Kerry's hypocrisy

[prism68]

From Grassfire.net:


It is important to point out the hypocrisy of
Sen. Kerry by looking at what Kerry himself did at that
same moment in time.

Here is Sen. Kerry's explanation of what he was doing when
the first attacks came (see link below to the full transcript):

KERRY: I was in the Capitol. We'd just had a meeting --
we'd just come into a leadership meeting in Tom Daschle's
office, looking out at the Capitol. And as I came in, Barbara
Boxer and Harry Reid were standing there, and we watched
the second plane come in to the building. And we shortly
thereafter sat down at the table and then we just realized
nobody could think, and then boom, right behind us, we saw
the cloud of explosion at the Pentagon. And then word came
from the White House, they were evacuating, and we were to
evacuate, and so we immediately began the evacuation.

+ + Kerry: "Nobody Could Think"

For the record, it was about 40 minutes between the when the second tower was hit and when the Pentagon was hit. For 40 minutes, Sen. John Kerry, a sitting member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, sat in a room with Senate Leader Tom Daschle.

In Kerry's own words, "nobody could think."

Sen. Kerry sat in a very vulnerable place on Capitol Hill for 40 minutes after the second tower was hit. What did he mean when he said, "nobody could think"? Perhaps the chaos and confusion of the moment meant that a group of top leaders in the Senate really did not know what to do! So they sat in a vulnerable Senate office, exposed to attack. Apparently, Kerry and others did not yet realize that America was at war.

When did Kerry know America was at war?

Again, in Sen. Kerry's own words:

And as we went out of the building, my immediate feeling
was, we're at war. I mean, that was the sense, that we are
under attack. People are attacking the United States of
America and we needed to respond.

So, more than 45 minutes after the second tower was hit, as Sen. Kerry was evacuating the Capitol, his "immediate feeling" was that America was "at war." In his own words, it took Sen. Kerry 45 minutes to come to this conclusion.

[ShainaT]

Sigh.

You know I was thinking that if Bush actually was in Vietnam and Kerry got a family provided cake walk to NOT having to go to Vietnam, they would be tearing Kerry up alive. Instead since Bush (and Cheney for that matter) can't dispute that Kerry went to Vietnam they are trying to knock him down any way they can. It is ridiculous.

My dad works in a big bldg down in DC that was possibly targeted on 9/11. EVERYONE was freaking out and nobody was thinking clearly. The city was in a panic. I don't fault Bush for sitting there in TX reading a children's book. Hindsight is 20/20.

[prism68]

Originally Posted by ShainaT

Sigh.

... Instead since Bush (and Cheney for that matter) can't dispute that Kerry went to Vietnam they are trying to knock him down any way they can. It is ridiculous.

I am sorry, but the way I see it- Kerry, M. Moore and other liberals started this whole bit about Bush being negligent in his duties on 9/11. My point in posting this was to show that NO ONE had a dang 'master plan' that day.

Originally Posted by ShainaT

My dad works in a big bldg down in DC that was possibly targeted on 9/11. EVERYONE was freaking out and nobody was thinking clearly. The city was in a panic. I don't fault Bush for sitting there in TX reading a children's book. Hindsight is 20/20.

Exactly.

[ShainaT]

Okay, Angela. I see your point now. Sometimes it is impossible to expect the unexpected.

[mrbowler]

You would think that those closer to the attacks would have a higher level of anxiety/shock then those that are farther away. People expect the POTUS to be calm etc.-I do realize that we are human beings, but it did appear to myself that Bush looked dazed, and needed some time to comprehend what needed to be done or what he should do-which I can understand to a certain degree.

[prism68]

Originally Posted by mrbowler

... but it did appear to myself that Bush looked dazed, and needed some time to comprehend what needed to be done or what he should do...

Yes, that is my main thing- that no one really had a clue. NO ONE in our government had expected anything like this.

That is why of all the legitimate areas that folks can attack Bush-it just seems mean-spirited and desperate to focus on this particular few minutes of his presidency.

[mrbowler]

Originally Posted by prism68

Yes, that is my main thing- that no one really had a clue. NO ONE in our government had expected anything like this.

That is why of all the legitimate areas that folks can attack Bush-it just seems mean-spirited and desperate to focus on this particular few minutes of his presidency.

I wouldn't say that nobody had a clue, but it seems the accepted norm today that everything is held under a microscope. You wouldn't care to explain what you feel are legitimate areas?

[luvmetender]

Originally Posted by mrbowler

You would think that those closer to the attacks would have a higher level of anxiety/shock then those that are farther away. People expect the POTUS to be calm etc.-I do realize that we are human beings, but it did appear to myself that Bush looked dazed, and needed some time to comprehend what needed to be done or what he should do-which I can understand to a certain degree.

I always thought there was a plan that was already in place for the POTUS in case of a terrorist attack. Wouldn't he be considered a target? Shouldn't he leave ASAP? It really REALLY bothered me that he sat in the classroom for 7 minutes and then did another 30 minute photo session at an ELEMENTARY SCHOOL! Hello??? CHILDREN ARE THERE!!!

[CagedTroll]

Does anybody know (or care) what (Secretary of Defense) Donald Rumfeld was doing at the time???

[luvmetender]

Originally Posted by CagedTroll

Does anybody know (or care) what (Secretary of Defense) Donald Rumfeld was doing at the time???

Yes, who exactly was giving the orders? Certainly not GWB.

[CagedTroll]

Not Rummy either!

[CagedTroll]

Okay, now my head is hurting, and I'm going to have a stiff drink. I didn't want to read what I just read...

Go to page 43 of the 9-11 Commission report, and it reads as follows---

In most cases, the chain of command authorizing the use of force runs fromthe president to the secretary of defense and from the secretary to the combatant commander. The President apparently spoke to Secretary Rumsfeld for the first time that morning shortly after 10:00. No one can recall the content of this conversation, but it was a brief call in which the subject of shootdown authority was not discussed.

At 10:39, the Vice President updated the Secretary on the air threat conference:

Vice President: There's been at least three instances here where we've had reports of aircraft approaching Washington---a couple were confirmed hijack. And, pursuant to the President's instructions I gave authorization for them to be taken out. Hello?

SecDef: Yes, I understand. Who did you give that direction to?

Vice President: It was passed from here through the [operations] center at the White House, from the [shelter].

SecDef: OK, let me ask the question here. Has that directive been transmitted to the aircraft?

Vice President: Yes, it has.

SecDef: So we've got a couple of aircraft up there that have those instructions at this present time?

Vice President: That is correct. And it's my understanding they've already taken a couple of aircraft out.

SecDef: We can't confirm that. We're told that one aircraft is down but we do not have a pilot report that did it.

The Pentagon was hit at 9:38...

WOULD SOMEBODY WHO ACTUALLY CARES ENOUGH TO READ THE WHOLE REPORT PLEASE PUT THIS INTO CONTEXT?!? Like I already said, my head hurts.

[whitequeen96]

I know I've said this before, but I KNOW MANY PEOPLE WOULD HAVE REACTED MUCH MORE QUICKLY! How do I know this? I live in California and I, along with millions of others, have been tested by some really SERIOUS earthquakes. While there are some people who might dither around in shock for more than 2 or 3 minutes, those are not the kind of people who should be in the position of POTUS, arguably the most powerful in the world!

Good grief, my 33 yr. old sister is the "safety warden" in her office building, and SHE would have reacted more quickly. Why didn't Bush IMMEDIATELY call the Secretary of Defense? Why didn't he demand more information, find out who was attacking us, find out if there was any way to defend ourselves? And WHY, in God's name, didn't the Secret Service immediately hustle him out of there?!

There must be many of you reading this who are parents. When you realized our nation was under attack, what did you do? I, personally, waited to hear if a plane was known to be heading toward Los Angeles. (There had been a rumor to that effect.) While I waited, I mapped out what I would do to protect my child. I have a large plastic garbage barrel filled with survival supplies that I can just throw into my car and go. If my car isn't available for any reason, I can just pull the barrel on it's wheels and evacuate on foot. Am I a survivalist? No, I'm just someone who knows earthquakes, riots, floods and fire can happen [and have, here in the exciting city of L.A.! ] and who plans accordingly.

I'm not trying to say I should be POTUS or toot my own horn. I'm just saying MANY people would have reacted more quickly than Bush. And I would think that this is something for which the government should have had some plan; this isn't the FIRST time we've been attacked! (And I'm not just talking about Pearl Harbor, though that should be a lesson that sticks in the minds of all wise leaders.)

[mayfly]

Honestly the man will never win in some of your eyes. First he reacts too little, then he reacts too much.

Since this is unprecedented in America, with the exception of Pearl Harbor, which DID occur during a world war, maybe we should take a careful seach of all the leaders of every country and measure exactly how long they took to react to a terrorist attack.

[CagedTroll]

'93 WTC bombing. Oklahoma City bombing. Not to mention a briefing memo from a month earlier, sitting on his desk. And the Hart-Rudman report, shelved in Cheney's office... "Unprecedented"?