Fact is Bush claimed at two different town hall mettings that he watched the FIRST plane hit.
... here is the confirmation that President George Bush watched the first plane hit the WTC when no televison cameras were trained on the buildings since nothing had happened yet. This is the second time he has stated this clearly and publicly. The only explanation is that he viewed it on closed circuit television from his limo outside the schoolhouse in Florida before going into the class. The conclusion should be obvious to anyone with a clue. We all knew he wasn´t too bright, but to slip up twice on this and for the White House to post it again is almost too much. Maybe they want us to figure it out.
Here is the first time on December 4th, 2001
President Meets with Displaced Workers in Town Hall Meeting
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/relea...011204-17.html
And, indeed, this is the official White House website. And the transcript of Bush´s talk, and of the following question-and-answer session, is the official White House transcript. And it includes the following (emphasis added):
Q One thing, Mr. President, is that you have no idea how much you´ve done for this country. And another thing is that, how did you feel when you heard about the terrorist attack? (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Jordan. Well, Jordan, you´re not going to believe what state I was in when I heard about the terrorist attack. I was in Florida. And my Chief of Staff, Andy Card -- actually, I was in a classroom talking about a reading program that works. I was sitting outside the classroom waiting to go in, and I saw an airplane hit the tower -- the TV was obviously on. And I used to fly, myself, and I said, well, there´s one terrible pilot. I said, it must have been a horrible accident.
But I was whisked off there, I didn´t have much time to think about it. And I was sitting in the classroom, and Andy Card, my Chief of Staff, who is sitting over here, walked in and said, "A second plane has hit the tower, America is under attack."
And, Jordan, I wasn´t sure what to think at first. You know, I grew up in a period of time where the idea of America being under attack never entered my mind -- just like your Daddy´s and Mother´s mind probably. And I started thinking hard in that very brief period of time about what it meant to be under attack. I knew that when I got all of the facts that we were under attack, there would be hell to pay for attacking America. (Applause.)
So Bush says that he watched on TV the first plane hit the (North) Tower while sitting outside the classroom (actually at 8:45, when the first plane hit, Bush was riding in his limousine to the Booker school). Then (some twenty or so minutes later, after he has arrived at the school) he is informed that a second plane has hit. But, as Paul Walker pointed out, prior to the first impact there was no network TV channel showing the Twin Towers live, so what was Bush watching? It can only have been a private transmission, arranged for Bush´s benefit, by people who knew what was about to happen. Either Bush knew what was coming, or he was told to watch the TV transmission (and not go into the classroom until he´d seen what he was supposed to see). Either the President of the United States, or someone closely connected to him, knew that a disaster was about to strike the Twin Towers.
Now this is the second time on Jan. 5th 2002:
President Holds Town Hall Forum on Economy in California
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/relea...0020105-3.html
Again an official White House transcript of a talk, with question-and-answer session, by Bush (who shows clearly ? for those who can bear to read this in full ? that he is without doubt the dumbest person ever to hold high office in the United States of America, and probably the most incompetent in the performance of his duties). This transcript includes the following (emphasis and photo added):
Q What was the first thing that went through your head when you heard that a plane crashed into the first building?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. Well, I was sitting in a schoolhouse in Florida. I had gone down to tell my little brother what to do, and -- just kidding, Jeb. (Laughter.) And -- it´s the mother in me. (Laughter.) Anyway, I was in the midst of learning about a reading program that works. I´m a big believer in basic education, and it starts with making sure every child learns to read. And therefore, we need to focus on the science of reading, not what may feel good or sound good when it comes to teaching children to read. (Applause.) I´m just getting a plug in for my reading initiative.
Anyway, I was sitting there, and my Chief of Staff -- well, first of all, when we walked into the classroom, I had seen this plane fly into the first building. There was a TV set on. And you know, I thought it was pilot error and I was amazed that anybody could make such a terrible mistake. And something was wrong with the plane, or -- anyway, I´m sitting there, listening to the briefing, and Andy Card came and said, "America is under attack."
And in the meantime, this teacher was going on about the curriculum, and I was thinking about what it meant for America to be under attack. It was an amazing thought. But I made up my mind that if America was under attack, we´d get them. (Applause.) I wasn´t interested in lawyers, I wasn´t interested in a bunch of debate. I was interested in finding out who did it and bringing them to justice. I also knew that they would try to hide, and anybody who provided haven, help, food, would be held accountable by the United States of America. (Applause.)
Anyway, it was an interesting day.
Again Bush recollects that just prior to going in to the classroom he had seen the first plane hit the WTC and that a short time thereafter he is informed that the second plane has hit and that "America is under attack". But rather than perform his duties as President and Commander-in-Chief to protect the nation by immediately calling for further information and considering what needed to be done Bush just sat there for another twenty minutes reflecting in amazement on "what it meant to be under attack" ? as if the idea of an attack on America had never occurred to him before ? and fantasizing about chasing down the bad guys.
It might be objected that some tourist happened to be filming the North Tower just at the time the first plane crashed into it, and that what Bush saw on TV was a replay of this amateur video. Now there may have been such an amateur video (not to be confused with the amateur video of the second plane hitting the South Tower, which was widely shown). But was there sufficient time for this video to be delivered to some network TV station and broadcast for Bush to see it?
Bush does not say exactly how much time elapsed between his seeing the footage (live or replayed) of the first impact and his being informed by Andy Card about the second impact. He does say:
I was sitting outside the classroom waiting to go in, and I saw an airplane hit the tower ... But I was whisked off there, I didn´t have much time to think about it. And I was sitting in the classroom, and Andy Card ... walked in and said ...
And:
... when we walked into the classroom, I had seen this plane fly into the first building. There was a TV set on. ... -- anyway, I´m sitting there, listening to the briefing, and Andy Card came and said ...