the room with shit rolling down his pantleg. Can anybody defend his statement that leaving would have alarmed the kids? Surely he could have just said something like “Sorry kids, gotta do important presidentin’ stuff, stay in school and don’t do drugs!” and briskly walked out? ---
**Author:** ![Plumbkrazy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f05b48/32.png) [@Plumbkrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plumbkrazy)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/154 "2011-08-01T16:09:34Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > Surely he could have just said something like “Sorry kids, gotta do important presidentin’ stuff, stay in school and don’t do drugs!” and briskly walked out? The mentally challenged often struggle to think on their feet. ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/155 "2011-08-01T16:23:02Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Says one of the board’s pet bigots. Says the board’s pet left-wing loon. ---
**Author:** ![Plumbkrazy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f05b48/32.png) [@Plumbkrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plumbkrazy)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/156 "2011-08-01T16:27:57Z")
Pointing out something about GWB as minor as how he reacted on 9/11 is like giving Hitler shit for wearing white slacks after Labor Day. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/157 "2011-08-01T16:51:23Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > Can anybody defend his statement that leaving would have alarmed the kids? Surely he could have just said something like “Sorry kids, gotta do important presidentin’ stuff, stay in school and don’t do drugs!” and briskly walked out? I can, sort of. And you know how much I hate defending this guy. These kids probably didn’t give two turds about anything that day, except that the friggin’ President was going to be in their classroom. Do you know how rare and exciting a thing like that is to a little kid? Hell, I can clearly remember the day Rosalyn Carter visited our school back in '79 – you’d have thought we were re-landing on the moon, it was such a huge deal. Letting the little nippers have the morning they signed up for, at the expense of 7 goddamned minutes of an uncomfortable President Bush, is not something I’m willing to excoriate the man over. ---
**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:** [August 1, 2011, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/158 "2011-08-01T17:06:17Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > I can, sort of. And you know how much I hate defending this guy. > > These kids probably didn’t give two turds about anything that day, except that the friggin’ President was going to be in their classroom. Do you know how rare and exciting a thing like that is to a little kid? > > Hell, I can clearly remember the day Rosalyn Carter visited our school back in '79 – you’d have thought we were re-landing on the moon, it was such a huge deal. > > Letting the little nippers have the morning they signed up for, at the expense of 7 goddamned minutes of an uncomfortable President Bush, is not something I’m willing to excoriate the man over. I’m talking about his statement that he didn’t want to _alarm_ the kids. If he said he didn’t want to disappoint them, you’d maybe have a point here. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/159 "2011-08-01T17:19:59Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > You guys that don’t like him would have found fault with however he reacted. Such utter and complete festering bullshit that it gives me a chance to link to [the least successful thread I’ve ever started.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=271515) ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-bush-was-only-thinking-of-the-children-on-the-morning-of-9-11/590696/160 "2011-08-01T17:31:40Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > Can we all at least agree that Bush’s statement quoted in the OP that he didn’t want to “alarm” the children is really, really stupid? Nobody is suggesting he should have screamed “WE’RE UNDER ATTACK!” and ran out of the room with shit rolling down his pantleg. > > Can anybody defend his statement that leaving would have alarmed the kids? Surely he could have just said something like “Sorry kids, gotta do important presidentin’ stuff, stay in school and don’t do drugs!” and briskly walked out? I will give it a go, SenorBeef’s [perfect post notwithstanding](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14083894&postcount=126)… … If folks have some vision of presidents leaping to immediate and deliberate action whenever they hear about some catastrophy, they are deluding themselves. I assure you, when a president hears, “Mr. President! Evil people are attacking us!” they take a couple minutes to get it together. You don’t see it on film, but it’s happening. Bush can’t just say that, though. \*\*He has to play the game and claim that he was all ready to leap into action as the public believes a president should, but he couldn’t alarm the kiddies. He has to play that game, or he will be attacked for not springing into action.\*\*So now he has to look like an obvious liar and moron, all because he isn’t ‘allowed’ to just keep it real. [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=7) [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=9)