Bill Maher article/Bush on Larry King
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| Fri, 08-13-2004 - 8:35am |
Also, saw Bush on Larry King last night. The guy can't pass up a chance to say 9/11. Too bad he didn't have anything else to say and Larry was lobbing him softball questions with no real follow-up. Good thing Laura was there too. She made Bush's fumblings less obvious. I think overall this was a warm-up for convention or debates. Very weak interview, but it's nice to see George step out of his safe Republican scripted campiagn spots. Too bad the press can't really press him for real answers.
Bush blew it the morning of 9/11
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/story/221433p-190107c.html
By BILL MAHER
John Kerry has waded into an issue raised by Michael Moore in his film "Fahrenheit 9/11," namely, President Bush's sitting for seven minutes in a Florida classroom after being told "the country is under attack." Republicans are waxing indignant, of course. But the criticism is richly deserved.
The fact that Bush wasted 27 minutes that day - not only the seven minutes reading to kids but 20 more at a photo op afterward - was, in my view, the most outrageous thing a President has done since Franklin Roosevelt tried to pack the Supreme Court.
Watergate was outrageous but it still did not carry the possibility of utter devastation, like a President's freezing at the very moment we needed his immediate focus on an attack on the United States.
This is an issue about the ultimate presidential duty, acting in an emergency. If nothing else in Washington is nonpartisan, this should be.
But it is not. Republicans are tying themselves in knots trying to defend Bush's actions that morning. The excuses they put forward are absurd:
He was "gathering his thoughts." This was a moment a President should have imagined a thousand times. There is no time in the nuclear age for a President to sit like Forrest Gump "gathering thoughts" after an attack has begun. Gathering information is what he should have been doing.
From the White House press secretary: "The President felt he should project strength and calm until he could better understand what was happening." I agree that gaining a better understanding of what was happening should have been his goal. What I don't get is how that goal was reached by just sitting there instead of getting up and talking to people. Is he a psychic? Was he receiving the information telepathically?
"He didn't want to scare the children." Vice President Cheney has said of Kerry, "The senator from Massachusetts has given us ample reason to doubt the judgment he brings to vital issues of national security." So Kerry's judgment is suspect, but at a moment of national crisis, Bush's judgment was: Better not to scare 20 children momentarily than to react immediately to an attack on the country!
If he had just said, "Hey, kids, gotta go do some President business - be good to your moms and dads, bye!" my guess is the kids would have survived.
I cannot see how someone who considers himself a conservative can defend George Bush's inaction. Conservatives pride themselves on being clear-eyed and decisive. They don't do nuance, and they respect toughness.
But Bush choked at the most important moment a President could have. We're lucky Al Qaeda had done its worst by the time he pulled himself away from the photo op. Next time, it might not be that way.
Maher is the host of HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher."

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< Yeah, no panic, there was no urgency to evacuate, a cold resolve was developing in Bush. Kerry would have had a panic call for a hairdresser to be flown in asap! Ohh wait I forgot we already know what Kerry's reaction was from his own statements on Larry King Live... Kerry went into coma for 40 minutes. I wonder if John needed to change his pants? Freezing while under attack.... shameful coward! How could anyone vote for Kerry??? >
Did Bush even know what was being done? Did he know what, exactly was happening, or the extent of it? Did he get up and ask? Nope. That's the issue.
Bush didn't have to, a large national defense (including terrorist czar) system was previously established to leap in in the event of such an attack... Bush was surrounded by staff and communications... If at any time HE WERE NEEDED he'd have been available within seconds.
It was important for the secret service once it was determined America was under attack to reassess the safety situation of the President. It was required to move air traffic away from the airport, to veryify no traffic was heading to the airport (for example a hijacker). It was necessary to reassess by verification witht he pilot of Air Force One that no unusual access to Air Force One had occurred within the prior few days, to have Air Force One fully refuelled and ready for an emergency takeoff. They also located another jet to be used as a backup Air Force One in the event the primary was compromised, likely even efforts to verify and secure the 2nd plane took some time.
Just jumping into a car to return to an unready possibly compromised Air Force One would be folly... to go onto streets which could be mined without a reassessment of venues and alternative routes would likewise be folly... to arrive before Air Force One was ready for takeoff and have the President sit on a fuelled "bomb" would be folly. There were MANY reasons NOT to move the President instantly... If such movement were entirely predictable as you'd like it to be terrorists would likely use it in future attacks if not in attacks that very day.
If the staff were all taking care of necessary tasks, then what do we even need a pres for? Silly idea, right? Of course we need a pres, to take charge. Too bad Bush didn't do that. If he had, I would be saying I am pleasantly surprised by the way he handled it. I say that about Guiliani, I wish I could say it about Bush.
If the staff were all taking care of necessary tasks, then what do we even need a pres for? Silly idea, right? Of course we need a pres, to take charge. Too bad Bush didn't do that. If he had, I would be saying I am pleasantly surprised by the way he handled it. I say that about Guiliani, I wish I could say it about Bush."
The scope of the attack wasn't known for some time, even after Bush was safe in Air Force One. The nature of the attack (who exactly it was and from where) took days to work out. Various emergency programs and individuals to handle various contingencies were already at their posts and automatically came online as necessary as the result of preplanning.
The President doesn't have super powers, is not a front line trooper. Did you expect Bush to fly to NYC, hold the front of the 2nd jet, and shake out the terrorists while landing all passangers safely to the ground then blowing out the fire in the first tower with his super breath... well buddy... get out of the comics... Presidents do not have super powers... Presidents are not front line... they rely on others... we have a large government employing millions of people to help the President handle a vast number of situations... the President was surrounded with a ton of staff that day... some staff whose only goal was to protect him... other staff whose goal it was to keep him informed... and other staff to help him on a myriad of other issues. He wasn't alone, he wasn't out of contact... during the time at the school those responsible for his safety felt it was the best place for him to be... those who needed to fill him in were able to do so off camera... nothing was lost... why is this a surprise to you?
I saw the Bush interview on Larry King last week.
No, I didn't expect him to be Superman, or to fly to NY, or any of the other silly things you wrote. I keep saying he should have been on the phone, finding out what was going on, making decisions, giving orders, taking charge.
How was he informed off camera, when the cameras were never off him? And he let other people decide what he should do, he should be deciding that himself.
I think a lot of people would disagree with you that nothing was lost in those 27 minutes. And I'm not surprised at all, just disappointed.
< The scope of the attack wasn't known for some time, even after Bush was safe in Air Force One. The nature of the attack (who exactly it was and from where) took days to work out. Various emergency programs and individuals to handle various contingencies were already at their posts and automatically came online as necessary as the result of preplanning.
The President doesn't have super powers, is not a front line trooper. Did you expect Bush to fly to NYC, hold the front of the 2nd jet, and shake out the terrorists while landing all passangers safely to the ground then blowing out the fire in the first tower with his super breath... well buddy... get out of the comics... Presidents do not have super powers... Presidents are not front line... they rely on others... we have a large government employing millions of people to help the President handle a vast number of situations... the President was surrounded with a ton of staff that day... some staff whose only goal was to protect him... other staff whose goal it was to keep him informed... and other staff to help him on a myriad of other issues. He wasn't alone, he wasn't out of contact... during the time at the school those responsible for his safety felt it was the best place for him to be... those who needed to fill him in were able to do so off camera... nothing was lost... why is this a surprise to you? >
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