Was it me, or was it extremely weak? I’m not a Bush basher, but I was shocked to hear how vague and unimportant his speech sounded.
Try not to get too worked up over who you think should have been president, or what a terrible pres. Bush is- I’m not interested in a Great Debate.
-j
Since there is no specific target as yet, Bush could not be specific. His vagueness was a warning in itself. Have we ever warned harboring countries in the past that unless you give up the people we want, we’re coming after YOU?
I definitely agree with the main gist of what your saying, Manservant, it just seemed that so much of yesterday was something taken straight from a movie script or something… I mean- it was just so unreal! Maybe I was just expecting a slightly more stirring speech. I kept picturing FDR or JFK–then GW kinda of came out and sounded very meek and almost unprepared.
Understand this- I’m not roasting him by any means- he probably hasn’t slept a wink since Monday night, with no sleep in sight- it just seemed rather… anti-climactic I guess.
Maybe the problem isn’t with Bush but in the uncharted territory he’s traveling. It would have been easy to come out fist-thumping the podium with loud patriotic rhetoric if he had someone specific to direct it at (like you said). I’m still trying to digest all of these events I guess.
-j
I thought his speech earlier today was very good.
His first two speeches yesterday were not very good, but I didn’t think his night-time one was that bad.
I was thinking the same thing. He didn’t give a BAD speech, not in any way, but it just wasn’t a great one. Given the circumstances, though, I can’t really fault him.
I wanted stirring rhetoric. “Day which will live in infamy”, “We shall not flag nor fail” stuff. Something to rouse patriotism, something to restore hope, something to get us through the days. The only thing in the speech that even caught my attention was when he equated terrorists with those who harbor them - the rest was so meaningless to me.
Again, he didn’t do a bad job; I just agree that it was anti-climactic.
Here is a copy of the speech from last night
THE PRESIDENT: Good evening. Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts. The victims were in airplanes, or in their offices; secretaries, businessmen and women, military and federal workers; moms and dads, friends and neighbors. Thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of terror.
The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger. These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed; our country is strong.
A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.
America was targeted for attack because we’re the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will keep that light from shining.
Today, our nation saw evil, the very worst of human nature. And we responded with the best of America – with the daring of our rescue workers, with the caring for strangers and neighbors who came to give blood and help in any way they could.
Immediately following the first attack, I implemented our government’s emergency response plans. Our military is powerful, and it’s prepared. Our emergency teams are working in New York City and Washington, D.C. to help with local rescue efforts.
Our first priority is to get help to those who have been injured, and to take every precaution to protect our citizens at home and around the world from further attacks.
The functions of our government continue without interruption. Federal agencies in Washington, which had to be evacuated today, are reopening for essential personnel tonight, and will be open for business tomorrow. Our financial institutions remain strong, and the American economy will be open for business, as well.
The search is underway for those who are behind these evil acts. I’ve directed the full resources of our intelligence and law enforcement communities to find those responsible and to bring them to justice. We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them.
I appreciate so very much the members of Congress who have joined me in strongly condemning these attacks. And on behalf of the American people, I thank the many world leaders who have called to offer their condolences and assistance.
America and our friends and allies join with all those who want peace and security in the world, and we stand together to win the war against terrorism. Tonight, I ask for your prayers for all those who grieve, for the children whose worlds have been shattered, for all whose sense of safety and security has been threatened. And I pray they will be comforted by a power greater than any of us, spoken through the ages in Psalm 23: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me.” This is a day when all Americans from every walk of life unite in our resolve for justice and peace. America has stood down enemies before, and we will do so this time. None of us will ever forget this day. Yet, we go forward to defend freedom and all that is good and just in our world.
Thank you. Good night, and God bless America.
Even though he has not been in office for very long, most of us already know what we can expect from him in a crisis.
He was in control. He was calm. Would you really want a President who was out of control and emotional at a time like this? He has all the “three-letter” agancies on the case, and they will be found.
If I were a terrorist I would be afraid.
–===the sax man==–
The text of Bush’s speech was fine.
But his delivery…yeesh.
Bush, bless his heart, is a robot. I didn’t see a shred of emotion from him during that speech. It might as well have been a mannequin delivering that speech.
When Reagan gave that speech after the Challenger blew up, you could see emotion. At the first news conference Clinton gave after the Oklahoma City bombing, I could see real anger. When FDR addressed Congress after Pearl Harbor, he wasn’t afraid to raise his voice. In many of George Bush, Sr.'s news conferences during the months prior to the Gulf War, the old boy was tough as nails, and clearly meant business. None of this touchy-feely stuff.
It is, sadly, a chronic problem that Bush has. I’ve yet to see him in a public speaking role on TV where I thought he sounded like a human being talking.
The speech last night moved me to tears. I thought it was delivered wonderfully. It conveyed the shock and grief I imagine most of America was feeling and also got across the outrage bubbling beneath the surface. Sure, it might have made for better “entertainment” if the President had cried or cursed, but I wasn’t watching the speech for entertainment value. I also think there may be reasons why not everything is explained to the public right away. (Like perhaps the fact that other countries and people who may not be our allies ALSO WATCH THE NEWS!) Keep some secrets as long as you’re keeping me safe. He was unprepared? Well, no shit. The fact that many people were beyond talking says a lot. He didn’t show anger and incite anger in the public? Considering that cab drivers who look arab are getting beaten in the streets, perhaps that was deliberate for good reason. He didn’t cry? Maybe he didn’t want to show weakness to those who were hoping for it. Considering professional speech writers wrote the speech, and the speech and delivery were no doubt advised on by foreign policy people, counter-terrorist people, pschologists, and who knows who else since this was a rather important speech, anybody who feels it could have been done better should send their resume along with their comments to the white house, as I’m sure they’ll snap you up after seeing the terrible errors they made.
Thank you! I expressed this sentiment in another thread. Reading the speech above I was more moved than when Bush read it. As I said in the other thread, I didn’t expect, or even want, to see some rabid person spewing angry speech. However, I did want to see the leader of our nation show some damn emotion. I felt he was way to monotone given the level of what occured, it wasn’t a matter of my wanting “better entertainment”.
My $.02 -
It may have been the words, it may have been the delivery - but beyond any shadow of a doubt it lacked cajonies.
At least he didn’t make any grammatical errors or anything. His speach was probably HIS best, although not the best. As my friend said, “Im not against him now, it’s time for unity.” He’s probably one of the biggest Bush bashers i know, besides me.
Yes, his speech is extremely vague. I think all of them are like that. At least he has a plan for the terrorists, hopefully he will use his Texan spirit and give them the chair.
But, IMHO, it was pretty good. Enough to reassure the nation that we aren’t totally screwed.
I feel exactly the same way (about his speech, that is, I didn’t vote for him). I thinnk he might be the worst communicator we’ve had in office since mass media let us know who our elected officials were. That said, what could he do or say? Only some words of reassurance and defiance. He couldn’t say “we know who did it, it was X, located at Y, and we are now sending the Big Stick to speak some Soft Words to them.” The animalistic side of me did want him to use the “fuck,” though, in its most offensive way. Thankfully he didn’t. That said, before anything is done in “revenge,” I think it is imperative to make sure the people at home will be ok. Then do the dirty work. So I expect we’ll have a better speech when the excrement and the fan meet for the perpetrator.
I thought his speech today was much better. He was also better at communicating it. Here is a link to it:
Well I don’t know why the link didn’t work. Here is the text:
Remarks from President Bush Wednesday morning at a cabinet meeting in Washington.
I just completed a meeting with our national security team, and we’ve received the latest intelligence updates.
The deliberate and deadly attacks, which were carried out yesterday against our country, were more than acts of terror. They were acts of war. This will require our country to unite in steadfast determination and resolve. Freedom and democracy are under attack.
The American people need to know we’re facing a different enemy than we have ever faced. This enemy hides in shadows and has no regard for human life. This is an enemy who preys on innocent and unsuspecting people, then runs for cover, but it won’t be able to run for cover forever. This is an enemy that tries to hide, but it won’t be able to hide forever. This is an enemy that thinks its harbors are safe, but they won’t be safe forever. This enemy attacked not just our people but all freedom-loving people everywhere in the world.
The United States of America will use all our resources to conquer this enemy. We will rally the world. We will be patient. We’ll be focused, and we will be steadfast in our determination. This battle will take time and resolve, but make no mistake about it, we will win.
The federal government and all our agencies are conducting business, but it is not business as usual. We are operating on heightened security alert. America is going forward, and as we do so, we must remain keenly aware of the threats to our country.
Those in authority should take appropriate precautions to protect our citizens. But we will not allow this enemy to win the war by changing our way of life or restricting our freedoms.
This morning, I am sending to Congress a request for emergency funding authority so that we are prepared to spend whatever it takes to rescue victims, to help the citizens of New York City and Washington, D. C., respond to this tragedy, and to protect our national security.
I want to thank the members of Congress for their unity and support. America is united. The freedom-loving nations of the world stand by our side. This will be a monumental struggle of good versus evil, but good will prevail.
Thank you very much.
I don’t know about you all, but the full weight of this didn’t really hit me until I watched a time line of what happened, on the news this morning. Then I finally burst into tears…but yesterday I was numb; shocked and sadden, certainly, but not overly emotional. Who’s to know how he felt when giving the speech? I think myreaction yesterday stems from the fact that I couldn’t react emotionally while at work (preschool/kindergarten) so I sort of bottled up what I was feeling. If someone had to appear strong during a national address, I can picture them doing the same thing.
Agreed…This is one of the biggest even in the history of this country, 20-30,000 dead :(, and there was something missing. Where was the, “day that will live in imfamy,” or, “…ask what you can do for your country,” or “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself?” We PAY writers to do this for him and this is all we get?
I was looking for a mobilize the sleeping giant speech that could whip the country into a frenzy. Left me empty… The only good soundbyte I heard that was , “It is just a shame that an event that kills so many will accomplish so little.” Can’t remember who said it though…
Personally, I don’t have a problem with Bush’s low-key delivery. I think it was warranted at the time; we just suffered a massive terrorist attack. Terrorists thrive on the reactions of the survivors. Bush’s emotionless, but firm, delivery, to me, indicated that “we are still here, we are still functioning, and we are looking for you.”
If he had delivered a nice, stirring speech, whipping the masses into a patriotic frenzy…what then? In WWII, we (speaking as a nation) could throw ourselves behind the resulting war effort after Roosevelt’s “Day of Infamy” speech. Here, we could stir ourselves up to do…what? From here, it’s slow going. We need to find those responsible. Then, we will need to determine what to do next. There will be much waiting.
Prior to yesterday, I was by no means a Bush supporter. But, I think he delivered a fine speech under the circumstances. If he handles the remainder of this situation as well, I will have nothing but praise for him.
In two of his speeches it seemed as though he hadn’t even read through them beforehand and was surprised at some of the words. In his speech at 8:30 last night he put the emphasis on the wrong words in several sentences, as though he didn’t know where the sentences were supposed to end. In a speech I heard on the radio today he was reading along and said …New York (pause as though sentence is over) City.
Everyone knows that speechwriters usually write these things, but it would be nice to be able to forget that and feel that our President is telling us what he thinks and feels. Otherwise it feels as though he doesn’t think or feel anything other than a deep wish to be somewhere else right now.
I’m a liberal Democrat, but I don’t think I’d have much to critize if Dole, McCain, or even Gingrich had been the one to give that speech last night. With Bush though… it just feels like the nation is leaderless.
I thought it was uninspiring. Maybe it was just what we needed in order to get on with our lives (and therfore keep this country going). I still think it showed a lack of leadership, though.
Oh, and the constant bible references grated on my nerves (the appropriatness of those references is currently being debated in another thread). It showed a decided lack of tact considering the potential of a religious motivation behind this attack.