Essay Sample on President Bush's Normal Day Before 9/11

Introduction

President George Bush began his Tuesday, September 11, 2001, like other normal days. He woke up early and took his routine morning run in the company of his security staff members. After the routine preparations, the president met with Andrew Card, the Whitehouse chief of staff for a brief on the schedule for that day. The day's key presidential event was a visit to Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida to lead a routine discussion on education. The event involved a plan for the president to read with the students and give a speech later. Everything went smoothly as expected and by a quarter to 9 a.m., his motorcade was on the way to Sarasota. No one could imagine a terrorist attack on American soil. However, the horrifying events that unfolded on that day left scares and memories for generations to come. September 11 did not only affect many Americans socially and economically, but it also affected them emotionally as well.

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From the memory lanes of former students at Booker Elementary school, the president arrived early and greeted them warmly. By 9 a.m. sharp, Bush had made his way to the school compound and proceeded to a classroom for a reading session. His staff informed him about a plane crash in New York before the start of class but decided that they would discuss it after the school visit. He thought it could be a tragic accident perhaps caused by the mistake of a pilot. The president wanted members of his team to gather more information about the incident. While reading a story titled "The Pet Goat" to the president, the children remember well how Mr. Andrew Card came and whispered something in the president's ear barely 5 minutes after they had begun reading (Philips, 2011). From the president's facial expression, one could easily tell that the message was disturbing. The children sensed something unusual had happened (Associated Press, 2011). He stayed calm but he seemed unsettled. He thought about excusing himself and leave the classroom immediately but decided to stay until the end of the reading lesson. He did not want to scare the children with an alarming exit.

Image 1: President Bush receiving a whisper message from his chief of staff, Andrew Card in a classroom at Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida about a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcsO5oZQs6Q

After the lesson, Bush and his team quickly rushed to look for a discreet place within the school to talk. The presidential staff members had seen the news footage of the plane crash into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in the city of New York. Bush had very little knowledge about the disaster. While the president was in class with the students, his staff watched live news report footage as the second plane came and crashed into the South Tower with a huge explosion. From the second crash, they quickly made up their mind that it was not an accident (McGreal, 2010). America was under attack. They made a conclusion that the United States was under a terrorist attack. In his mind, Bush imagined the worry and confusion that would befall the citizens. Millions had watched on live television the second plane crash. As the camera crews of his team yearned for him to make a statement, the rest of the team were busy setting up a makeshift command center within the school. Unending questions lingered in the minds of everyone including the president. Bush was particularly worried and felt some anger in him.

The journalistic anxiety finally got a partial satisfaction when the president finally made his first press statement at the Elementary school. In the short address, the president started by informing the public that the United States of America was facing a difficult moment (Eidenmuller, 2017). Although he sounded calm, sadness was all over his face. He was sad and felt sorry for the tragedy that had destroyed innocent lives. With a remarkable level of composure, he mentioned about the urgent need to fly back to Washington due to the apparent terrorist attack that had befell the country. He thanked the school community for their hospitality and requested Secretary Rod Paige to carry on with the day's event at the school. From within, he admired the children and wanted to protect and preserve the lives of the present and future generations.

Terrorists had brought war to America's doorstep to destroy the milestones that the country had achieved. As the executive head of the federal government, he ordered the Director of the FBI to channel all necessary government resources towards helping the victims and to conduct an intensive investigation aimed at hunting and finding the attackers. He felt the urge and responsibility to avenge for the families that had lost their loved ones as soon as possible. He was not going to let anyone involved in the attack go unpunished. It was his duty as the leader of the free world to bring the perpetrators to the jaws of justice. In his inner convictions, he believed terrorism could not bring down the United States. Therefore, he thought it was prudent to share that conviction with the nation as a piece of patriotic encouragement during such a difficult time. It could help to calm the public and avert fear and confusion. President Bush wound up his short remarks with a moment of silence for those who had lost their lives.

Image 2: President George .W. Bush making a press statement at Booker Elementary School to inform the public about a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. Source: https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/gwbush911florida.htm

President Bush hurriedly boarded Air Force One and headed to Washington D.C. after cutting short his tour in Florida. Immediately after returning to the Whitehouse, the president did not waste any single minute. He gathered members of his senior staff in the Oval Office to discuss the events of the tragedy and to get briefs on the government's progress in handling the disaster ("White House Archives," 2002). He was just as anxious as the public to know the progress made by the people in charge including the department of defense, the FBI, and the emergency service agencies. Everyone in his circle needed to act swiftly and gather as much information as possible. It was the most trying time for his government. He felt like the government was at fault for such a tragedy to happen in America. While the fault could be handled later, saving more lives and property was the priority. It was the responsibility of his government and he felt it get heavier on his shoulders with every moment that passed. In the meeting with his senior staff and political friends, he wanted to hear and absorb every detail from everyone who spoke. Every piece of information could help to get answers to a million questions that lingered in the minds of Americans. Heightening security in all airports and major towns across the country was a necessity to diffuse similar potential attacks because no one could guess the scale of the planned attack.

By 8 p.m. the president's communications team had prepared the key points to include in his address to the nation. At 8.30 p.m., the president sat behind his desk in the oval office to give his speech. The tragedy had set the nation into a panic mode. He wanted to assuage citizens' fears across the nation especially for those who had witnessed the horrifying events unfold, whether in person or on television ("9/11: An Address to the Nation," 2011). Despite the numerous brief statements in the course of the day, he knew that the whole world was waiting anxiously to hear him. He had a predetermined vision for the much-awaited speech. He wanted to begin by expressing comfort to the nation and give the government's resolve about the tragedy. In his view, comfort would help people recover from the attack whereas the resolve would aim at finding the attackers and bring them to justice. He knew very well that the American citizens looked to him for leadership as well as comfort especially during such a time when the country was facing national distress. He concluded the speech with a reassurance to the citizens that the United States of America will always prevail and strive to move forward.

On that night, President Bush went to bed with unresolved questions in his mind. He wondered what the rest of the world was thinking about the world's superpower country suffering as a victim of terrorism. How was the economy going to react to the attack? Many questions crisscrossed his mind but he convinced himself that all would be well. The attack negatively affected the Americans socially and economically and left most of them emotionally disturbed. Anti-Islam violence escalated afterward due to the emotional disturbance of the victims. The students and the teacher who were with the president when the tragedy happened are stuck with the concepts of war and violence.

References

"9/11: An Address to the Nation" (2011, September 6). Retrieved November 17, 2019, from https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2011/09/06/911-an-address-to-the-nation/.

Associated Press. (2011, September 7). Retrieved November 17, 2019, from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcsO5oZQs6Q.

Eidenmuller, M. E. (2017, September 12). George W. Bush Remarks at Emma Booker Elementary School. Retrieved November 17, 2019, from https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/gwbush911florida.htm.

McGreal, C. (2010, November 8). Bush on 9/11: 'We were going to find out who did this, and kick their ass'. Retrieved November 17, 2019, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/nov/08/george-bush-memoirs-september-11.

Phillips, R. (2011, May 5). Children with Bush on 9/11 relive moments 10 years later. Retrieved November 17, 2019, from http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/05/osama.class.of.911/.

"White House Archives. (2002, March 11). War on Terror. Retrieved November 17, 2019, from https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/president/september11/03.html.