Kerry knocks Bush for 9/11 performance

[cal04]

Kerry knocks Bush
for 9/11 performance
Criticizes president for continuing
to read to kids in Florida classroom

Had I been reading to children and had my top aide whisper in my ear that America is under attack, I would have told those kids very nicely and politely that the president of the United States has something that he needs to attend to,” Kerry said.


Kerry, speaking to minority journalists at their annual Unity convention, "was warmly accepted throughout his speech and he drew big applause with his comments about the lack of minority journalists and ownership of televion stations and newspapers," MSNBC.com's Darrell Bowling reported. "He says when he's president he would make sure to bring in an FCC chairman who would fight to increase minority ownership of broadcast outlets."

On another topic, Kerry said he would have reacted much more quickly than President Bush did on Sept. 11, 2001, when he learned of terrorist attacks.



The president spent seven minutes reading to Florida elementary school children after learning that hijacked planes had been flown into the World Trade Center in New York.

“Had I been reading to children and had my top aide whisper in my ear that America is under attack, I would have told those kids very nicely and politely that the president of the United States has something that he needs to attend to,” Kerry said.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5612546/

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

1. Andy Warhol's "15 minutes of fame," Dubya's "7 minutes of indecision"

[DoYouEverWonder]

18. Actually, it was 30 minutes of stalling

Bu$h knew when he went into that classroom that WTC1 had been hit and that there were other hijacked planes in the air.

The problem for Bu$h & CO was that the attack was supposed to be over by 9:00 AM, just when Bu$h would be arriving at Booker. Instead, two of the planes were delayed and the attack took longer than originally planned. At that point, all Bu$h and his cohorts could do was to try to stall as long as they could and play dumb until the attack was over.

Remember the 18 minute gap on the Nixon tapes? This is the 30 minute gap at command and control on 9-11.

[skypilot]

2. More than just seven minutes.

The president spent seven minutes reading to Florida elementary school children after learning that hijacked planes had been flown into the World Trade Center in New York.

I've said this before but I really thinks it bears repeating. Too many people are repeating this "seven minutes" thing. In actuality, Bush spent about a half hour in that school after being told of the second attack. Yes, he was in that one classroom for about seven minutes but he was in that school, surrounded by schoolchildren for at least a half hour. It really bothers me that his inaction after being told about the second attack has been whittled down to a mere seven minutes. We need to be repeating "A whole half hour!!", not just "A whole seven minutes."

[Maeve]

4. Yeah and he wasn't doing the reading

He was listening to the kids read.

[CO Liberal]

8. Guess He Wanted to Find Out How The Story Ended

:shrug:

[Crunchy Frog]

12. Not only that, but it's my understanding

that he went into that school already knowing about the first plane hitting the WTC.

He should never have gone into that school in the first place, but should have given a message to the kids that something had come up that he needed to deal with, and that he would make it up to them later.

If a competent President had gotten right onto it as soon as he heard about the first plane, thousands of lives would probably have been saved. In a crisis situation, minutes, or even seconds, can make a life or death difference.

[skypilot]

14. Michael Moore actually talked about all this...

...on AirAmerica with Al Franken awhile back. It really annoyed me because I thought to myself that everything he was saying to Franken would have made for a better voice-over during that "7 minute" sequence in F9/11. It would have been much more effective than the voice-over he actually did. Something about "What is Bush thinking? Is he worried about his Saudi buddies...blah,blah,blah?" Moore should have pointed out that as Bush was sitting there, the attacks were still underway and that for all he knew, terrorists could have been heading to that school at that very moment. That would have been so much more powerful. Well, at least he did talk about it on AirAmerica but imagine how many more people he would have reached if he'd said it in his movie.

[RamboLiberal]

15. Moore could do as an add-in on the DVD

Heck that's part of the allure of a DVD, the director's cut, the add-ins, etc. Moore needs to put the full seven minutes there. Heck just do it with a clock, let the sheeple see Bush just sit there, sit there, sit there.

I've been hoping Moore would do a split screen with that and a timeline or video of what was happening at the WTC, the planes, FAA, Norad, Cheney, etc.

[skypilot]

16. I'm really hoping he'll do that.

I was thinking about e-mailing him at his website but he probably gets tons of people e-mailing him to make suggestions.

[cthrumatrix]

3. truth is truth .... an our media said ...ZERO

[redqueen]

5. Awesome

This is just what he needs to do - he's not attacking, just pointing out how he would have reacted differently. Perfect.

[flordehinojos]

6. Bush may have intentionally not wanted to react to news of planes flying

into the WTC. There are those of us who believe he let it happen for his own political purpose much like Hitler's Reichstag.And there are those of us who question why, as Gail Sheehy has written, was there no communication between those who were in charge of defending the United States from an attack on its mainland until well after all four planes had reached their target on 9/11.

Is that lapse one of the major reasons why Bush opposed the formation of a 9/11 commission? Is that why they did not want to turn documents over to the commission? Is that why he never testified under oath, and separately and individually from Cheney? And is that why the 9/11 commission was SELECTED by the white house rather than independently appointed? Is that why the 9/11 commission report turned out to be a white wash for the white house?

With so many questions still unanswered ...Kerry's observation hits the spot. :hippie:

[nodictators]

7. Show some repub voters several pix of Bush sitting there

It blows their minds.

The look on his face throughout is one of:

1. Naked Fear
   
   
2. Utter Confusion
   
   
3. Petrification
   
   
4. Remorse for not having followed up on that 8/6 PDB
   
   
5. Imagining exactly what was happening at the WTC
   
   

[Cocoa]

9. that's a low blow

how dare Kerry use Bush's actual actions against him.

[Generator]

13. I know these Dems will stop at nothing

with their "hatefest".

[NewYorkerfromMass]

17. LOL. Bush's reaction IS incomprehensible to normal humans

no problems here. Kerry hit this one on the head.

[MichiganVote]

10. Well this is one of those "Who Cares" questions but

why the hell was he there anyway? Why the hell is the President of the United States specifically traveling to an eLementary school for a visit that had all gone off as planned-- easily would have taken several hours of many government persons time and energy, not to mention his? I mean, who has time for that kind of thing when you are the President AND you're not running for election.(Hasn't set foot in a school yet that I know of during this election)

Why would this man, this president, deem it so important to sit in a classroom to listen to kids read? Hell he could have done that anywhere.

[TahitiNut]

19. A convenient way to get him out of Washington.

Into a state where they had more coughontrol over "events."

[HuckleB]

11. Bush was a deer in the headlights the entire day.

He was completely clueless, focused on things that didn't matter. It was a pitiful, shameful performance from the word go.

[Jack from Charlotte]

20. Just heard CNN mention this.....

It was a teaser prior to a commercial and I didn't hear the story but I sure hope this finally goes mainstream.

The press protected the AWOL/moron for almost 3 years. Now they need to show that footage of AWOL/moron just sitting there while the other 2 highjacked planes were bearing down on their targets.

[Chelsea Patriot]

22. Yes!!! The Media was in that classroom, too!

All the media has footage of Bush sitting there for how ever long.

The media also has to have footage of him loitering in the classroom, killing even more time, after he has taken a classroom picture with the children and their teacher, after the reading lesson has ended. I've seen this classroom photo on DU. It enrages me more then the 7 minutes.

Bush was scheduled for a 9:30 a.m. press conference that morning, which he kept.

Exactly, how complicit is the media in what the Bush Family has wrought on our country?

Why didn't the 9/11 Commission sub poena this footage?

[democrat_patriot]

21. Kick!