Top 10 better uses of seven minutes in the classroom on 9/11

[a_random_joel]

It seems as if those who are supportive of the President think that his actions in the classroom that day were totally appropriate. That running from the room screaming for "Depends", apparently the only other option, would not have been appropriate... Thus, I have compiled a short list of things that I think would have been not only appropriate, but expected of the Chief Executive, Commander-in-Chief, and all around "hands-on" type of guy the Bushbots claim he is. I have divided the list into two parts, with part of the list assuming for the moment that he is not the most powerful man in the world and a man of "action". Thus, the first part of the list is what I call the "average Joe" list, that is things that I, and I assume most average Joes did, when they heard that horrific news.

The Average Joe list...

10. Find a TV, radio, internet connection, carrier pigeon or some other source of information to let me know whether MY ass is in danger.
9. Make a phone call. You know, see if anyone I know is hurt or dead? Try and get any other information - see number 10.
8. Check my schedule. See if any previous engagements I had can be cancelled or postponed until more information is found out.
7. Put the book down. I am sure almost everyone in the world over the age of 10 (and probably a good chunk of even the under 10 crowd), if a book was in their hands, probably put the book down. If a book was being read to them, I am sure they politely asked for a rain check. How many people do you know upon hearing the news, said "Hmmm, too bad... but what happens to the little boy's goat?"
6. Wept, cursed, punched a wall, prayed, got scared... showed SOME emotion. Did you see any emotion in the President's face that day? A single tear flowing down the cheek? This is at the point when nobody knows how many are dead. I rememebr initial estimates that said many more could have been trapped in the towers... how many more could be dead if further attacks are under way...

The President's list...

5. Call a staff meeting. The man has a Cabinet. Advisors. "Sorry kids, the President has some important President stuff to do, maybe he'll come back if y'all eat your green beans."
4. Use one of your lifelines. This is similar to Number 9. But think big. He's the Pres. He can get just about anyone who has a phone on the phone. "Hello, Pooty Poot? This wasn't one of your ops was it?", "Hello, Dr. Kissinger... Anyone you piss off in the 70's you forgot to tell me about?", "Falwell! I need a land line to the Big Guy, pronto!", "Hi Daddy, I'm scared. Can you make the bad man go away?"
3. Be Commander In Chief. Talk to the military.As tragic as 9/11 was, good thing a North Korean warhead hadn't just hit. You know any commanders that sit around after an attack? And aren't court-martialed?
2. Press Conference time! Look, I know the man just isn't that good with words. But if ever there was a time for press conferences... this would be a pretty good one. "My fellow Murkans. We appear to be under attack. We don't have a whole lot of inf-er-may-shun yet, but we're working on it. As soon as I find out what happens to the little boy's goat."
1. Two words: GET UP!

[MikeG]

1. Learn how to pronounce Abu Ghraib.

[olddem43]

3. Learn to pronounce Merka

[Lefta Dissenter]

2. Sorry, one correction

to #1. It's FOUR words: Get the F*ck up!!!

Otherwise, it's an amazingly insightful post.

[fob]

4. Isn't this the same dumbyass that made a big deal out of saddam

being able to attack us in 45 minutes? So in his world, doing nothing for (at least) 7 minutes while actually UNDER ATTACK is Okey-dokey, but if you lie about someone that MAYBE could attack you in 45 minutes, THEN you must start a war.

Whoa, what happened, did I just black out? bush*logic is a hell of a drug!

[DeepModem Mom]

5. Excellent, arj!

[progdonkey]

6. I agree with all but #6

I think that it would be perfectly appropriate for the President to not show any emotion when informed of an attack, especially when he's in a room full of children. After all, I would find it very disconcerting to see my commander go nuts and start weeping and breaking shit.

Number six seems awfully close to the straw man argument of "screaming for the Depends" you wrote above.

I don't want my leader to show any emotions that might harm morale or cause extra problems at a time like 9/11.

I also don't want my leader to sit on his ass reading "My Pet Goat" while the Nation is under attack and there's the possibility of there being tens of thousands of dead Americans.

I agree completely with the rest of the list. :thumbsup:

[a_random_joel]

8. Are we talking about humans or robots?

That's kind of my point. Emotion isn't that easy to control.

Did you show any emotion when you heard? Was it easy for you to control?

[progdonkey]

9. of course I did

The thing is, I'm not the President. No one was looking to me for strength or leadership.

Maybe I wasn't totally clear in my post. I don't mean that showing emotion is neccessarily bad, I just think you have no grounds for holding it against Bush for not showing any emotion.

A lack of visible emotion can be a sign of resolute leadership (tending to the job at hand and not giving into judgment-clouding emotions); it can also be a sign, as you obviously believe, of a complete lack of feeling for the victims. In the first case, the person is holding back his emotions; in the second, he has no emotions to hold back. I do believe Bush was the latter, but only because of his other actions; the lack of emotion alone was no evidence of malice. In short, the lack of showing emotions is either irrelevant or just icing on the cake.

That wasn't the right time to present emotion; that was the time to present leadership.

[goclark]

7. What About Asking The Teacher To Step Aside?

I have been in hundreds of classrooms during an emergency.
99 1/2 % of the time, the invited guest would say,"Boys and Girls, this Goat Story is One of My Favorites, can you wait just a few minutes while I talk to your teacher?"

Average Joe Classroom Guest to Teacher : Mrs. Jones, this day has been delightful. Unfortunately, I have a bit of an emergency. Can you tell the class that I have to leave?"

Teacher to Average Joe : Of Course
Teacher to Class: Mr. Joe had an emergency and he has promised me that he will come back very soon and read with you. Thank you Mr. Joe for coming and see you next time!
THAT WOULD HAVE TAKEN NO MORE THAN 0NE MINUTE !!!!

If I had a child that was in that class, I would have been calling my lawyer the next day! The Chimp put all the children/staff/reporters in that SCHOOL at risk! An OBL Plane could have been headed straight for that school!

Thank God for the teacher! Wasn't she the one that made the seven minute video ??

[Lisa]

10. and a third list ...

Things Not to Do (as either an Average Joe or President)

If for whatever reason a bizarre joke pops into your head (and I pass no judgements on that, since people react to stress in many different ways) -- don't use that joke as an "icebreaker" and expect the entire country to laugh uproariously at "there's one terrible pilot" or "I hit the trifecta".

If you can't remember exactly what happened to you on that day, don't manufacture a story that can be readily debunked (e.g. that you watched the first plane crash into the tower on TV early that morning, when it can be verified that the footage wasn't available for many hours after).

[DeepModem Mom]

11. Or refer to terrorists as "folks" --

remember that?