The Real Reason For Bush's Frozen Stare During My Pet Goat

[Me.]

In my home we think the second he was told about the attack Bush instantly remembered the Aug. 16th briefing and knew immediately what had happened and who did it and that he had screwed up big time. The look of panic was fear of being blamed. He wasn't thinking about the country or anyone else...typically, his concern was solely for himself.

[ZombieHorde]

1. I thought he was going to the bathroom.

I don't think GWB was ever potty trained.

[Tyrs WolfDaemon]

38. That's very likely

He had to take his head out of his ass long enough to try reading to the kids.

That means the plug was out.

[Raschel]

66. LOL! Never thought of that, but it fits perfectly with the look!

[pipi_k]

69. Yep...imagine the face on the kid

in the public pool who lets out a fart but then realizes there's something more solid than just air in his swim trunks...


ruh-roh....

[Buns_of_Fire]

79. If so, it's a #1 expression, not a #2.

I remember when my kids were really concentrating on filling their diapers with more of that free modeling clay that magically appeared out of their butts, they'd grunt and turn red in the face. The pictures that I've seen don't show any expression of grunting or any abnormal redness in the face. Therefore, I vote for #1, which can be accomplished quite nonchalantly, with practice. Q.E.D.

On the other hand (and note this closely, because this is the first and last time I'll give Shit-fer-Brains the benefit of the doubt about ANYTHING), the way he handled it was far better than if he jumped up yelling "OHMYGAWD WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE SCREW THE DAMNED GOAT I'M OUTTA HERE!!!" and trampled a few kids while running out the door.

[MarianJack]

2. As Michael Moore said in Farenheit 911,...

..."all right, who screwed me?"

PEACE!

[xxqqqzme]

8. Yep. He is pissed.

That is his angry face. Lips pursed, eyes darting back & forth. Who screwed me(darth) and how do I get back at him?

[ikri]

24. He was told it would be an easy job

He'd be able to take as much time off as he wanted, play golf, screw around on his "ranch" but he wouldn't really have to govern - that'd be Dick's job. All he had to do for 4 years was turn up every now and again, say a few pithy sound bites for the cameras and be the front man for the people actually running the country.

As he sat there staring at that book I think he realised that he might actually have to do something, he couldn't go running to his dad or uncle Dick for them to bail him out. People would actually want leadership and he had no idea how to provide it.

I think there was also a small fear that he might have been set up as a fall guy for others. He knew the deals that his father and friends had made in the past that had created groups like AQ and here they were attacking the country whilst he was in charge and all the guys who set the wheels in motion were in his cabinet and would all benefit from the events even if he himself might have to stand down.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

35. He was pissed that he wouldn't get to find out what happened to the goat

[robinlynne]

67. lol

[Blue Owl]

3. He looked like a flunkie from "Acting 101" class

Not too convincing there, dimson.

[Fumesucker]

4. He was thinking "Oh shit, they didn't tell me it was going to be *this* big".. n/t

[hedgehog]

7. That's been my theory all along - a modified LIHOP

I think the frantic hopping from military base to military base that day reflects the fear that he was the next target.

It also explains why he went into the school after being notified that the first plane had hit the towers. It was the second plane that had him hopping!

[Raine]

11. Yes, EXACTLY nt

[FourScore]

58. exactly. What I always found odd was this...(and no one ever talks about it)

You're the President of the United States, your aide has just whispered in your ear "Sir, America is under attack."...What would you do? Would you just sit there? Or would you immediately want to know more, "Are they using nuclear weapons? What area of the country? How many people's lives are at risk? We should immediately evacuate everyone out of this building." BUT HE JUST SAT THERE!!!He didn't even ASK for clarification. Isn't that a bit weird, that he wouldn't even ask a single question? It's like he already knew what kind of attack, he just didn't know WHEN it was going to happen. To me, his face says, "OMG, they're really doing it! What if someone finds out?" He looks GUILTY.

[lonestarnot]

60. MIHOP.

[Politicalboi]

61. There are a lot of weird things about 9/11

Does anyone here remember any debris being a seat from any of the planes? Any? Even in Pa or Pentagon? ANY? Me neither. But that's crazy talk. Yes they ALL burned. Another amazing first time in history thingy. Just like a passport that survives the crash, but around (4 planes) 800 seats are nowhere to be found. I mean don't they usually reconstruct planes after crashes. They did for flight 800 to Paris in 96. I don't recall any video of any of the planes being reconstructed. Oh and they DID ID human DNA. LOL! But no seats. But hey, again that's crazy talk. LOL! Just like they didn't close the highway surrounding the Pentagon or D.C. till after the attack I would assume. Yes it's like they already knew.

[Enrique]

5. thinking "did i cover my ass?" n/t

[Me.]

9. Precisely

He was afraid of the blame that would follow and trying to figure how to get himself out of it, like a kid caught lying

[emsimon33]

73. Yep, it was a false flag operation.

[KansDem]

6. That's a reasonable explanation...

Wait a sec! What did that memo say last month? Something about...?

I still think, however, he knew all along...

[Generic Other]

48. Commander Bunnypants

That's what we called him on DU back then.

[Politicalboi]

62. Me too

I mean he still went to the school even though the first plane hit the tower before he got there. Any plane hitting a possible target, should require him to not go to the school. Hell he didn't go to school when he was suppose too. LOL! Why would he want to go to school when he could have the day off. LOL!
It was just some reading program "that really works" he said 3 months later at a town hall. That's where he said he "saw" the first plane hit, even though that video didn't come out till either later that day or the next day. :tinfoilhat:

[WhiteTara]

10. I thought it was more "Dick and Rummy told me

this would happen today! They weren't kidding!"

[emsimon33]

71. I don't think that Bush was ever in the loop. He was expendable!

[WhiteTara]

78. You give the evil oaf too much slack. He knew.

He had to know because that was their insurance.

(edited for spelling)

[no_hypocrisy]

12. Part of him may not have believed "they" were going to really execute the plan.

And reality hit him as hard as the jets into the Twin Towers.

[warrior1]

13. the only thing he was doing

was waiting for someone to tell what to do.

[no_hypocrisy]

16. I got that impression too.

[yardwork]

46. That's what I think.

[Remember Me]

27. Not unless what went down wasn't what he was expecting

IOW, he felt betrayed.

IMO.

[no_hypocrisy]

37. + 1

* was being played. He didn't know everything that was going on around him. Then again, he probably didn't want to know.

[Remember Me]

45. I thik that's exactly right

And he wanted the time to gather his wits about him a bit. He looked really, really pissed, cornered, and frightened. That's how I read his body language and each time I see any of the clips, I'm more and more certain.

[PufPuf23]

14. GWB should have had the fortitude to testify under oath

and on CSPAN before the 9-11 Commission.

[gratuitous]

15. Not to mention by himself

Instead of in camera with Dick Cheney there to "correct" any misstatements. Not, of course, that any record was kept of the questions or the answers. Gee, I wonder why such extraordinary measures were taken by the commission? It's almost like they didn't want to get certain answers.

[WinkyDink]

17. He had no "look of panic." Bush's visage was completely devoid of anything.

[JDPriestly]

29. He is thinking, "How can I pin this on someone else?"

Where is my angle here. How did I get the advantage? He is angry, but also calculating.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

40. He looks angry and is trying to hide it from the kids.

Jesus people, as much as we all hate him, THERE WERE VERY SMALL CHILDREN IN THE ROOM!

[Arkansas Granny]

65. And he could have said to those small children "I'm sorry, children, but

something has come up that I need to take care of right away. I'll have to come back and read with you another day.". Or one of his aides could have come in and apologized to the children while explaining that the President was needed elsewhere. He could have left the room to learn what was happening without alarming the children.

He sat there, IMO, because he was waiting for someone to come and tell him what to do, because he had no idea what he should do.

[The Doctor.]

64. JD and YRB aren't that far off, but that's a classic

"Active listening" pose.

He had lots of those. Anyone with 1 semester in sales or psychology can pick that out. It's especially obvious given the 'deep' thought he is apparently engaged in while in a kindergarten classroom.

Anyone who can read a person can see that he is engaged in something that has nothing to do with where he is.

[hang a left]

18. Everyone perceives things differently

I always thought that he looked terrified. His jaunts across the US afterwards in Air Force I have always gave me pause.

[nilram]

50. I never got into the criticism of his flying around at that time

I don't think they knew what was going on. A plane hit the Pentagon, another one was taken out en route to somewhere in DC, and a sitting President is a high-value target. One of two decisions in his terms that I agreed with (the other was not releasing fuel from the strategic oil reserve, I don't think it would have made a gnat's difference).

As I said at the time of the attack, "Great, we've got President Stupid on the job." But even though he was incompetent in so many ways, I agree in that I don't think photos from that incident can really be used as evidence of any particular alleged thought going through his alleged brain.

[Solomon]

19. they told him it would be a traditional hijacking

attempt that would be foiled because operatives only had boxcutters.
"No one imagined they would fly planes into buildings."

He wasn't told the full story.

[formercia]

25. + 1 Million

and he was going to be a Hero and rescue the Hostages.

[Sheepshank]

20. Oh, I thought it had something to do with "Men Who Stare at Goats".

Never mind.

[izquierdista]

21. Completely vacant

It's not as if there was a thought or two fluttering around in that melon, hoping to stick to something. It's the same look a ruminant has when it's chewing its cud, except it can chew AND stare at the same time. Just like a teapot, sitting there stewing, waiting for someone to come over and tip him to the side so that words can fall out.

[Ezlivin]

22. And yet he has said TWICE he saw the first plane as it hit the WTC

And this was before he entered the school.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4841608667647433773

He repeated the same statement at a later date. No one ever challenged him on it.

When Andrew Card leans in to purportedly tell him "A second plane has hit the tower. America's under attack." his inaction becomes very significant.

[Kermitt Gribble]

23. I disagree.

I think he was trying his hardest to hold back his delight about the PNAC plan finally coming to fruition.

[dtexdem]

26. Naw, I think that he was just worried that with all the interruption, ...

he'd never find out what happened to the pet goat. ;-)

[Me.]

33. There Is That Explanation Too

[JDPriestly]

28. Yes. It's the expression a person would have if he left his house

to go for a walk, returned to find a three-alarm fire devouring his hearth and home and then suddenly recalled that he had left the gas burner under the frying pay on when he left.

[Electric Monk]

30. August 6, 2001, not Aug 16th.

http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/terrorism/80601pdb.html

[Me.]

34. Don't Know Why I Put 16th

Thanks

[southernyankeebelle]

31. Funny that is what I thought. Bush/Cheney lied and they will rot in hell.

[Nostradammit]

32. Panic? No. Amazed amusement is what I see.

Stifling that evil grin of his as he's thinking, "Wow, Uncle Dick said it was
going to be something big, but holy shit, WOW!!! Andy-pandy, come back and tell me
what I'm supposed to do next!"

[Drew Richards]

36. WRONG WRONG WRONG you give him too much credit

for Linear thinking...


In truth he was trying to figure out how his pet goat bombed the US.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

39. I really hate Bush as much as the next guy...

But let's be logical. He's surrounded by small children in a class room reading them a book. Did you want him to FREAK THE FUCK out, scare a room full of little children, then run for his life to his limo?
As Americans, we were all pissed off that this had happened to our country. This is one of those things that I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt on because of the small children present. My husband Skip, who is even more liberal than I am and hates Bush's politics and policies more than most people here, gives him a little bit of leeway here because of the children. Waiting a little extra time as the President made no difference. There were people in charge of things and didn't need his go ahead for them. If he were really as completely self centered as you say, he would have ran from that room without so much as a bye! to those kids and got his own ass into his bunker and curled into a ball. But he didn't.

But I agree, he was thinking of a good lie to see how he could wheedle out of ignoring the warnings and the briefings they had received. I just don't think the extra few minutes he spent with those kids would have prevented anything or kept anyone else from dying.

[Ezlivin]

43. He's the Commander in Chief

It would have taken an instant to stand and simply say to the children, "Something very important has come up and I must now leave. Thank you," and then be ushered to his limosine.

He certainly didn't need to sit there for 20 more minutes, particularly since he's just been told "A second plane has struck the towers. America is under attack."

As CINC he needs to put the needs of the entire nation first. Too bad if a few children are startled: "America is under attack."

Bush's inaction is inexcusable.

[Me.]

44. Sorry But...

I don't think Bush ever had an iota of compassion or concern for anybody and certainly not other people's children. Also, he could've excused himself calmly and done it in a way not to upset the children. He certainly didn't have to tell them the reason he had to leave.

[Papa]

47. I'm using logic, and come to a different conclusion

I don't see why his only option was to freak out the children. The Commander in Chief, the most powerful man in the free world, should be able to come up with a solution on his own on how to ditch a dozen or two 6 year old kids without freaking them out. I can think of a dozen ways on how to get up and leave the room without causing psychological harm to children. For one, you could just get up and leave, and say nothing putting a finger to your lips as the story was being read.. or you could just tell them you would be back in a few minutes... you have an important phone call...even Presidents must visit the restroom... it's endless. Sorry, but it's just not logical that he would HAVE to behave in the manner that you suggested.

[spanone]

55. no, i expect him to stand up and say he has to go be President. presidents are supposed to be smart

[Festivito]

41. Ooo, I'm in a 1-story building: CHECK, surrounded by kids: CHECK. How far from the 2-story gym? Ooo!

Which direction would they be coming from? Hmmm.

If they could see this building, they could very easily see my motorcade.

Hmmm.

Better stay here a while.

(I don't want to channel Bush anymore for now.) Eck!

[theophilus]

42. Probably so. n/t

[Capitalocracy]

49. I think he found a word in the book that was more than two syllables

and he's thinking, "I was told this book would be within my reading level. What do I do now?"

[jimlup]

51. I strongly agree with this

I'm glad someone else thinks of it the same way that I do. I think it was very clear what he was thinking. He may have even been more aware than just the August 6th memo. He may have been thinking "Cheney said not to do anything and now it has happened... Oh Jeez! What do I do now? Uncle Dick - Uncle Dick?!"

[H2O Man]

52. Recommended.

I agree. In his movie, Michael Moore hinted at that. But he didn't state it as clearly or positively as you did here.

[Me.]

59. Thanks

He has a history, from his fly boy days , of screwing up and not paying a price, not admitting he was in the wrong. It's the Bush way, besides he had Rove to clean up after hum. He has given so many different versions of that day that none are credible. We think hid only concern was 'how am I going to get out of this mess'.

[tiny elvis]

53. personal impressions are for stories

all that matters factually is that bush had no questions for card
and card expected no questions
it was a poorly realized scene by amateur dramatists

[spanone]

54. but, he said he was protecting the kids....the lying fuck

[NoodleyAppendage]

56. I thought he was trying to conjugate verbs he just heard for the first time.

After all, "My Pet Goat," was 2 grade levels above his last proficiency testing.

J

[Mira]

57. Very highly possible. Recommended as I remember the asinine look on his face. n/t

[Me.]

68. !

[defendandprotect]

63. Bush knew what was happening ... knew it was in Cheney's hands ....

but worried that it would come off OK --

[emsimon33]

72. False flag operation if there ever was one!

[emsimon33]

70. I always thought that he was thinking, "Cheney will have me killed next,"

as he was peeing his pants.

On the morning of 9/11/01, men claiming to be foreign journalists did come to the gate of the compound where was staying and said they had an interview that morning with Bush. But they were turned away (see below). This was a few day after Ahmad Shah Massoud, an Afghan leader who fought the Taliban, was murdered in Afghanistan by fake journalists. I think that Cheney had planned for Bush to be murdered on the morning of 9/11 and that explains why Bush's plane sat on the tarmac in Sarasota for so long while Cheney has hustled to a safe, undisclosed location:

"At about the same time Bush was getting ready for his jog, a van carrying several Middle Eastern men pulled up to the Colony’s guard station. The men said they were a television news crew with a scheduled 'poolside' interview with the president. They asked for a certain Secret Service agent by name. The message was relayed to a Secret Service agent inside the resort, who hadn’t heard of the agent mentioned or of plans for an interview. He told the men to contact the president’s public relations office in Washington, DC, and had the van turned away. "

http://www.historycommons.org/essay.jsp?article=essayaninterestingday

[defendandprotect]

75. BINGO -- !!

[FourScore]

81. Exactly!!! n/t

[GliderGuider]

74. It's funny how after all this time,

after all the orchestrated spin,
after all the patriotic cheerleading,
after all the derogatory personal attacks,
after all the arrogant jingoism,
after all the maudlin flag-waving,
after all the official silence...

Ten years later people are still saying, sotto voce, "You know, it sure seems to me as though..."
And the people they are speaking to glance around furtively and say, "You know, I've thought that from the day it happened."

"Give me an M..."
"Give me an I..."
"Give me an H..."
...

[Rex]

76. I KNOW that look! It is called 'oh shit, the jig is up' look.

Followed by minutes of slackjaw'd, mass stupidity as to what to do next.

[Me.]

80. Yep

A state of being he was all to familiar with

[musette_sf]

77. He didn't know how to vamp

while awaiting further instructions