Bush explains slow reaction to September 11 attacks

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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Former President George W. Bush says his apparent lack of reaction to the first news of the September 11 2001 attacks was a conscious decision to project an aura of calm in a crisis.

In a rare interview with the National Geographic Channel, Bush reflects on what was going through his mind at the most dramatic moment of his presidency when he was informed that a second passenger jet had hit New York's World Trade Center.

Bush was visiting a Florida classroom and the incident, which was caught on TV film, and has often been used by critics to ridicule his apparently blank face.

"My first reaction was anger. Who the hell would do that to America? Then I immediately focused on the children, and the contrast between the attack and the innocence of children," Bush says in an excerpt of the interview shown to television writers on Thursday.

Bush said he could see the news media at the back of the classroom getting the news on their own cellphones "and it was like watching a silent movie."

Bush said he quickly realized that a lot of people beyond the classroom would be watching for his reaction.

"So I made the decision not to jump up immediately and leave the classroom. I didn't want to rattle the kids. I wanted to project a sense of calm," he said of his decision to remain seated and silent.
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So many critics were so fast to judge president Bush that they passed judgement on him before knowing the whole story. But even knowing the whole story wouldn't change much, once they decided to blame Bush for everything that's what they were going to do regardless of facts.

So while we're on the subject of facts, let's state some right now. President George W. Bush was one of the greatest American presidents in history, ranking up there with George Washington and Ronald Reagan.

Unlike the joke we currently have sitting in the oval office, Bush gave glory to God.
Not just with lips, but with actions. It's our opinion that Mike Huckabee could have been among those top ranked presidents had he decided to run this time around.

We salute former president G.W. Bush and wish him all the best.