So, Bush didn't want to scare the kids?

[Ready4Change]

The reason I keep hearing for Bush to sit in the classroom for seven minutes after being told a second plane had hit the towers and the nation was being attack is that "He didn't want to frighten the children."

Ok, fine. But it's well known that his itinerary was known, his school visit was being televised on local channels, and it's reasonable to think that he could be a target.

By sitting there for 7 minutes, he's giving the attackers seven minutes to attack not only him BUT ALSO THE KIDS!

If he loved the kids he would have gotten up, left, and given orders the school be evacuated.

But instead he froze, like a deer in the headlights of an approaching truck. And by doing so, he put all those kids in harms way.

[GreenArrow]

1. he knew he was in no danger

so, no need to leave.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

5. But the Pentagon victims were. eom

[GreenArrow]

6. in order to make an omelette

you have to break a few eggs.

[Demonaut]

7. they had the codes for AirForce One!!

the code was "1"

[lovedems]

2. But before he left, didn't he tell the kids that he had to go because the

nation was under attack? If he didn't want to scare the kids, why didn't he just leave without telling them we had just been attacked? That probably DID scare them? He should have said, "I have presidential things to do, sorry" and then went on his way playing hide-n-go seek.

[Karenina]

12. Errraaaa...

He KNEW the first tower had been hit BEFORE HE WENT INTO THE CLASSROOM.
Check out Paul Thompson's timeline. :eyes:

[rocktivity]

20. Also check out Take Back The Media's timeline

if you're not familiar with it.

"I didn't want to scare the children" and "Here's how I would have gotten out of that classroom" are MOOT ISSUES. Bush was informed that a plane had struck the World Trade Center before he departed for the school--therefore HE NEVER SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN THAT CLASSROOM TO BEGIN WITH. And now that it's come out that he either read or should have read the August 6 briefing which specifically mentioned bin Laden and flying planes into buildings, he has NO excuse for his inaction at all!

:headbang:
rocknation

[buycitgo]

22. I know. I keep saying that over and over

I just said at a little length tonight......too lazy to repeat it, how VULNERABLE everybody was at that point, and how ludicrous it was for them to NOT GFO as soon as they heard about the first hit

THAT's the story, isn't it?

how could they hear about the first plane, and, given ONLY the Aug 6 PDB, not realize what was up, especially given Clarke's riveting recounting of how afraid they were that the whole nation might be under attack

[XNASA]

3. He claims he, "Didn't want to scare those 50 or so kids..."

But in the meantime, 250,000,000 Americans were shittin' in their pants.

[aden_nak]

4. That is such bullshit it's staggering.

Apparently a national emergency can be put on hold as not to frighten 25-30 children.

[GiovanniC]

8. Come On, What Were His Options?

(A) He could sit there and listen to the goat story.

(B) He could run screaming from the room, waving his arms in their air and jumping around, yelling, "We're all gonna die! We're all gonna die! The fucking terrorists are coming to get us! We're gonna die a painful death!"



Option (C) -- politely apologize and excuse himself from the room so that he can get to work -- apparently wasn't on the table.

[zbdent]

9. You mean to tell me that there isn't a plan for every President

to be whisked away at a moment of danger?

Gee, I remember that they got Reagan to the hospital pretty damn quickly! So fast, I think he didn't realize he was shot. Funny thing is, he decided to "joke" with the doctor about political affiliation.

Hmm, I wonder, esp. if the doctor was a Dem. If the roles were reversed, and Clinton was shot, and the doctor was a Rep, would the doctor have bothered trying to save Clinton?

[GiovanniC]

10. And Interrupt the Fucking Goat Story?

Surely you jest.

[zbdent]

19. I'm not jesting

and don't call me Shirley.

[ElementaryPenguin]

11. But...the kids WOULDN'T have been scared if he'd left - they knew nothing!

Riiight!! I'm sure a bunch of grade schoolers would have automatically speculated that if the President excuses himself from their classroom, that both World Trade Center towers must have been hit by hijacked planes and that America was now under attack by terrorists! I know I'm convinced. THESE MONSTROUS, TRAITOROUS BUSHEVIK FUCKERS ARE CLEARLY AS STUPID AS THEY ARE BRAZEN!

:puke:
:argh:
:mad:

[AngryLizard]

13. Clearly, he didn't know what to do

Which is just shocking. I mean, what would YOU do? You're the President of the United States, your country has just been attacked, and your first instinct isn't to get the hell out of your chair and figure out what's going on IMMEDIATELY, and take some sort of action IMMEDIATELY, because you don't want to scare a group of children?? Who the hell sits in their chair for seven minutes until it occurs to them that wow, maybe they should get up and DO SOMETHING. Someone who's used to people telling them what to do, that's who.

And where was the Secret Service during all this? I was surprised they didn't drag him from his chair and take him away, but maybe I've just been watching too much emmy award-winning television.

[ElementaryPenguin]

14. They whisked Cheney off immediately! Smirk was/is certainly expendable!

What a fucking joke!

[Lisa]

15. And if they didn't know at the time, they sure did after his little speech

Remember when he delivered his first televised message from the school, with the kids and staff spread out behind him like a living backdrop? Those children had to stand there and listen to Bush going on about planes crashing into buildings. Way to reassure the youngsters, Dubya! As if having to watch a bunch of confused, worried adults milling around weren't enough for them.

If he truly did want to pull a Roberto Benigni "Life is Beautiful" bit and pretend to the kids that all was well, he could have skipped out of that classroom saying "I hafta go to the bathroom!" -- the children would have been totally thrilled by "the Peeing President" (parents with kids of that age, you know what I mean).

[Disturbed]

16. 35 Minutes

The supposed Pres. did nothing about the attack!

I don't believe that Dumbass is the actual Pres. I believe the Cheney is.

[goclark]

24. I believe his Daddy is the actual President

[Bluebear]

17. Bill Maher: Max CLELAND would have gotten up! :)

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

18. Yep most bush supporters only see things in black or white

he either sits there (as you said ENDANGERING THE KIDS if he were a target, sheesh!) or he gets up ScREAMS MANIACALLY and scares the shit out of EVERYONE!!!

What's wrong with getting up quietly (they were done with one reading drill and hadn't started the second one) and announcing very calmly that he had to go talk to someone just one second (give one of those faux-warm smiles) and then leave the room? Then send someone back in to explain?

No big deal folks, it ain't rocket science. But noooooo....

[buycitgo]

23. it's STAGGERING that this is the ONLY excuse they've

come up with

the ONLY one, and the media swallowed, didn't they?

why don't the dems make as much fun of this as they could?

too touchy a subject?

how bout some comedic surrogates, ala Maher

THAT was funny, even though it was a crip joke

[DoYouEverWonder]

21. W was full of it, he had to stall until the attack was finished

All of the planes were supposed to take off before 8:01 AM. The attack should have been over by 9:00 AM, just as W was arriving at Booker. However, because of delays at take off, things got bogged down and W had to hang around waiting for events to play themselves out.