Do you remember Bush's actions before 9/11 ??

[kentuck]

He was a man that appeared to think his job was mostly ceremonial. His focus was on paying back his right-wing supporters with taxcuts and spending the surplus on a new missile defense. He was totally uninvolved in the affairs of the Middle East - at least, we know he was uninvolved in the Israel/Palestine problem.

And who can forget the number of days he had been on vacation. Up to 9/11, he was setting the all-time record for time off from his job. He was the CEO and all his underlings, especially Dick Cheney, would take care of the business. He was just a spokesman for the company.

Of course, he did have a couple of incidents that cut into his time off. The submarine with all the Enron and energy people aboard had emerged too quickly and had submerged a boatload of Japanese students, and much of the information about that "tour" was quickly swept under the rug.

Then, there was the spy plane that was forced down near China and torn apart by the Chinese. Finally, he was able to get his good friend, Vladimir Putin, to bring the parts back to America on a Russian transport. It was not a proud moment for Dubya. But then, it was time to go back to the ranch and do a little more fundraising for the next election.

[acmavm]

1. Of course. And I also remember bush* being down in the popularity

polls before 9/11 as well. There is a connection you know.

[mouse7]

2. All star wars, all the time prior to 9/11

Dumbya and Rumsfeld couldn't shut up about Star Wars pre-9/11.

[maddezmom]

3. thanks for the reminder

although, cutting brush in crawford is all that stands out in my mind most of the time.

[Florida_Geek]

4. Oh back when he was Vacationer in Chief

and noted for the number of days he DID NOT WORK.

[meegbear]

5. I remember the Chinese incident ....

brave military man who stands up for our country my ass.

[Disturbed]

7. 911

911 made shrub a hero. Had it not been for that today he would be a zero. In my book he is a zero but for many Americans he is their War Pres. Of course he started the wars. He could have sent troops to Afghanistan to hunt down Al Q. He didn't because the Multi-Corps wanted him to secure that country for their pipeline. They let Osama slip away and for two years we didn't hear the name Osama much. At one point shrub said Osam wa not that relevant. Wish I could dig up that quote. Shrub has been a miserable failure. Bushco is bankrupt of money and morals.

[kentuck]

8. The media told America that Bush was a changed man after 9/11..

They said he had "grown into the job". They built him up as some type of heroic character, even though his actions, flying to Nebraska,etc, had chicken shit written all over it...And America bought the media spin of the new war "leader"..

[chelaque liberal]

17. I had to laugh

About a month ago on the Leher News Hour they had two guests on to compare the governing styles of Bush vs Kerry. I don't remember his name, but the man who spoke about Bush had just written a biography about him. In response to two different questions he said something like, " Well you can't really find anything remarkable about Bush before Sept 11, that was when he made something of himself."

[illuminaughty]

6. I believe the figure was 40%

Right before 9/11 it was noted that his vacation days had amounted to 40% of his time in office. So, out of an approx. 200 days in office, he put in 120 days worth of "work". I also remember seeing what he considered a schedule for a full day of work. It made my cat look like a workaholic.

[newyawker99]

23. Hi illuminaughty!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[chelaque liberal]

9. Waxman wanted info about Cheney's Energy Task Force

California was being bled by the energy companies and the Cheney's refusal to release information about his energy task force was starting to get some publicity-if there was time after the latest Gary Condit non news.

[patricia92243]

10. He wanted to allow more mercury in drinking water, and less stringent laws.

..about salmonella. A bunch of school kids got sick on the salmonella in strawberries about this time. The debate was swept under the rug, and I don't know the outcome.

Oh yes, and when some guy fired a gun outside the WH, they reported that Bush was working out in the gym - in the middle of a work day - and was not hurt. I remember Leno joking about it.

[remfan]

11. NMD, "rogue" nations, tax "relief", "faith-based" initiative,

"smart" sanctions, "communities of character", the patient's bill of "rights", drilling in ANWR, energy-energy-energy-energy, privatizing Social Security, scrapping the ABM treaty, Kyoto, tort "reform", "leave" no child behind....and 9 months of the media trying DESPERATELY to prop him up.

If you've ever got some spare time on your hands, go back and look at DU1 archives pre-9/11 and just read the headlines --- a very clear picture emerges.

[chelaque liberal]

12. The huge surplus left by Clinton had turned into a huge deficit.

I remember hearing a news story (9/8, my birthday--I thought it was my present) about how bad the economy had become and that * would probably have to take money from Social Security. I thought that was going to do it, his honeymoon was about to end.

[Bridget Burke]

13. Consortium Report on Florida Recount Due: 9/11

The release of the results was delayed by other events occurring that day.

Then, when they finally came out, the headlines usually said "Bush Would Have Won Florida". Reading the articles usually revealed that in 4 out of 5 recount methods, Gore would have won. But we we told we must put that all behind us & support our "President" in his War On Terror (TM).

[Beam Me Up]

22. Yes, 9/11 thus LEGITIMIZED his pResidency

[chelaque liberal]

14. The Media Consortium was about to release it's findings

about the FL recount and reveal that he had gotten fewer votes than Gore.

DON'T BLAME ME
I VOTED WITH THE MAJORITY

[DoYouEverWonder]

15. This is what I wrote on another forum on Aug 3, 2001

We are losing ground in all areas of world leadership because of the misguided policies of the current administration.

By turning our backs on the world, and the "me first and nothing else matters" attitude towards international politics, is having a serious impact on our position as the last 'Super Power'. One of the unexpected consequences of these policies is that other countries are now going ahead without us in making the policies and agreements that will govern how business is done on this planet. In the past, everyone looked to the US to set the tone. Now, they are finding out they may be better off without us.

If we allow other countries to dominate in science, technology and/or research we will not be top dog for much longer. Look how fast Russia fell. In a ten-year span they went from world super power to a shadow of their former selves and the amazing thing is they did it to themselves. It is a shame to watch our country head in the same direction.

[mmonk]

16. Republicans always fight the last war

He was focused on scrapping treaties and building missile defense programs, tax cuts, and thought everything in the middle east for the exception of oil was a waste of time.

[Bronco69]

18. Didn't he give some sort of speech

from the pig farm about stem cell research? I seem to recall that just before 911 he was on tv yammering about it.

[dweller]

19. thanks for the reminder

of the submarine/Japanese boat incident. I have been wracking my brain and then occasionally searching for more info on that tragedy.
Does anyone have any links to news stories? Preliminary searches haven't turned up much.
Name of sub, who was in charge of investigation, outcome, etc. Anything would help.

thanks
dp

[chelaque liberal]

20. Greeneville?

[dweller]

21. thanks

found the official page for the inquiry.

dp