School Principal - Bush's 9/11 actions were correct

www.newsmax.com...

Excerpt -
Newsmax.com
Aug 8, 2004

Booker school principal Gwendolyn Tose-Rigell says, however, that Bush did just the right thing by staying put and continuing to read to her children. And she says the president's performance that day made her want to vote for him, even though she's a Democrat.

"I don't think anyone could have handled it better," Tose-Rigell recently told the Sarasota Herald Tribune. "What would it have served if he had jumped out of his chair and ran out of the room?"

Tose-Rigell didn't vote for Bush, but said that after watching the way he handled himself in her classroom while under incredible pressure, "That day I would have voted for him."

"I've heard people say, 'Why didn't you get the children out of there?' Where were they supposed to go? Many of their parents weren't home. Some didn't have rides. It would have created chaos."

Principal Tose-Rigell concluded, "There is nothing anyone can tell me to change my perspective, because I was there."



[edit on 8/8/2004 by FlyersFan]

[edit on 8/8/2004 by FlyersFan]

I'm sure Bush is glad to know he picked up 1 vote through his actions that day. I'll never understand why he did this. He prevents a classroom of kids from panicking, and then disappears for the rest of the day, while the nation panics. Lyndon Johnson went to DC right after Kennedy was shot to address the nation, Carter went to 3 Mile Island in its time of need (both at great risk to themselves), and Bush... to Nebraska on Air Force One, after making sure all the kids got to hear the story of the pet goat.

Well, he lost my vote then and there, so I guess things are equalized.

-koji K.

[edit on 8-8-2004 by koji_K]

[edit on 8-8-2004 by koji_K]

Originally posted by koji_K
and Bush... to Nebraska on Air Force One, after making sure all the kids got to hear the story of the pet goat.

No comparison to your other examples.

I'm not an expert on this but I don't think there was a lot of choice as to where he was at that moment. The country was under attack and the information was sketchy at best as to what was going on and who was responsible.

There are procedures in place for situations like this that are dictated by national security policies. The President needed to be secured/protected at the time and no matter who was at the helm, I believe you would have seen the same thing.

I'm always surprised by the lack of perspective I see in some of the postings. First, the teacher is right. Most of the criticisms seem to suggest that panic would have been the right response. Enough said on that. None of us were there, none of us have the responsibilities and resources available to the President, and so unless there is some real solid rationale available, which I haven't seen, I think its presumptious to second-guess the reaction.

As far as subsequent actions are concerned, Air Force One, which has the most up to date communications systems available, is actually an excellent command post in its own right. It also has the advantage of being mobile and impossible to hit as a moving target. Remember, in those early hours, there was another airliner intended for the White House, and no one knew what might have been coming next. For all they knew at that time (let's set aside the 20/20 hindsight, armchair quarterback discussion), going to a well-known location might have been just what the terrorists were waiting for. I see nothing wrong in how Bush conducted himself that day. He did, after all, return to Washington after it was clear that it was secure, and was quite visible in the days afterward.

Originally posted by Relentless

Originally posted by koji_K
and Bush... to Nebraska on Air Force One, after making sure all the kids got to hear the story of the pet goat.

No comparison to your other examples.

I'm not an expert on this but I don't think there was a lot of choice as to where he was at that moment. The country was under attack and the information was sketchy at best as to what was going on and who was responsible.

There are procedures in place for situations like this that are dictated by national security policies. The President needed to be secured/protected at the time and no matter who was at the helm, I believe you would have seen the same thing.

I don't see how the threat posed to the President himself, as opposed to the nation at large, was any greater than when Kennedy was shot, where the President was obviously a target, as opposed to just possibly a target in 9/11.

As for national security procedures, I would have more faith in this excuse if secret service agents had rushed into the classroom and whisked the president away as soon as the situation became clear. This was not the case.

-koji K.

Originally posted by koji_K
As for national security procedures, I would have more faith in this excuse if secret service agents had rushed into the classroom and whisked the president away as soon as the situation became clear. This was not the case.

-koji K.

Well, I'll just flat out make up a logical answer for that one. The US airspace was in chaos, and I doubt airforce one was fired up on the runway ready to get into the air in seconds, which may have been foolish under the circumstances. A few minutes to deal with the logistics might have been in order. Staying put while that went on, was probably a wiser decision than running out into the street without a game plan. I am sure action was immediate, even if it did not appear so in the room, but this particular scenario being faced was not exactly right out of a handbook I am sure. A few variables had to be incorporated.

Originally posted by FlyersFan
www.newsmax.com...

Excerpt -
Newsmax.com
Aug 8, 2004

Booker school principal Gwendolyn Tose-Rigell says, however, that Bush did just the right thing by staying put and continuing to read to her children.

Yep, while alot innocent people we're getting killed at that moment. Give me a break. I would've stopped short and done something If was in his posistion.

When G.W. got to Airforce One, it was determined that
AirForce One could be a target. It was VP Cheney who
said that G.W. should go to the safe facility at Offut AFB.
G.W., Cheney, and the Secret Service, were following
procedure when the Prez. is considered a target.

At any rate the teacher, who was actually there, said
the response was a correct one. His response won
over a hardcore democrat.

I found it interesting that a democrat who was personally
involved on that day, and who was an arm length away
from the president, said she'd vote for him based on
his actions in her presence on 9/11.

Originally posted by mrmulder

[Yep, while alot innocent people we're getting killed at that moment. Give me a break. I would've stopped short and done something If was in his posistion.

Like what Fox (can I call you Fox)?

Do let us know, maybe I'll write you in for President if you have all the answers.

Originally posted by FlyersFan
When G.W. got to Airforce One, it was determined that
AirForce One could be a target.

That information was proven to be bogus.

I thought the same thing that Kerry said. I would have told the children that the president had to attend to an urgent matter. There's nothing scary about that. Card probably whispered that Cheney said to hold fast. If they had followed proper procedures that day, the president would have been whisked outta that school faster than lighting.

Originally posted by RelentlessLike what Fox? Do let us know, maybe I'll write you in for President if you have all the answers.

It would be easy for us to sit here, three years later, and say
'if it were me, this is what I would have done'.



[edit on 8/8/2004 by FlyersFan]

The principal seems to think it more important to calm a classroom full of small tykes, than to lead the country in the initial moments of a national crisis.
Maybe it's me, but I'd think that would be a task Bush could have delegated to someone like, oh, I don't know, maybe the principal. Who gives a crap what that principal thinks? I don't care about her views on the economy, the environment, or 9/11.

Originally posted by EastCoastKid

Originally posted by FlyersFan
When G.W. got to Airforce One, it was determined that
AirForce One could be a target.

That information was proven to be bogus.

What's bogus? That the folks on AirForce One thought it was a target,
or that they thought it was a target but that it really wasn't a target? I'm not following you. Would you re-state this for me? Thanks.

Originally posted by curme
Who gives a crap what that principal thinks? I don't care about her views on the economy, the environment, or 9/11.

Why not? She is the educator that was directly involved in what
happened that day. She knows if someone is behaving correctly
instead of being in a panic. She was the adult sitting next to him
when 9/11 happened. There was absolutely NOTHING that G.W.
could have done to change what was happening during those first
five minutes. Nothing. He remained calm and then left. If he had
been in a panic, then the students would have paniced and frankly
a good deal of America would have paniced as well.

He stayed calm and the people who were trained to respond - did.
He got to the command center (airforce one) as he needed to. He
followed procedures.

Originally posted by FlyersFan

Originally posted by EastCoastKid

Originally posted by FlyersFan
When G.W. got to Airforce One, it was determined that
AirForce One could be a target.

That information was proven to be bogus.

What's bogus? That the folks on AirForce One thought it was a target,
or that they thought it was a target but that it really wasn't a target? I'm not following you. Would you re-state this for me? Thanks.

There was a lot of disinfo flying around that day. The story about airforce one being a target turned out to be false.

Originally posted by Relentless

Originally posted by mrmulder

[Yep, while alot innocent people we're getting killed at that moment. Give me a break. I would've stopped short and done something If was in his posistion.

Like what Fox (can I call you Fox

)?

Do let us know, maybe I'll write you in for President if you have all the answers.

No. That's cool. You can call me Fox. I would've gotten up right out of that chair and politely told the class "Excuse me" without scaring them of course and taken charge of protecting our great country. Get on the phone and find out what was going on. He shoudn't of just sat there. Of course like my dad says "He's a block head." That's what my dad thinks.

Originally posted by EastCoastKid

Originally posted by FlyersFan

Originally posted by EastCoastKid

Originally posted by FlyersFan
When G.W. got to Airforce One, it was determined that
AirForce One could be a target.

That information was proven to be bogus.

What's bogus? That the folks on AirForce One thought it was a target,
or that they thought it was a target but that it really wasn't a target? I'm not following you. Would you re-state this for me? Thanks.

There was a lot of disinfo flying around that day. The story about airforce one being a target turned out to be false.

Now I heard that Air Force One did take off with President inside BUT no jet were scrambled to escort it. Now if that's true then the president must have felt safe with no escorts. But this is what I heard so it could be bogus.

Did any of you see the way Bush's eyes were darting about? And how his lips were pursed tight? That's what would have scared me if I were one of those kids. As puss-butt LImbaugh would say, he looked downright eeeeVil.

Originally posted by EastCoastKid
Did any of you see the way Bush's eyes were darting about? And how his lips were pursed tight? That's what would have scared me if I were one of those kids. As puss-butt LImbaugh would say, he looked downright eeeeVil.

He looks like a monkey sometimes. I'm sorry. I couldn't help myself. That probably would've scared me too. Especially those pursed lips. I wonder what he was thinking at that moment.

I don't think that Bush needed to panic, but he certainly should have done something besides continue to read 'My Pet Goat' with the baffled look on his face.

IMO, the appropriate response to his first being informed that a plane had hit the first tower would have been something like
"Excuse me children, as the President of the United States, something has come up which requires my immediate attention" and then he should have calmly left the room to do his job.

I wonder how the children who were hearing the story will feel 20 years from now when they realize that their President continued reading a book while the nation was under attack. I'll be willing to bet that they will wonder why.