Why George W. Just Sat There
by Janice Leber (June 17, 2004)

Why did George W. Bush stay in that classroom at Emma T. Booker Elementary School on the morning of Sept. 11?

Was he really that engrossed in the classroom reading of "My Pet Goat"? (kinda looks like it in this still from the video of that day, doesn't it?)

At last, I have figured out the answer to this CRUCIAL QUESTION.

Listening to the timeline described by the staff of the 9/11 Commission, I tried to wedge myself into the close quarters of the presidential brain. There he was, surrounded by those little tykes, undoubtedly thinking about how very much education had done for him personally and in his career...

...and in walks his aide, Andrew Card, and whispers in his ear...

...and there the Leader of the Free World sits, for a full five minutes. (Click here to see the video on the Memory Hole web site.) What was going on in his mind? I wondered.

As he sat there, contemplating the terrorist attack, thinking back to that daily briefing in August that had foretold that this would happen, Mr. Bush looked grim and gravely disappointed.

And of course he was. Of course:

He had September 13th in the office pool.

So close. So CLOSE! He was paralyzed with frustration and could barely feign interest in "My Pet Goat."

The most galling part of the whole thing was what Andrew Card really whispered in Bush's ear that morning. The official word is that he said, "A second plane hit the second tower. America is under attack."

WRONG.

"A second plane hit the second tower," Card whispered. "I won the pool, neener neener neener!" He always was insufferable when he won these things.

It all makes sense, doesn't it?

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