dark10x said:
See, that actually sounds rather funny to me. I don't necessarily support his actions in that situation, but he really is a figurehead in a way. Even if he was the ONLY MAN in the country who could have done anything, how much of a difference would an extra 3-4 minute actually make? What exactly would he have been able to do with those extra few minutes? People are complaining about this situation because it makes it seem as if he doesn't care enough to take action (and hell, perhaps he didn't)...but what additional actions could have been accomplished in that very small time span? I'm going to have to say that absolutely NOTHING would have changed. He isn't just some magical guy who can just warp to the scene of a crisis and save everybody. He could have wasted those extra few minutes at a particularly long traffic light!
So he did something that makes him look like a moron, that's fine. He is a moron.
He conveyed the wrong impressions by doing nothing, but really...I don't believe for one second that leaving a few minutes sooner would have done a damn thing. Does anyone REALLY feel that way? That he is SO important and everyone relies SO heavily on him that leaving 4 minutes earlier would have made all the difference in the world?
Based on that logic, why did he do or say anything at all? By the time he reached the microphones, half of Manhatten was covered in paper and dust, and a cave had been inserted into The Pentagon. What the hell was he waiting for, all the planes to plow into their respective targets before making a statement?
I already said that he likely does nothing once he's gotten into his limo, cause there isn't much he can do but get as much information as he can. But isn't that better then looking like a doe-eyed twat? I also said that half of politics is image. That means even if you can't do shit, at least pretend you're doing so. Have a look of prudency and decisiveness, hell just get out of there and look busy. Look at Rudy Gulliani. In my mind the way he was propped up as a fucking hero for doing nothing but making a half dozen speeches on 9/11 was ridiculous to me. But he was regarded as such because it looked like he was doing something, and from what I recall he was on the scene very quickly (and he certainly didn't have to be, with the possibility of more attacks and collateral damage being an issue). That's all Bush had to do...act quickly, and look busy. That he couldn't even get that right simply isn't defensible. He's regarded as the most powerful man in the world for Christ's sake...the least he could do is act like it.
Funny enough, I've never really talked much about this subject until this thread, cause as many have said "what's past is past". And I doubt anyone would have if this ridiculous, insignificant Kerry comparison hadn't been brought up (for the record I think Kerry's almost as big a twat as Bush, so I really don't have much hope for your office regardless of the outcome). I know that in the grand scheme of things there was nothing he could've done, based on what did occur. That doesn't give him the excuse for not getting out of there quick and being properly briefed.
Major military action can't happen without his order, right? Jet fighters that were launched couldn't be given the order to shoot down suspicious civilian planes without his say so, right? If there were more planes being used as weapons, and they had had time to reach their targets, couldn't Bush have been held responsible for not reacting quick enough? That's a perfect example of even four minutes possibly making all the difference.
(BTW, I know that decision would be ridiculously hard to make...give the order to take down a plane carrying 90 innocent people, or let it go and have it smash into the Library of Congress or whatever. I wouldn't fault him or any president for whichever choice was made there. But like I said before, no one said being President would be easy. He wanted the gig, so that's what he gets on his plate.)
And let's not forget the way Bush was being painted that night to begin with. They'd always show the camera zooming in while that aide whispered into Bush's ear, knowing that shit was going down, and the look of concern creeping onto his face. Then immediately after that they'd show him being "rushed" into Air Force One, followed by talk of him addressing the media contingent on that plane and whatever. And then right after that they'd show his first statement on the matter, talking from wherever the hell he landed. He was being painted as a man who acted quickly and even decisively, which simply flies in the face of what really happened. That it took three years for me to see that footage is telling in itself.
BTW, I said I understood him doing nothing for two or three minutes (though even that's probably too long, 30-60 seconds is more acceptable), because even "the most powerful man on earth" is going to be taken aback by what he heard (he probably shouldn't have based on the reports he received a few months prior, but that's a different issue). But it shouldn't take longer then a minute to gather your wits, get off your ass, and get to work.
And now that I think about it, WTF wasn't the President rushed the fuck out of there the moment this shit went down? Isn't that standard protocol? Protect the President and Vice President at all costs? Even the medicore ID4 showed such activity, and all that happened there was a military chopper being shot down. The lack of action from his Secret Service might be even more puzzling then the lack of immediate action from Bush.
Kobun Heat said:
What, you don't think the President was a potential target? I doubt border meant that a bunch of snot-nosed kids could've been primary targets. People knew he was there (Lord knows the media did with all the cameras there), so to rule out that possibility is a bit naive.
McLesterolBeast said:
You're pretty fucking stupid, efralope. Pretty fucking ugly too. I pity you.
Ah McLesterol, we hardly knew thee...
