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A Bittersweet Moment Today At Ground Zero
While the 9/11 attacks should never been used for political ends, the Republicans have shamelessly done just that. Over and over and over.
This took some chutzpah because the attacks might have not happened in the first place if George Bush didn’t have his head where the sun didn’t shine, Dick Cheney, who was the de facto national security adviser, didn’t ignore warnings that Al Qaeda was preparing to launch attacks on the homeland, and Condi Rice, who was the national security adviser, wasn’t still fighting the Cold War.
Anyhow, the Bush administration seized on the attacks to ram through, or to put in place unilaterally, a series of draconian measures that it said would make us safer. None did, of course, and anyone who opposed them was termed unpatriotic. Even if he wore an American flag lapel pin.
And so we come to the bittersweet moment today when President Obama, whom Republicans have repeatedly excoriated for being weak on defense, laid a wreath at a memorial to the nearly 3,000 victims of the World Trade Center attacks. He later met privately with family members and the first responders that Republicans wanted to deny extended medical benefits until being shamed into doing so.
In a classy move, Obama did not give a speech although the ceremony came four days after the death of the man who ordered the 9/11 attacks, a cathartic moment that united Americans to be sure and a huge opportunity to make political hay.
In another classy move, the president had asked Bush to join him at the ceremony. In an equally classy response, the former president declined, believing that the moment belonged to Obama and the families. Which it did.
37 Responses to “A Bittersweet Moment Today At Ground Zero”
Which begs the question if Obama makes no speech how many I’s My’s and Me’s will the GOP count? I am starting with an opening bid of 40 across the board.
My respect for you has hit a new low. On this somber occasion I watch Obama with respect at the ceremony at ground zero. As a NYC resident, I don’t need politics right now.
Let’s see:
That’s three off the top of MY head but I’m sure others will come up with more.
[SHAKING HEAD]™
Edit to add: Where you on all the other “somber occasions” dduck?
dduck:
You’re right, we don’t need politics at Ground Zero, and to the President’s credit there hasn’t been any at Ground Zero.
After the killing of the person who attacked us on 9/11—the person responsible for the murder of more than 3,000 innocent Americans—we didn’t need any politics, either.
Regrettably, we had it and continue to have it.
dduck:
What Dorian said. Oh, and exactly what I said in my post.
Over and over and over it’s Bush-bashing, in article after article.
DLS:
A waste of my time, I’m sure, but try taking a shot at specifically rebutting what I said:
Do you argue that Bush was asleep at the wheel when Al Qaeda struck?
Do you argue that the Bush administration did not attempt to politicize 9/11?
Do you argue that Republicans should not have caved in on voting extended benefits for first responders?
Are you arguing that Bush was not classy to turn down Obama’s invitation?
Or are you just whining?
Well, I knew that pleas to no make this partisan would be in vain. We have reach that standard partisan type article. One that attacks Republicans for trying to get partisan credit while simultaneously making it clear thatDemocrats should get credit and Republicans should get blame…
I agree that Obama himself has been classy (far more so than some of his supports). The same is true for George Bush.
[SIGH]™
Question for DLS:
The answer is YES to both those questions and you call it “Bush-bashing?” Hummmm
Over and over people with their heads in the sand continue to use the same old talking points and one liners in lieu of debate. Why? Because they’d lose the debate.
It’s not “Bush-bashing” to point out the reasons that Obama was at Ground Zero… and George W. Bush wasn’t.
[THBPBPTHPT!]™ Bill Watterson
Comment removed by writer
A little historic perspective:
The 9/11 attacks were the worst on the homeland since the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
In the wake of Pearl Harbor, FDR convened an investigative commission.
In the wake of 9/11, Bush resisted all calls to convene an investigative commission until he eventually caved in to a bunch of very pissed off widows, including Diane Wall (whom President Obama hugged today during the Ground Zero ceremony), although the subsequent work of the commission was intentionally hampered by the administration’s refusal to release any information or documentation about why it was asleep at the wheel. Even information that did not pose a national security risk was intentionally withheld.
In the wake of Pearl Harbor, several admirals were sacked.
In the wake of 9/11, no one was sacked except an Army general who had the temerity to tell Donald Rumsfeld that there were no enough troops for the invasion of a country that the Bush administration went after although it had nothing to do with 9/11. Meanwhile, Condi Rice was promoted to secretary of state and a bunch of people who were culpable for the administration being asleep at the wheel got medals at a nice White House ceremony.
Amen!
So, to answer the questions, was Bush asleep at the wheel, did he put into place teams and tactics that did not make America safe but only brought shame?
That was only the case while he was in office. Now that Obama is in office, using those same exact techniques the Left decried, the reality has been shown that they worked, and they are praising him.
The vindication of former President Bush
indy:
I was unaware that the Obama administration uses waterboarding, slamming suspects into walls, slaps, sleep and food deprivation, nudity, insects and threats to rape and otherwise harm female family members, but you obviously know better than me, so thanks for the heads up.
That some don’t see the irony of condemning politicizing while they do the same is pretty amazing. To each there own I guess.
Shaun, you don’t get it, some day you may. Obama did a good deed today you ruined it for me.
All this crap belongs on another thread.
@StK. I don’t know what you mean By:
Edit to add: Where you on all the other “somber occasions” dduck?
dduck:
I get it.
By your calculus, no one should have mentioned Chappaquidick in the news media on the day Teddy Kennedy died or Elizabeth Edwards’ philandering husband, which certainly did nothing to slow her descent into cancer hell, on the day she was laid to rest.
It is not the job of the news media, or alternately bloggers, to go napsy-bye on solemn occasions. It is their job to provide perspective and commentary.
And what the heck are you doing concern trolling for several hours if today is so somber for you?
Shaun – I didn’t say Obama used them. I did imply that now that he is in office and they had a role in killing Osama, as did “Cheney’s Assassination Squads”, Gitmo, extraordinary renditions, etc., the change of narrative is the usual predictable result. Hence my link.
I also have been very clear to only praise Obama for his actions and decision making on this operation. My criticism is more with his supporters and the PR debacle that has followed.
Finally, I have stopped the snide comments that could remotely be considered directed at you or a criticism of you, given the instant deletions that occur for me even if I don’t mention you by name. Please play by the same rules that I and the rest of us must.
dduck:
I understand your position, your feelings and your criticism.
But in the same token, I don’t remember you—or for that matter anyone on these threads—uttering a single word when on the very same day that Senator Ted Kennedy was being laid to rest alongside his brothers at Arlington National Cemetery, one of your fellow commenters—still spouting off here— made the most repugnant, hateful and odious comments about the man being buried and his brothers awaiting him. And that man has never apologized for nor retracted his repugnant comments.
that should have been, “by the same token.” My apologies
Shaun, I amend, you never will understand. By your calculus, this was not a somber moment since you made your nasty post today. What I do in personal life is none of your concern.
Dorian: I was not here at the time, but if I was I would have said shame. Also, I think 9/11 meant a lot more to me than TK.
Dorian, I don’t link you with other commentators, so don’t do it to me, it is beneath you. You don’t know me and you don’t know how I view the death of others, even enemies. To me death is at a whole other level.
Shaun, while it is inevitable your remarks will be seen as motivated by partisanship, everything you’ve said in your post happens to be true. That’s enough for me.
dduck:
Fair is fair. I should not have linked you to other commentators—especially the one I was referring to. My apologies.
But just as a side note, while the magnitude of the 9-11 tragedy and the number of people killed were much greater, the death of Ted Kennedy–a single person– meant an awful lot to his family and so would have the desecration of his memory, if they had been aware of it.
Again, just a side note and not meant to take anything away from your feelings for the 9-11 victims, but rather to put my continuing indignation into perspective.
Class move by Obama. Some others, not so much.
DG: I agree.
That remarkable irony as well as all-too-often Bush-bashing (couch or pill?) made the subsequent defensiveness and throw-away last question to me from Shaun no surprise.
Dorian Wind:
(hopefully this won’t subject me once again to the “night and fog” treatement as part of “worst non-Aryan” treatment by admins)
I just tried looking up my earlier apology (at the end of August 2009 or the start of September 2009), which I had made sometime after Tidbits joined you in saying what I wrote (though it wasn’t my feelings, but to accept a bet, as I also wrote) was “over the line.” (Worm Food) I thought when I did apologize that you then said you were indeed (deeply) thankful and I was trying to find that comment and get its date. I was unsuccessful.
Since I can’t find it back then, I’ll repeat it now — with the advantage of hindsight.
I’m sorry to have offended you so much with the Teddy K. “worm food” remark. I had taken a bet with someone else about it after being pushed; I’d not wanted to post it but took the bet to see who was right, me or the other guy, about the kind of response it would draw. (he never has gone onto this site)
It really wasn’t my view and more importantly and to the point again, I’m sorry it bothered you then and continues to revile you more than a year and a half later.
DLS
Dorian/dduck -
You bring up an interesting side point.
Let’s say you truly believed Ted Kennedy willfully killed Mary Jo Kopechne and had gotten away with murder. Then, you make extremely insulting remarks about him at the time of his death and burial.
This appeared to have happened here, and Dorian in particular was obviously deeply offended by those comments, and still harbors ill-will for the inappropriate timing and content of those remarks. Fair enough.
But while not for one second equating Osama Bin Laden to Ted Kennedy, do we indeed extend to Osama that same courtesy of not speaking ill of the recently deceased? I think not, as I think there is a scale of evilness, for lack of a better word, and some line beyond which normal courtesies are no longer appropriate, even in death.
But if for someone that line is murder, and they truly believe that Ted Kennedy committed murder and avoided justice, why would it be wrong for them to express contempt, even in strong words, for him?
Now, all that aside, having read DLS’s explanation, I frankly find his words at that time more onerous and disgusting than had they at least been his heartfelt and sincere feelings concerning Ted Kennedy.
Denigrating someone, especially someone who did mean a lot to many people, simply on a dare or bet is mind-boggling offensive and vulgar. IMHO.
Inde:
Out of respect for the Kennedy family, I will not even try to paraphrase the comments made by DLS on the day Senator Kennedy was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
He managed to–in one foul sweep—desecrate the memories of three Kennedy brothers.
At the time, he claimed it was a big joke and a bet. Apparently he still does.
Your comments on that are very valid.
However, since the man–in his own weird way—is apologizing and claims he has apologized before, I accept his apologies while ignoring his pathetic excuses and rationalizations.
I will never again call him on this, but the impression he has left on me—and continues to do—is something that is not easily forgotten…
Wow. I had figured on some poor or excessive responses but believed it would be reasonably constrained, and am still losing the bet.
It also needs to be added that what’s in articles on here is routinely worse than what I did artificially. Wow, once more. Including the size of disappointment.
DLS – please tell me, what was unrestrained about my response?
I acknowledged that one who truly felt someone had gotten away with murder would be within reasonable bounds to make denigrating remarks about that person.
However, you freely admit you meant none of your remarks, you simply slandered him on a whim (yes, this is slander, as you did not mean it and according to your apology above did not even believe what you said).
Are you incapable of seeing how that is actually much worse?
I simply took a bet to say something provocative (much less bad than what’s routinely intended, seriously, by authors on this site, drawing criticism even from fellow lefties! for Christ’s sake…) and though I never had to, went out of my way now, a year and a half later, to try to assuage someone (or people), still. What else, next?
I am sorry, but I have to break my promise not to address this issue anymore.
DLS, don’t you have the smarts–if not the decency–to quit while you are ahead?
I accepted your apology, but you had to go on.
What you said was “provocative”?
How would you react if someone would spout off the filth you said about the Kennedy’s about your father or your mother when they are being buried? Would you call that “provocative”?
Man oh man, you are something else
A coda, perhaps, to this post from a commenter at Andrew Sullivan’s Daily Dish:
“I am a World Trade Center survivor. I was on the 62nd floor of Tower One when the first plane struck and I was in the police command center in WTC 5 when WTC 2 collapsed on top of us. I am also a Catholic.
“When I turned away from the Mets-Phillies game Sunday night to watch the President ‘announce’ the news that everyone already seemed to know, I had no mixed emotions.
“That son a bitch killed my friends, colleagues, fellow New Yorkers, fellow Americans, fellow human beings. Worse still, he inspired thousands, if not more, to take up a blind nihilism as their credo, ostensibly in the name of Allah, ‘the merciful, the compassionate’. All the pain he has brought to this world has not been reckoned and may not be reckoned in our lifetimes.
“I sat on my couch Sunday night and poured a large glass of Irish whiskey and toasted the death of the man who had tried to kill me. ‘Fuck you,’ I said out loud.
“Then I went upstairs and looked in on my three sleeping children – my oldest born in 2002 – and I kissed them all. Then I settled in next to my wife – my beautiful wife, who will be married to me ten years tomorrow, and who is carrying our fourth child. She for many long hours thought her husband of five months was crushed to death in the towers. I put my hand upon her belly and I closed my eyes and I prayed that Osama bin Laden would know the fullness of Christ’s mercy.”
I agree fully with the survivor, I felt the same way, but fortunately with out his terrible situation on 9/11.
And, he is a better man than I for the last sentence.