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The following are transcripts from Larry King aired July 8th. Now Senator fish on a hot boat deck is claiming "Had I been reading to children and had my top aide whispered in my ear, "America is under attack," I would have told those kids very politely, nicely, that the president of the United States had something that he needed to attend to, and I would have attended to it."

Oh that's just super. Now let's compare that to what Kerry actually did or claimed he did.

KING: Where were you on 9/11? HEINZ KERRY: You know, it's very interesting. I landed at National Airport less than 12 hours before, coming from Pennsylvania, where I was doing a prescription drugs thing -- meeting. And I came in from Pittsburgh, landed at National, and that's the last time I landed at National for quite a while. KING: How'd you hear about it? HEINZ KERRY: I was at home in Washington. I had just come in and I got a call... KERRY: I think I called. HEINZ KERRY: And they said, look at the TV. I looked at the TV and I couldn't believe it. KING: Where were you? 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.

CNN Transcript of Larry King interview with John Kerry and Teresa Heinz Kerry July 8, 2004.

9:03 a.m.: A second hijacked airliner, United Airlines Flight 175 from Boston, crashes into the south tower of the World Trade Center and explodes. Both buildings are burning.

So here John Kerry is watching TV.

9:43 a.m.: American Airlines Flight 77 crashes into the Pentagon, sending up a huge plume of smoke. Evacuation begins immediately.

So for 40 minutes, I want to restate that for the record. For forty minutes John Kery sat stunned, unable to think and the only thing that got his attention was the smoking Pentagon across the Potomac river. Meanwhile President Bush is accused of not knowing what to do for 7 minutes in a classroom. Meanwhile, John Kerry is stunned.... unable to think.

13 minutes before the Pentagon was struck, while John Kerry was stunned, unable to think George Bush was addressing the nation saying we had suffered an "apparent terrorist attack" while John Kerry and the rest of the Democratic leadership, the same leadership that now criticizes George Bush for 7 minutes of inaction sat.... unable to think.

Wow, what a double standard the Farenheit 9/11 crowd has huh?

CNN 9/11 Timeline

John Kerry wasn't president at the time so whats your point?

I think the overall point of this is that we were ALL shocked when we found out about this. The president, no matter who it is, is still just your average human being who puts their pants on one leg at a time.

What good would an extra 7 minutes have done anyway, all the same people would have unfortunetly died. Besides this is a great example of how bureacracy can actually be a good thing, other people than the president can start plans in motion.

Both sides of this arguement are just an attempt to take personal shots at both presidents. Just because a person is taken aback by something that no one could ever imagine does not diminish their ability as a leader. That's the main reason I consider this a non-issue for both candidates.

Kerry could sit back for 40 minutes and do nothing because he wasn't needed for anything, I will give you that Thunderscope. However, you have to look at it from the other side also, the president does not and can not direct every single person that works underneath him, it simply wouldn't make sense. This is why even if he had jumped up 7 minutes earlier and ran out of the room, nothing would have been very different.

Originally Posted by RedvsBlue I think the overall point of this is that we were ALL shocked when we found out about this. The president, no matter who it is, is still just your average human being who puts their pants on one leg at a time. What good would an extra 7 minutes have done anyway, all the same people would have unfortunetly died. Besides this is a great example of how bureacracy can actually be a good thing, other people than the president can start plans in motion. Both sides of this arguement are just an attempt to take personal shots at both presidents. Just because a person is taken aback by something that no one could ever imagine does not diminish their ability as a leader. That's the main reason I consider this a non-issue for both candidates. Kerry could sit back for 40 minutes and do nothing because he wasn't needed for anything, I will give you that Thunderscope. However, you have to look at it from the other side also, the president does not and can not direct every single person that works underneath him, it simply wouldn't make sense. This is why even if he had jumped up 7 minutes earlier and ran out of the room, nothing would have been very different.

I disagree. The reason that VP Cheney had to illegally give the order to shoot planes down that threatened Washington airspace was because President Bush was AWOL. The chain of command was in turmoil that day, and it's because Bush had not taken charge. You can get a lot done in seven minutes, particularly when the safety of the nation is at stake.

Now this is the first part I've taken in the political forums, but here goes.

I hate Bush. I hope Kerry wins (if I could vote I would). But I have to say in regards to 9/11 and the few days that followed, Bush handled the situation very well. In fact, I'd say he did a great job then.

The problems I have are more what is happening now. First we were after Osama bin Laden and Afghanistan. Then next thing I know, were in Iraq and after Hussein.

Nowadays, its like Osama bin Who? Its like bush has ADD, he can't concentrate on getting the job done in one area before moving on to the next. Now we'll be stuck in Iraq for quite some time (even if Kerry is electd, we just can't pull out, it would destabilize)

That's just my two cents.

I agree RedvsBlue. And if Bush had jumped up and bolted out of the classroom, Moore would probably be criticizing him for looking too excited to go to war...[/quote]

I don't think anyone is suggesting Bush should have bolted out of the room. Merely calmly explain that a matter has come up he must attend to and politely excuse himself.

I hate Bush.
This is one thing I don't understand. You mean to tell me that you actually hate him? Why? Hatred is a powerful thing, and I think people throw around the word "hate" far to much. Save for the murder, rape or maiming of my loved ones, I doubt there is much anyone could do to make me "hate" them.

I hope Kerry wins (if I could vote I would).

I've never understood the "vote for the other guy because he can't be any worse" mindset.

Originally Posted by guardian_owl I don't think anyone is suggesting Bush should have bolted out of the room. Merely calmly explain that a matter has come up he must attend to and politely excuse himself.

I wonder how the WWII presidents would be regarded if the media were as quick and pervasive as they are now.

Originally Posted by JSweeney I wonder how the WWII presidents would be regarded if the media were as quick and pervasive as they are now.

Yeah I've often wondered this myself. After 911 there were quite a few people saying we were to blame and it was all of our fault that the terrorists were forced to do this blah blah blah. Its not our fault that these religious extremists hate anything having to do with christianity and the west (if its just America then why did Al Qaeda hit christian churces in Iraq that were filled with Iraqis?). I wonder if they would have said Pearl Harbor was our fault also?

The same people today that claim that (9/11 being our fault.) would have said Pearl Harbor was our fault as well because of our oil and scrap metal/steel embargoes against Japan. That's what precipitated the attack on Pearl Harbor. We cut them off from natural materials and they went and invaded the Dutch East Indies for oil and needed our navy incapacitated to continue their conquests in the Pacific.

Of course Pearl Harbor was the biggest strategic mistake of all time and it was also a tactical failure for Japan. The Hornet, Lexington and Enterprise were all out of Pearl Harbor on 12/7/41. If they hadn't been the battles of the Coral Sea and Midway would have been Japanese victories.

In the same regards 9/11 will turn out to be a historical mistake for militant Islam.

i believe Bush handled 9/11 very well, and like any person in his position at the time, he was probably in the state of shock when he first received the news.

When they came in the room and whispered to him "some airplanes were hijacked and crashed into the world trade center and the pentagon", he obviously would be a little shocked, and wouldnt instantly think "tell them to shoot down all planes off course.''

I think this quote from The Memory Hole nicely sums up the possibilites

Bush was appearing in public at a previously announced photo-op. He was a sitting duck. The attacks were ongoing at that point (planes had yet to hit the Pentagon or the field in Pennsylvania), and nobody knew how much more destruction was going to happen. Were there two, three, four, eight more planes hijacked and on their way to crash into prominent buildings? Was one headed for the school, where anyone who checked the President's public itinerary would know he was located? Were other terrorists planning to detonate dirty nukes? Were they going to release anthrax or smallpox or sarin? Was an assassination squad going to burst into the school and get Bush? Was a suicide bomber going to ram a truck full of explosives into that classroom? During the midst of the attacks, any of these things could've happened

And this is precisely what his Chief of Staff states he told Bush in that classroom: "A second plane hit the second tower. America is under attack."

Originally Posted by RedvsBlue I think the overall point of this is that we were ALL shocked when we found out about this. The president, no matter who it is, is still just your average human being who puts their pants on one leg at a time. What good would an extra 7 minutes have done anyway, all the same people would have unfortunetly died. Besides this is a great example of how bureacracy can actually be a good thing, other people than the president can start plans in motion. Both sides of this arguement are just an attempt to take personal shots at both presidents. Just because a person is taken aback by something that no one could ever imagine does not diminish their ability as a leader. That's the main reason I consider this a non-issue for both candidates. Kerry could sit back for 40 minutes and do nothing because he wasn't needed for anything, I will give you that Thunderscope. However, you have to look at it from the other side also, the president does not and can not direct every single person that works underneath him, it simply wouldn't make sense. This is why even if he had jumped up 7 minutes earlier and ran out of the room, nothing would have been very different.

The point is that he should not have been in the classroom. This was 7 minutes after the SECOND plane hit. He was told about the first one BEFORE he went into the classroom. Now look at what Bush knew. He knew that Al-Queda was determined to strike at the US from the August memo. He also knew that AL-queda could use planes as weapons, since this was threatened at the G8 meeting he attended in France, so the French had placed anti-aircraft batteries around the meeting to prevent it. If you are president, and an airliner is flown into a tower, maybe you should do your job and at the very least assess the situation before you ATTEND A PHOTO-OP.

Notice how not one rebuttal to this post has expressed any doubt about John Kerry freely admitting he had no idea what to think? Not one.

It all stems back to Bush. No one will even address John Kerry's fitness to handle a situation in a national crisis and emergency. Sorry, but Senator qualifies you to have some semblance of common sense in an attack. You don't sit in the middle of a target, unable to think , and expect people not to question your judgement do you?

Yet the candidate for the highest office in the land was unable, by his own words, able to come up with anything reasonable to do despite sitting in a high priority terrorist target. He didn't even have the good sense to get the shaq'fu out of the building did he? Nope. He sat there, unable to think, until the Secret Service announced they were evacuating the White House and finally someone came and told Senator Flip Flop "Hey bud, time to go.".

So John Kerry, by his own words, didn't have the good sense to save his own hide.... yet we're supposed to think he's good enough to save the rest of us? That's just super.

PAD, I'm not sure if you know this, but Kerry wasn't the President on 9/11. He can't call up the Joint Chiefs, the NSA, CIA and FBI and start coordinating a plan like Bush could have done.

Republicans are getting desperate when they blame Kerry for the same things that Bush did.

Originally Posted by MrBadExample PAD, I'm not sure if you know this, but Kerry wasn't the President on 9/11. He can't call up the Joint Chiefs, the NSA, CIA and FBI and start coordinating a plan like Bush could have done. Republicans are getting desperate when they blame Kerry for the same things that Bush did.

Can I blame Clinton for doing nothing for 8 years?

And Democrats are splitting hairs if they fail to see the correlation between suggesting Bush sat for 7 minutes while the Democratic leadership did nothing.

Why would you blame Clinton for doing nothing for 8 years, when he did far more than Bush did?

Originally Posted by PittsburghAfterDark Notice how not one rebuttal to this post has expressed any doubt about John Kerry freely admitting he had no idea what to think? Not one. It all stems back to Bush. No one will even address John Kerry's fitness to handle a situation in a national crisis and emergency. Sorry, but Senator qualifies you to have some semblance of common sense in an attack. You don't sit in the middle of a target, unable to think , and expect people not to question your judgement do you? Yet the candidate for the highest office in the land was unable, by his own words, able to come up with anything reasonable to do despite sitting in a high priority terrorist target. He didn't even have the good sense to get the shaq'fu out of the building did he? Nope. He sat there, unable to think, until the Secret Service announced they were evacuating the White House and finally someone came and told Senator Flip Flop "Hey bud, time to go.". So John Kerry, by his own words, didn't have the good sense to save his own hide.... yet we're supposed to think he's good enough to save the rest of us? That's just super.

PAD, you are nothing but a shill, especially with name-calling like Senator Flip Flop. Kerry has not flip-flopped on postions, meanwhile Bush has flip flopped since the 2000 campaign. I think it's funny how you quickly spit out the RNC spin points, but when they are proven wrong and innacurrate, you
are nowhere to be heard from.

Originally Posted by CTLesq Can I blame Clinton for doing nothing for 8 years? And Democrats are splitting hairs if they fail to see the correlation between suggesting Bush sat for 7 minutes while the Democratic leadership did nothing.

The 9/11 Commission lists 10 specific points at which the attacks could have been prevented. Four happened during Clinton's 8 years in office; six happened during Bush's 8 MONTHS in office.

Bush didn't take terrorism seriously, and pooh-poohed the advisors trying to tell him of the looming threat. Face it, Repubs, your man screwed up and now is trying to spin that straw into electoral gold. Why don't you stop pointing fingers elsewhere and start considering Bush's actual accomplishments in the War on Terror, which are few and negligible?