What is the proper length of time for a President to freeze after being told "the nation is under attack"?

Question

Serious answers, from Republicans only please...

Bush sat for seven minutes without even knowing the type/extent of the attack or if there was any action he could be taking...apparently this is considered great leadership by Republicans, who think the only other option was to leap up screaming and scaring all the children when he could have just calmly excused himself. So my question is this: if seven minutes wasn't too long to wait, then is this the EXACT number of minutes that a President should wait or would it have been even better if he waited eight minutes? Nine? Twenty?

Didn't I specifically say that panicking was NOT the only alternative? I guess it shouldn't be surprising that an illiterate President was elected by illiterate people. And by people who make terrorist threats, "David H"...

Answer 1

You are right . He should have started running around the class room barking orders to who? First grade children?? What would that accomplish? Liberals would then blame the President for "scarring them for life." I suppose Algore could have done better, oops he LOST! Now he shills with his "documentary" for people to buy "carbon credits" to offset "global warming" by planting trees that will not eliminate carbon for 20 years.

Answer 2

About as long as it took to secure the location ie: the school, the transportation and Air Force One. Don't you ever watch 24?
You think they just run in the face of danger? You are pretty much unfamiliar with security issues beyond even what the TV show portrays. Nor have many done the research about this. Time magazine explored it. US News and many more. Fact you do not move the President until the path is clear. Seven minutes? They did not even know then if the school kids were in danger, Bush went shortly into an office there and watched the events unfold on television as the rest of US did. Once it was determined he could be moved they beat feet to a secret local, escorted with fighters. This stuff takes time.

In my opinion this is a real stretch to bring this crap back up. Ever teach little kids either. Jump up say oh sh*it and freak out the kids let alone the press core that was there? All complete with cameras and cell phones that could cause a nation wide panic. Why people buy into this without doing any homework is beyond me. Thank you.

Answer 3

Freeze? I expect the 7 minutes could easily be divided accurately, into; absorbing the shock, trying to decide what to do next, and assessing the implications of the situation. After all, maybe he was waiting for more information. As President, he has a duty to appear calm, even when panicking. Besides, he surely left Dick Cheney in charge, so anything which needed immediate attention, the V.P. would handle.
Speaking of freezing the Democrat Hate America crowd froze for months before they resumed their unethical attacks upon the President and the country.

Answer 4

What he should have done is used his POTUS superpowers to instantly transport to the World Trade Center and then stopped time to catch the terrorists and put them in Gitmo. Don't be an idiot. He's one man, it's the system that failed. What should he have done? Personally, I would rather have a president think about the ramifications of his actions.

Answer 5

First; he did know enough, while it may not have been the full extent, he knew we were under attack.

Second; I think it would have been crystal clear there was something very wrong to anyone watching the President had he done what you suggest.

Finally; I can't speak for everyone, but I certainly don't fit into your "jump up screaming" crowd.

And as to my opinion, as well as many others, is that he acted perfectly at that moment.

So why don't you tell us what his reaction should have been?

Answer 6

I don't think there is a documented time limit on things like this. What most are concerned about is that he seemed to have NO reaction. I mean, if I was at home reading to my kids and saw that the kitchen was on fire I wouldn't jump up and scream"RUN THE KITCHEN IS ON FIRE OH MY GOD!!"
I would calmly put the book down, tell the lil ones to quietly and calmly go outside,,,,you get the picture.
But we're not talking about a housewife here. We are talking about our President. And not a kitchen fire, the WORLD trade center being hit.
He should have closed the book and handled his business, like any adult should, let alone the leader of a nation.
D
Aww heck man! I didn't see the 'republicans only' sign at the end of your question. MY BAD. I'm not illiterate. I mistakenly tried to answer an open question about our DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC. ......yeah-so...I REALLY wanna tell you to P*ss off cause your ?? presents you as a person deserving such a phrase....
Eh,
P*eace out.
D

Answer 7

Hindsight is 20/20. It is easy for you to criticize now, when you know the full extent of what had happened. In the first minutes after the first plane had hit it wasn't so apparent at the scope of things to come.

Answer 8

At that point did the immediate minutes matter? Much has been made of it and the following hours till the government collected its thoughts and compared them to reality.

Immediately the news went on the offenses demanding an immediate response. "Where is George?"

We were stunned, it happens, and cooler minds understand that.

Answer 9

There is no proper time. In fact, he wasn't told that the Nation was under attack. He was told that an airliner had crashed into the World Trade Center. At the time, noone was sure what was going on.

Answer 10

Until someone writes in the President's job description how long he should sit there without doing anything after we've been attacked, an appropriate answer would be, as long as he feels in necessary.