On 9-11, Bush was just "doing what Presidents do"

[DoYouEverWonder]

Just found this report from a member of the staff, at Booker Elementary, with some details about what W was doing before and after he arrived.


Some of us have been wondering, why the heck it took W over a half hour, to drive from the hotel to the school? This is normally a very short drive even during rush hour. The President's route was totally closed, so he certainly didn't have to worry about traffic?

Then when W gets there, the writer claims he made 3 phone calls, I only remember hearing about the one to Condi? How does Wunderlin-vanArsdall know who else the President called, if she was stuck on the stage not knowing what was going on?

Also, why did they keep telling the staff that the President was delayed? He was able to do his scheduled events on time? He arrived at the school right before 9:00AM and was in the reading class right on schedule. His press conference, in the media room, was originally scheduled for 9:30 AM, right at the same time he made his first statement? So why is this lady complaining about delays?


The other reports at the main link are interesting and full of contradictions too. However, this was the one with the most details.


____________________________________

Laura Wunderlin-vanArsdall, EEB Staff


Many of us had gotten up at 5:30 or earlier that morning, to be sure we made it to school at 7:30 to be checked through the metal detectors and receive our "Stage Party" pass to allow us to meet the president. Four 5th grade classes were sitting quietly in front rows; 3rd and 4th grade students were grouped together outside to catch whatever quick glimpse they could as he passed from the 2nd grade classroom into the media center.


Then, it started happening.

"He's en route to the school now. There was a slight delay. It shouldn't be much longer."

We stretched our legs and chatted.

"There's been a delay. He's busy doing what Presidents do. He'll be here shortly."

We stretched our legs some more and continued to wait.

Finally, "There's been a delay. He has to make some phone calls. He's still coming, though."

Just "doing what Presidents do" while they "make some phone calls" turned out to be the phone calls made in a nearby room to the director of the FBI, the Vice-President, and the Mayor of New York as the first contacts over what happened.

When they came in to take the Reading chart away, saying "It's not needed anymore", I wondered why they would suddenly decide they didn't want to show our school's progress as he made his education speech. If it was important then, why wasn't it important now?

We were soon to find out why progress in reading was no longer the most important issue in America's eyes that day .

Where I was, standing directly behind the podium, no-one had told us yet what had happened. We were still under the impression that his speech would continue as normal, once he finally arrived in the media center. I remember my mind wandering, thinking, "What if this isn't just some red-tape kind of delay? Wouldn't that be ironic if we were standing because something significant has happened? Some historic event?"

Never could I have imagined how right I was. Ironic it wasn't. Horrific it was.


Finally, someone told the group of us standing in our area behind the podium that two planes had hit the World Trade Center. We murmured shocked exchanges, imagining two, probably small, planes accidently hitting into each other and the buildings. Then someone said it had to have been on purpose. We wondered some more. Someone offhandedly remarked, "I guess this replaces us as the front page news". Having no TV footage in front of us to see what was happening, we couldn't know the catastrophic magnitude of what had taken place, and was continuing to take place, as we stood there... still waiting for the President.

As we all know, Bush did make his quick appearance and 1 minute speech to the Nation (the first time he addressed the nation about the terrorist attacks). He turned immediately, gave a sad smile to the staff with a small wave of his hand, and left. Ron Paige, Secretary of Education, finished the speech that Bush was supposed to give. We had to give President Bush credit for staying long enough to even finish the reading lesson with the kids, and coming in to where we were all standing- he quite appropriately could have left immediately to go back to the limo & Airforce One. Needless to say, it was quite a shock and crash for us, sort of like air being let out of a balloon.


http://www.sarasota.k12.fl.us/emma/9.11.01/essay.wunderlin.html


More reports here:


http://www.sarasota.k12.fl.us/emma/9.11.01/thoughtsindex.html

[DulceDecorum]

1. Valerie Dorr, Principal's Secretary

"Please sign this so that we can put a tap on your phone line."

"Fox News called and we need to install 49 phone lines"
http://www.sarasota.k12.fl.us/emma/9.11.01/essay.valerie.html

Contradictions abound,
but they all seem to recall a "sad smile."