10 Years Later: Students & Teacher in 9/11 Classroom Praise George W. Bush’s Calmness
- Posted on September 9, 2011 at 10:51am by
Billy Hallowell
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President George W. Bush took some heat in the years following the September 11th attacks over his actions (or inactions, rather) during the moments after he learned that the Twin Towers had been attacked.
On that morning, Bush was in a classroom at Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida. When Chief of Staff Andy Card whispered news of the attacks into his ear, the president sat in front of the class silently, with a pensive look on his face. It was this moment and the minutes that followed that many of his opponents seized upon to claim that he was weak, inefficient and unable to act without assistance.
But the children who were present that day — now seniors in high school — have come together with their second-grade teacher, Sandra Kay Daniels, to paint a very different picture of the president’s reaction. ABC’s “Good Morning America” spoke with them to get their take on the events that unfolded in the classroom that day.
Below, watch the students and the teacher praise Bush’s calmness:
After the event, Clesha Henry, another teacher at the school, recalls sitting in the media room and waiting for the president to make a statement about education. Instead, after leaving the second-grade classroom, he informed the media that the nation was under attack. William Mansell of Sarasota Patch has more:
“I did not sense fear in him as much as I sensed concern,” Henry said. After making a brief speech, Bush was whisked away by Secret Service to board Air Force One to head to Washington. “It was absolutely silent, it was fear, we were afraid,” Henry said. “We couldn’t even soak it all in.”
After that, Henry said she’d never seen a room cleared so quickly. The school went into emergency mode and got students into secure rooms.
In contrast to these accounts, here‘s Michael Moore’s view from his film, “Fahrenheit 9/11″ in which he claims that Bush sat dumbfounded, “Not knowing what to do, with no one telling him what to do.”:
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Comments (142)
Better Dead Than Red
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 12:17pm“To describe this film as dishonest and demagogic would almost be to promote those terms to the level of respectability. To describe this film as a piece of crap would be to run the risk of a discourse that would never again rise above the excremental. To describe it as an exercise in facile crowd-pleasing would be too obvious. Fahrenheit 9/11 is a sinister exercise in moral frivolity, crudely disguised as an exercise in seriousness. It is also a spectacle of abject political cowardice masking itself as a demonstration of “dissenting” bravery.”
-Christopher Hitchens
Report Post »quicker
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 12:32pmI watched a little You tube .Helene Cronins Lucky Johnny Cash Ragged old flag and Song of the patriot ,Alan Jacksons Where were you when the world stoped turning.and other songs.
Report Post »jkjk
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 2:55pmThat fat idiot! Maybe Mr. useless in the white house now should show up for work a little more! I hope fatso moore. I really hope he chokes on a burger, and disappears. I believe useless in chief also needed a teleprompter to speak to a classroom of kids. Bush could and did run circles around our wimpy president.
Report Post »red1
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 3:12pmHitchens sure has a way with words. I probably don’t agree wth him on much but he was right here and one of the few on the left who is right about radical Islam.
Report Post »Restored One
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 5:24pmI saw a bumper sticker today in Calif, that said “BUSH CHENEY 04” It made me smile to see that on this weekend of Remembrance.
Report Post »Master_and_Commander
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 5:45pmMichael Moore sickens me… If any man deserves to have his @ss kicked out of this country, its him.
Report Post »Liberal Basher
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 12:11pmIt wasn’t calmness, it was cluelessness. GWB is still the worst president in recent memory. A total NWO douche bag and fake conservative.
Report Post »angelcat
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 12:18pmObama is the worst president ever, and just how do you know what Bush was feeling. Obama would have run off for a game of golf or had a 9/11 party.
Report Post »Grapeknutz
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 12:26pmWhy are ******** so stupid?
Report Post »gracie07
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 12:33pmare you kidding me? c’mon, what Bush did at that moment was the RIGHT thing to do. He remained calm and cool as any good leader should do!
Report Post »Of course anything Bush did most of the liberal wacks can’t stand and they continue to call him Hitler or an ape! disgusting!
quicker
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 12:33pmHe sure wouldn`t have left his golf game
Report Post »quicker
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 12:38pmThe world is a danerous place not by people who do evel ,but by those who do nothing.Albert Einstien.
Report Post »Sue
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 1:13pmPres Bush had his faults and I get very upset every time I learn of another unconstitutional act that was put through under the last SEVERAL presidents of the USA. In taking everything that we have learned SINCE 9/11, one surely has to question not only Pres GW Bush, but Pres Clinton & Pres George HW Bush. It is really difficult to believe that ANY American president would put our country at risk w/behind the scene meetings w/other foreign leaders. Hearing the 1st Pres Bush talk about “The New World Order” makes me SOOOO sick…. and after learning all that I have about “the secret society” “International Monetary Fund” “Bohemien Grove” “Bilderberg Group” well, I am really, really scared as to what the real plan of these elitists could possibly be? Who can ever justify our president, our congress & senators being aware of a planto ultimately remove the sovereignty of the United States of America! But, there can be NO OTHER REASON for these secret meetings & secret gatherings. With that said, I could NEVER think that Pres GW Bush wasn’t taken off guard when he learned of this 2nd passenger plane that flew in to the 2nd tower! He was IN AWE. I could not imagine the emotions & fear that he was going through at that very moment! How can anyone judge him for his reaction? He was faced w/the most despairing news any president could ever have to be faced with! I ABSOLUTELY DO think he was sincere in his reaction & obviously the man had a clue!! He IS a very intelligent ma
Report Post »urrybr
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 1:13pmYou idiot! Bush handled himself like a man, like the President of the greatest nation on earth. He wasn’t clueless. Obama would‘ve gone to Martha’s Vineyard for vacation, and not said a word. Pres. Bush went to work. You flippin’ armchair quarterbacks really have no idea what goes on in the world. You believe that everything fits within your little, limited, blind world.
Report Post »Steve
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 2:04pmThe only issue I agree with you on is he’s a fake conservative. As for the rest of your post. I guess your entitled to your opinion. But why would you tell the world your a fuc&en idiot is beyond me.
Report Post »Wereuppoopcreek
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 2:13pmClearly the worst President ever is Obama followed closely by Carter. Clearly you don’t have a clue as to what is truly going on in this country!
Report Post »Ordie69
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 2:44pmIt is a shame but not surprising that you and your ilk still have nothing productive to add to the conversation. I guess you would have been more happy if he would have wigged out and scared a room full of 2nd graders to death. Good luck, you are going to need it since you obviously have no reasoning skills.
Report Post »munacra
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 3:23pmRecent memory eh? Did you forget about our CURRENT President? The guy who had ZERO management skills, ZERO leadership skills, ZERO business skills, and yet was superbly marketed with ROCK STAR BRIGHT LIGHTS, COLUMNS, and TELEPROMPTER SPEECHS to the point that people look BEYOND his obvious frailties and lack of KNOW HOW, ultimately putting that peon into the most powerful position in the free world? The guy who other than the color of his skin and his big flappy ears would be TWIN to Jimmy Carter? Give me a break.
Report Post »Mite43
Posted on September 10, 2011 at 4:48pmPresident Bush, was a great man of compassion, he showed true leadership on the way he handled that classroom situation. I thank God George W.Bush was in office at the time, and not this Muslim-in-chief we have now in there he is a spineless person. President Bush will go down as a great leader when all is said and done.For those who listen to that fat slob Michael Moore need to have their heads checked.Michael Moore is a lying pig. Just like all the socialist/progressives/liberals, they want to destroy this country….Look at those in DC now the Muslim-in-chief, and his ilk….
Report Post »snowboardpete
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 12:10pm“Fahrenheit 9/11″ is nothing moore (sic) than a left wing propaganda piece. Made by a fat pig who is making a lot of money producing junk that the liberal mind numbed robots drink in like it’s the water of life! Facts don’t matter to these people, just the lies that they think support their views!
Report Post »Kylestarr
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 7:49pmI agree 100%, they love to take only what they want to hear and twist it into their lies then call it fact. If any one today would come out with anything like “Fahrenheit 9/11″ and make Obama look like Moore does Bush in that movie the left would be ALL over it and the movie would never be seen.
Report Post »Eternal Lucy
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 10:04pmWell said, both of you.
Report Post »Docroxall
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 12:09pmGood leaders don’t panic. Good leaders don’t politicize fear and tragedy. Good leaders respond swiftly and with resolve to eliminate the threat. One can argue that Bush used this tragedy, to take out a personal vendetta, but what SHOULD we have done? It took Obama, 2.5 years, to get Bin Laden…and even then, he had to weigh the message it would send. He, (Obama) firmly believes that Al-Qaeda was somewhat justified in doing what they did…at least, he believes that America was complicite in “deserving” this attack. Obama is an ideologue TORN by what America believes, and what HE believes. He is not one of us, and every time he engages in his agenda, his ratings drop. Question is…does he HAVE the will to do a Bill Clinton move to center? By his speech last night…I’d say we are all safe…he’ll double-down on his failed ideological policy, and alienate the electorate even MORE. You can say what you want about Bush…but he won reelection…albeit, even though some say Al-Gore won. Obama, in my humble opinion, doesn’t have a chance.
Report Post »gracie07
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 12:35pmwell said…Bush took a ton of heat for what he did and yet I still stand by him and support what he did. He at least I know we could trust…the guy in the WH now? Obama…I don’t trust him at all!
Report Post »Libertarian B 4 Libertarians Were Cool
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 11:56amWhat about WTC 7? No plane. Debris didn’t bring down WTC 5&6 which blocked 7. Time to review all the material from Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth (dot) Org. Look at the physics first!
The people never give up their liberties but under some delusion.
Report Post »Edmund Burke (1784)
SCHEXbp
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 1:39pmOnce again look at Popular SCIENCE which dismantled most of these crazoid conspiracy theories. Libertarians shoot themselves in the foot with this stuff & their amorality.
Report Post »not funny
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 1:43pmDream on.
Report Post »riseandshine
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 1:53pmPopular Science…lol
Report Post »dsd13130
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 1:55pmGeez oh pete…if I read another of these 911 truther comments, I’ll scream. Give it a break. Scares me to think you all may be breeding too.
Report Post »riseandshine
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 2:03pmYou better stay away from this site for the next few days then…unless you don’t mind screaming.
Report Post »Steve
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 2:18pmIf people still believe that Islam is not an evil ideology and the largest threat on this earth then I can believe there are still those who buy into 9-11 conspiracy theories. Then again you have morons who believe they were impregnated by aliens and little men live in their heads. Anyway good thing we have people who don’t buy into any of these idiotic theories and see things clearly and rationally.
http://www.debunking911.com/pull.htm
Report Post »Dangerous Dave
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 4:42pmIf I read another comment from a (non) truther, I’ll do what I always do; laugh at the d-o-u-c-h-e-b-a-g while imagine him sitting at a public library PC wearing a tinfoil hat…..
Report Post »alaskajohn
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 11:56amGore or obama would have put together a team of “the brightest and the best” to analyse how best to determine it was our fault.
Report Post »Godfather.1
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 1:20pmPlease remind me, under with President was Osama bin Laden killed?
Report Post »dsd13130
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 1:51pmWell, it’s not like Obama was on the mission to get Osama. I give credit to the SEALS period and them only.
Report Post »spareGgnome
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 2:00pm@Godfather.1 Yeh because it must have been really hard for him to give the order to go after osama lol.
Report Post »donflow
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 11:52amWhat I find amazing …ABC actually aired this??
Report Post »EverVowed
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 4:08pmI know, right? I was very surprised as well…
Report Post »paperpushermj
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 11:42amHEARD ENOUGH. I‘m of the opinion Moore’s spoken words give more insight into Michael Moore’s psyche then anything he is saying about President Bush.
Report Post »momprayn
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 11:41amAlways thought he was so unjustly smeared about this incident. If it was me, I’d probably react the same way. You have to think first before you act and not panic & cause chaos by acting like some out of control person when you’re the President. You can tell he was thinking about what to do. Yes, yes – I know he had flaws – who doesn’t. And I don’t agree with staying in Iraq after getting Saddam & Afghan but I believe he was very sincere, did not lie, loves this country and did what he thought best after going over the Intel and his advisors. Everyone at that time agreed that Saddam had WMD’s & capable of using. You cannot take that risk Bush haters. I believe he did have them but was sent to Syria when they knew we were coming to check it out. Whatever — I’m glad he (and Giulianni) were at the helm that day and handled it great.
Report Post »CanadianTory
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 1:30pmBeing your president is an impossible and thankless job. You are elevated to a God-King who can move mountains and get publicly crucified when the people, some of whom are truly clueless about how the American system works, realise that you can’t. Bush was not perfect and made mistakes but given what he had to deal with did the best job that he could and faulting a person for doing what they believed to be right says more about what a petty and mean person you are then it does about the target. Fahrenheit is the best illustration of what a petty and angry partisan Mr. Moore is. His jealousy about his man not winning a disputed and controversial election seeps through the whole of the film.
Report Post »(As a side note, not that it really matters anyway, I think Al Gore probably did win and the only reason that Bush became president was because the SCOTUS had more Republican loyalists on it that Democratic loyalists when it heard Bush v Gore and if you are conservative why would you vote to make a liberal president and vice versa.)
johnj1952
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 11:35amSome people say he should of gotten up and ran from the school yelling the sky is falling etc. What he did was amazing, to stay as calm as he did and to stay with the children was the right thing. What more could he have done? The attacks had started, how would he have been able to stop them then? I for one give the man alot of credit for courage at being told what had happened and then to lead our country in the face of the ferel attacks on our country.
Report Post »murphytavern
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 1:54pmi agree what was supposed to do get screaming hey ya’ll we just got attacked now i gotta go send us to war and hope we get the ****** that did it to us
Report Post »riseandshine
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 11:34amYou would think that the Secret Service would’ve whisked Georgie away right away, instead of leaving him there vurnerable and putting the lives of the children in danger also. But It‘s no mystery to me why that didn’t happen.
Report Post »Meyvn
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 11:32amHe did as any man in his right mind would have done. What would they otherwise expect? For him to scream, cry, cuss, and shout. It was just normal sane behavior upon hearing bad news.
Report Post »manunited
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 11:29amthinking human your not thinking at all.
Report Post »riseandshine
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 12:23pmlol….someone isn’t thinking. That’s ok…i believed the government’s story for years also.
Report Post »NJTMATO
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 11:28amThat day was so close to home and when I remember and re-view President Bush, I can’t say I would ask any President to handle it any differently. Imagine what would have been said about how he “damaged the children” if he had gone running out of the room and the real fear that would have been felt on that day in that school. That man is a true leader. I was not fond of his fiscal policies, but as a commander and chief, he could not have been better on that day.
Report Post »MONICNE
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 11:24amYou can see his soul through his eyes. This was a very big moment. God Bless America!
Report Post »GeorgeWashingtonslept here
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 11:24amGod Bless You President Bush!
Report Post »Eternal Lucy
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 10:04pmAmen to that.
Report Post »opNorthwoods
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 11:22amwatch this and think again about Bush http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlWSv0NZBRw
Report Post »Elena2010
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 11:34amOff your meds again? And FDR planned Pearl Harbor in conjunction w/the Japanese…??? And LBJ hired a hit man to kill JFK if Oswald missed…??? Any other conspiracy of self-immolation you care to add to the list?
Report Post »Dangerous Dave
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 11:42amYawn.
Report Post »South Philly Boy
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 11:22amI miss W
Report Post »Eternal Lucy
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 9:53pmMe too.
Report Post »the wireworker
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 11:21amsee the truth does come out!
Report Post »what no mention of Bush reading a book that was upside down from the kids and teachers that were there? (that was a conspiracy theory going around right after 9/11 from the likes of michael eatmoore and his ilk)
thank you President Bush for showing leadership that dreadful day!
and i shudder to think about al gore being prez at that time!
flickman
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 11:20amI would nave handled the situation the exact same way.
Report Post »lynda1276
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 11:18amI thank God he was our President at that time…..
Report Post »conservgirl
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 11:23amYes thank GOD he was our president can you imagine Gore being president at the time. We would have been attacked again and again if he had been president.
Report Post »shirtsbyeric
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 11:15amHew told that a plane had struck, not the second, not that we were under attack Mr Moore you f’in moron.
Report Post »d0z3y
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 11:12ambig fan of bush.. an support how well he handled this situation
Report Post »opNorthwoods
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 11:17amBush was friend of Bin Laden (AKA Tim Osman)
Report Post »thinkinghuman
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 11:22amNOT a fan of Bush. At first, yes, but after I found out all the LIES about what happened on 911, WT7 coming down in a demolition not even hit by a plane (so MANY demolitions that day! and never any historical precedent for fires EVER causing a demotion, lol), Bush became very guilty in my mind. I see this clip of Bush now and don’t see “calmness” etc., but I see weasel, I see perpetrator, etc.
Report Post »db321
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 11:35amOPNorthwoods – You’re a Friend of Obama, and Soros – enjoy your eternity.
Report Post »Libertarian B 4 Libertarians Were Cool
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 11:52amdb321
I bet he will enjoy his eternity, as he is clearly on a more enlightened path than you!
Report Post »Dangerous Dave
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 11:58amThe tinfoil hat has (further) rotted your mind. Regardless, I‘m sure you’ll agree that Obummer is a friend of Fidel and Hugo…..
Report Post »ProbIemSoIver
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 12:42pmSome clown with a steer avatar representing his I.Q. tried to make a metaphor one time regarding me, he said ‘I have to go, I just got bit by an ant, and I have to spend the rest of my life hunting down and killing that ant’.
Report Post »I used it against him. It was perfect. I said;
‘That is exactly what bush did. He went on a worldwide “ant” killing spree, because of a bite in N.Y.C. on 911. Maybe they attacked because we had been stepping on their middle-east “mound” for about 60 years.’
You see, some of us understand why the Muslims attacked us on 911. It WAS payback for decades of intrusion !!!
it had NOTHING to do with spreading Islam around the Globe !!!
I personally don’t hate Muslims because of 911. It was one battle in a war.
A war started by powerful criminals. NOT American CITIZENS !!!!
I very much loathe Muslims for their Worldwide Caliphate Ideology and their other wacky beliefs !!!!
There will NEVER be SHARIAH law in the U.S. !!!!
This is NOT debatable !!!!
Steve
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 2:26pmProbIemSoIver
I just read this same exact post from you on a different thread.
Did he really get to you that bad?
Report Post »ProbIemSoIver
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 2:52pmIt wasn’t exact. The most Important portion was nearly exact. The most Important part is where I enlighten people to the truth. He did not get to me much, he barely inflicted a scratch before I could rectify his ignorance. He jabbed, I threw a K.O. punch. End of story. lol
Report Post »PJL
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 11:07amNot a big Bush fan But he did the right thing at that moment!
Report Post »CatB
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 11:28amFeel the same way … and liberals will attack and spin anything using 9/11 which is DISGUSTING!
TEA!
Report Post »poverty.sucks
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 10:54amListen to Billy Graham September 14, 2001
http://mediasuite.multicastmedia.com/player.php?v=tdedgowf&video_uuid=tdedgowf&aid=307348&preview=true
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