Stephanopoulos, Tapper and Beschloss on Bush’s First Reaction to 9/11

From ABC’s ‘Good Morning America” (June 22 2004):

DIANE SAWYER, ABC NEWS

But first we turn to something else that a ...

CHARLES GIBSON, ABC NEWS

(Off Camera) Is it a mask?

DIANE SAWYER

(Off Camera) ... lot of people are talking about. You've probably all heard about the polarizing new movie by Michael Moore. It is called"Fahrenheit 911." And, depending who you talk to, it is either a devastating attack on the president, or a completely unfair polemic attack on him. And everyone who has seen it, however, says that at the center of it is a moment, a moment on September 11th, when President Bush was told America is under attack as the second plane hit the World Trade Center.

DIANE SAWYER

(Voice Over) And what happened next is he stayed and read to the children, with the children, with seven minutes in the life of a president, seven minutes in the history of the nation, and seven minutes a lot of people are using as a kind of Rorschach test.

DIANE SAWYER

(Off Camera) George Stephanopoulos is here. He's seen the movie and, of course, watched the scenes of that moment. But let's begin with ABC's Jake Tapper who has a report.

JAKE TAPPER, ABC NEWS

(Voice Over) It was just a few minutes. But Democrats hope seeing them will make voters uncomfortable, not just with the scene, but with the president himself. It's the morning of September 11th. President Bush is sitting with grade schoolers at a classroom in Sarasota, Florida. He already knows one plane has hit a World Trade Center tower. At 9:07, his chief of staff tells him a second plane hit the second tower, America is under attack. The president does not react immediately. He remains seated, continuing to read the children's book"My Pet Goat" along with the class. In New York City, chaos. The towers are engulfed in flames. Back in Sarasota, the president remains in the classroom.

TEACHER, FEMALE

Try that again. Get ready ...

JAKE TAPPER

(Voice Over) In all, seven minutes elapse from the moment the second plane crashes until the president excuses himself.

REPORTER, MALE

Mr. President, are you aware of the reports that a plane crashed in New York?

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH, UNITED STATES

We'll talk about it later.

JAKE TAPPER

(Voice Over) A few days ago, the 9/11 Commission gave us the president's explanation for the 7-minute wait.

DANA HYDE, 9/11 COMMISSION STAFF

The president felt he should project strength and calm until he could better understand what was happening.

JAKE TAPPER

(Voice Over) But in his new movie, filmmaker Michael Moore shows many of these crucial minutes which he says has the opposite effect.

MICHAEL MOORE, FILMMAKER

This does not look like a man who is trying to project calm and strength. He looks frightened and lost, and you almost feel sorry for him.

JAKE TAPPER

(Voice Over) White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card disputes this view.

ANDREW CARD, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF

I think there was a, a moment of shock, and he did stare off maybe for just a second.

JAKE TAPPER

(Voice Over) FDR, JFK, past presidents had time to absorb bad news before projecting strength to the country. But clearly, the new media age changes things.

MICHAEL BESCHLOSS, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN

In these days when presidents are almost on all the time, they have to think a lot more about how they look at the moment that they get news like this.

JAKE TAPPER

(Off Camera) Republicans argue President Bush's leadership on 9/11 is one of the best reasons to vote for him. But Democrats hope voters see these seven minutes and question that. Jake Tapper, ABC News, Washington....