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[The Albatross]

I don't think any less of Bush seeing these photos. Heck I might think a little more highly of him. I was shocked, scared, confused, worried, angry, frustrated, sad, and a million other emotions in that day... Presidents are no different. I remember leaving a high school class with all of the bravado about how the US would take care of these guys, only to think 10 minutes later the opposite, and what would it mean, how would our lives change.

If you took photos of me every 10 minutes on 9/11, you'd see the whole gamut of emotions, some I'd be ashamed of.

So fuck anybody who thinks that everybody should have the perfect, camera ready emotion for every extreme moment, president or not. Not everything is a fucking "Presidents React..." YouTube channel.

 

[Madness]

Well he didn't need to go ahead with the lie that Iraq had weapons of massive destruction. They repeated it over. And over. And over again. Other countries were smart enough but if you said anything back then you were considered unpatriotic.

They lied repeatedly and caused massive amounts of death and destruction. They are war criminals.

What does that have to do with his muted reaction to 9/11? If he ranted and raved he would have come across as a jingoistic xenophobe to you.

Those other countries I am assuming France were okay with ruining countries that benefited them, most recently Libya. Every countrt acts in its self interest. George W. Bush was an ineffectual leader controlled by his advisors and people like Karl Rove, Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney. Pretty much any Republican president would have towed the line as well. History has and will judge George W. Bush as the Iraq war will go down as one of the biggest blunders in US history. But pretending as if the US has done something so shocking is crazy. You could apply the definition of war criminal to almost any major world leader if you wanted to.

 

[JordanN]

If only he didn't attack Iraq, America would have been loved by all.

Nope.

There's still the Patriot Act, Guantanamo Bay, Axis of Evil, Hurricane Katrina, Stem Cell ban. Also,

"You're either with us, or against us."

 

[Team Alucard]

We got what we deserved when we elected Bush.

Great pictures but I look at them and just hate that man even more. So much damage not only to the US but to the entire world that we're still feeling today.

We didn't elect Bush, the Supreme Court did.

 

[JHoNNy1OoO]

I don't give a fuck about your spin.

Nobody deserved any of the hardship we had to endure due to an inept presidency. Nobody. People are worse off and they deserve it?

Fuck outta here with your bullshit.

I'll say it again, we elected a cowboy from Texas and that is exactly what we got. We didn't want a serious leader, we wanted someone we could have a beer with. Surprise, surprise, shit hits the fan and the most illogical of decisions are made. Now nobody wants to admit to supporting Bush back then and even going so far as saying he wasn't a real Conservative.

There are real ramifications to elections and people need to remember that.

 

[KingBroly]

We didn't elect Bush, the Supreme Court did.

You know that if the state of Florida didn't certify their votes when they did that the House of Representatives could have thrown out their votes entirely, right? The Supreme Court said the state of Florida had a vested interest in certifying their election then and there or risk losing out.

But I also guess you forgot the media's fuck up in all of it, or did you conveniently leave it out?

 

[Orbis Tabula]

You ever look at someone's face for a while and then suddenly something clicks in your head and they look completely different out of nowhere? But like, somehow still the same. Like you stop seeing it as "X's face" and instead just see a collection of features. It's weird. It's like I'd never actually looked at Dubya before.

 

[pje122]

Bush was a piece of shit, imo.

Wow, let's class it up, boys!

 

[norm9]

He had better a reaction time when that shoe came flying by.

 

[Macam]

I don't give a fuck about your spin.

Nobody deserved any of the hardship we had to endure due to an inept presidency. Nobody. People are worse off and they deserve it?

Fuck outta here with your bullshit.

I like this guy.

 

[HomerSimpson-Man]

We got what we deserved when we elected Bush.

Great pictures but I look at them and just hate that man even more. So much damage not only to the US but to the entire world that we're still feeling today.

I'm trying to make sense of this reasoning here. We got what we deserved for the effects we all are facing today because the terrorist attacks us after Bush was elected which influenced the choices and aftermath to the world due to Bush being elected leading to a terrorist attach which lead to the damage the world will face...

....what kind of paradoxical logic is this?

 

[demon]

Well he didn't need to go ahead with the lie that Iraq had weapons of massive destruction. They repeated it over. And over. And over again. Other countries were smart enough but if you said anything back then you were considered unpatriotic.

They lied repeatedly and caused massive amounts of death and destruction. They are war criminals.

True that may be but that's not relevant to my post.

 

[BlazinAm]

"You're either with us, or against us."

Too many people have this mentally nowadays anyway.

 

[GoldenEye 007]

I'm not a Bush fan. Especially due to the Iraq war. But people actually bitch over the elementary school situation? The response was fine given realistic action possible.

I feel like that is one of things where they hate someone and therefore will find anything possible to hate them more. From them eating to them breathing.

 

[GhaleonEB]

I'm trying to make sense of this reasoning here. We got what we deserved for the effects we all are facing today because the terrorist attacks us after Bush was elected which influenced the choices and aftermath to the world due to Bush being elected leading to a terrorist attach which lead to the damage the world will face...

....what kind of paradoxical logic is this?

It's just another way to say, we know what we got when we elected Bush. I've used the same phrase to describe the utter clusterfuck that is Kansas these days. The re-elected Brownback. Now they get to deal with the consequences.

We elected a pretty dim cowboy from Texas. We got to deal with the consequences. We literally invited them. Individual people do not deserve to suffer. But we as a nation got exactly what we asked for with him. Especially when we re-elected him.

 

[PeskyToaster]

one for him and the rest for each of the lizard men hiding behind the camera.

My favorite tag on GAF. Just the idea of the thought process is hilarious.

 

[80s Bad Guy]

I thought he reacted as well as could be expected. It's an impossible situation for any world leader.

Of course I love Obama more. I already think he's underrated as potus. Wonder what he would have done.

 

[GoldenEye 007]

Is this belated PR to try and undo his legacy of just sitting in the classroom after he found out?

And whats with putting his feet all over the paperwork? I don't mind feet on the desk but dude...

Was he supposed to start cursing and freaking out in front of a bunch of 6 year olds? What was he supposed to do? Once the second plane hit, he got out of there reasonably quickly. The first was basically seen as an accident.

 

[cosmicblizzard]

It's just another way to say, we know what we got when we elected Bush. I've used the same phrase to describe the utter clusterfuck that is Kansas these days. The re-elected Brownback. Now they get to deal with the consequences.

We elected a pretty dim cowboy from Texas. We got to deal with the consequences. We literally invited them. Individual people do not deserve to suffer. But we as a nation got exactly what we asked for with him. Especially when we re-elected him.

These are all post-9/11 reactions though, especially mentioning re-electing him. Considering the subject matter of the thread, that original post seemed to be framed as if it was saying by electing Bush, America deserved 9/11, which is total bullshit no matter how you try to spin it. Hell, even calling it a cause and effect thing is flimsy without the knowledge of the years that followed.

 

[HomerSimpson-Man]

These are all post-9/11 reactions though, especially mentioning re-electing him. Considering the subject matter of the thread, that original post seemed to be framed as if it was saying by electing Bush, America deserved 9/11, which is total bullshit no matter how you try to spin it.

This was my concern. Sounds extremely hateful.

 

[krang]

These are all post-9/11 reactions though, especially mentioning re-electing him. Considering the subject matter of the thread, that original post seemed to be framed as if it was saying by electing Bush, America deserved 9/11, which is total bullshit no matter how you try to spin it.

I didn't read it that way. I thought it was quite obvious they were referring to Bush's actions, not the fucking terrorism.

 

[RowdyReverb]

Powerful photo essay. Can't imagine what it would have been like to be in his shoes on that day.

 

[cosmicblizzard]

I didn't read it that way. I thought it was quite obvious they were referring to Bush's actions, not the fucking terrorism.

The thread is about 9/11 and what happened immediately after/during it. The post had zero context beyond "We got what we deserved". It's not that hard to believe people would take it the wrong way.

And unless I missed something in Bin Laden's letter to America, 9/11 was not a ramification of electing Bush.

 

[Strangelove77]

People re-elected him. It's the definition of absurdity.

 

[triplestation]

yep, that was everyone that day

 

[krang]

The thread is about 9/11 and what happened immediately after/during it. The post had zero context beyond "We got what we deserved". It's not that hard to believe people would take it the wrong way.

I guess I tend to presume people on GAF simply wouldn't say something so awful.

 

[old manatee]

Powerful photo essay. Can't imagine what it would have been like to be in his shoes on that day.

looks comfy.

 

[B.O.O.M]

Four water bottles?

Maybe Rubio asked him for a lift

 

[PopeReal]

All those somber looks from Bush that some of you want us to tear up over turned to revenge and hatred pretty damn quick.

 

[Walter White]

This one is especially powerful. His eyes are the very definition of distraught.

Nah. Its more like, "I didn't sign up for this shit."

 

[LOLDSFAN]

Bush was a piece of shit, imo.

Ow the edge.

 

[blame space]

Karl Rove looks like a fucking thug in that picture.

 

[AaronB]

Say what you want about him post 9/11 but he never ran on being a pro war president. I'm sure Dick was frothing at the mouth to get the military machine running before 9/11.

Frankly he wasn't ready for that job though I'm sure not many would be after 9/11 but ultimately his failure to apprehend Bin Laden, enter Iraq in the first place, and mismanagement of Afghanistan ultimately created the foreign policy mess we have today in Europe and the middle east.

It's what happens when you act on something like that without knowing how its going to end and while sometimes foreign policy will be like that with Iraq there was no need for it.

This right here tends to get forgotten or overlooked. The public was fed up with Bill Clinton's efforts at being the world policeman in places like Somalia ("Black Hawk Down"), and elected someone who said we were going to stop sending troops all over the place. 9/11 swept most of that away, much like Pearl Harbor in its time, and gave the neocons the opportunity to implement their warmongering policies.

Most of the people voting for Obama also thought they were voting for a more peaceful candidate, and we got a (previously planned) drawdown in Iraq - but also an escalation in Afghanistan; the turning of Libya into a terror state; the cluster in Syria where the US is unofficially backing multiple sides; increased drone warfare; and extrajudicial targeted killings (with harsh crackdowns against whistleblowers to try to keep everything ugly covered up).

 

[Cerium]

Karl Rove looks like a fucking thug in that picture.

You can tell he's thinking "how can I milk this for maximum political gain?"

 

[Brakke]

Is this belated PR

What does this even mean.

Anyway:

The images, which were given to FRONTLINE through a Freedom of Information Act request​

 

[Famassu]

Is this belated PR to try and undo his legacy of just sitting in the classroom after he found out?

And whats with putting his feet all over the paperwork? I don't mind feet on the desk but dude...

There is an article in the OP that explains what these are for. Maybe try reading it before making dumb comments. (EDIT: And actually, the OP itself has a quote of it, don't even have to go to the site to read what it's for).

 

[Romars202129]

I don't give a fuck about your spin.

Nobody deserved any of the hardship we had to endure due to an inept presidency. Nobody. People are worse off and they deserve it?

Fuck outta here with your bullshit.

Spin? It was plainly obvious thats what he meant when I read it...

 

[Air Zombie Meat]

George Bush looking at things. What am I supposed to take away from this?

 

[the_batman]

i don't know what's worse, him having his feet up like it's a boring Sunday afternoon, or that stooge Karl Rove standing next to him.

 

[Cowlick]

i don't know what's worse, him having his feet up like it's a boring Sunday afternoon, or that stooge Karl Rove standing next to him.

I'm more curious about the woman crouched in the middle.

"Potplant, I've got Bill from maintenance on line two. Shall I reschedule your watering and pruning to next Thursday?"

 

[Log4Girlz]

Didn't they want to warn this idiot of an impending terrorist attack but he was off on some massively long vacation?

 

[the_batman]

Didn't they want to warn this idiot of an impending terrorist attack but he was off on some massively long vacation?

intelligence agencies knew something was going to happen for a long time, even right before Bush was elected, but they never collaborated and realized what exactly would happen.

 

[Hoo-doo]

I always have to imagine how weird it is for anyone to just start snapping pictures in situations like these. I mean, thousands of americans died just now, is this really a Kodak moment? I can imagine Bush not being too thrilled with a camera in his face in a time like this.

 

[ASTROID2]

I always have to imagine how weird it is for anyone to just start snapping pictures in situations like these. I mean, thousands of americans died just now, is this really a Kodak moment? I can imagine Bush not being too thrilled with a camera in his face in a time like this.

I see it as something for historical purposes.

 

[NEO0MJ]

looks comfy.

The one thing that caught my eye, lol. Well, that and the crystal cactus on the top left.

 

[GavinGT]

I always have to imagine how weird it is for anyone to just start snapping pictures in situations like these. I mean, thousands of americans died just now, is this really a Kodak moment? I can imagine Bush not being too thrilled with a camera in his face in a time like this.

There's an official White House photographer and this is his sole duty.

 

[hunchback]

I'm not sure what people wanted out of Bush during that day. Did they want him to cry or something? I was a better witness to 9/11 than him and I was just in shock. I did not know what the hell to make of it.

Bush probably shouldn't have been smoking cigars on the White House balcony with his buddy, affectionately nicknamed Bandar Bush on the night of 9/13. Especially when brave men and women were digging for our murdered citizens.

Edit: I have read various book's and the date waffles between 9/11 or 13th.

 

[danthefan]

I find it crazy that there's a photographer in the room when all this shit is happening.

Edit - asked and answered above I see.

 

[lacinius]

I find it crazy that there's a photographer in the room when all this shit is happening.

Edit - asked and answered above I see.

I think of it as the photographer is not there to capture the moment for now, but he is there to capture the moment for a decade or 100 years from now... so that people then, will have the opportunity to reflect on what that moment must have been like now. I'm glad there is that level of historical documentation.