My Letter to the Editor Re: Bush on 9/11 Was Printed!

Here it is:

======================================================================

On a clear morning in September, a plane crashed into the World Trade Center and began the most terrifying day our country has ever faced. By the end of the day, two planes had crashed into the buildings, a plane had hit the Pentagon, another had crashed in Pennsylvania and the Twin Towers had collapsed. The country needed strong, steady leadership.

Luckily, they received it. A man stood at Ground Zero and told the people of New York City, America and the world that like the mythical phoenix, we would rise from the ashes and be stronger than before.

With calm compassion, he met with families who were missing relatives who had been in the World Trade Center. He soothed a grieving nation. That man was Rudy Giuliani.

Contrast that with the actions of George W. Bush during the 9-11 crisis. After fleeing around the country from Air Force base to Air Force base, he finally released a videotape to address the nation, doing very little to soothe the nerves of the American people.

He didn't arrive in New York City until Sept. 14. Former President Bill Clinton was in Australia at the time of the terrorist attacks and still was in New York before Bush.

Bush's record since then has been less than stellar. When Democrats in Congress proposed a Department of Homeland Security, Bush resisted it. When families of those who died on Sept. 11 demanded an independent inquiry, Bush resisted it. Since the commission was formed to investigate 9-11, the Bush White House has stonewalled and stalled the commission's efforts. Recently, Bush resisted having to testify to the commission and wants to limit his amount of time testifying to one hour.

With a weak record on the economy, jobs, health care, education, the environment and almost every issue that Americans truly care about, Bush wants to use a national tragedy for political gain. The only problem is, George W. Bush is no Rudy Giuliani.

and congrats on getting published.

That was a great letter! I'm so glad they printed it.

:toast: Thanks You are A Patriot In My Book

Please submit your letter to this site for the permanent
record http://www.failureisimpossible.com/dosomething/letters.htm

Thanks again .

I'd never seen that site before. I've just spend the past hour or so checking it out. It's a gold mine.

Thanks!

Good read. :hi:

We're proud of you.

You are very articulate and I'm quite sure the editors saw that immediately in deciding to publish this letter. I was no fan of Guiliani before 9/11, but felt his leadership was far superior to George Bush's on that day and the days that followed. Bush looked as afraid as I was and did not comfort me in the aftermath.

i'm not a huge fan of Guliani, but your message will get to the people who need to hear it the most.

you RAWK!

ps: which paper?

Is the only major daily newspaper in my town of about 40-50k people in mid-Michigan (Jackson, MI). Its circulation is around 30-35k, if I'm not mistaken.

This city is largely Republican. The town bills itself as "The Birthplace of the Republican Party", although at that time the Republican party was the progressive party. So needless to say, getting a letter with our point of view in that newspaper is a coup of sorts.

If that's true, you've just helped Bush's election campaign. In addition to that, did you know that Giuliani had thousands of gallons of diesel fuel stored in the upper floors of one of the twin towers as part of his emergency bunker? What affect that had on the collapse of the tower has yet to be determined.

About the Rudy-as-Cheney-Replacement theory. Even so, that wasn't the point of the letter.

The point is that on 9/11, we needed someone who would look the country in the eye, give it to us straight, lead us and reassure us. Giuliani, for all his faults, was down there in Lower Manhattan, talking to people who had family members in the twin towers. He grieved with families who were grieving, he grieved with a city that was grieving -- he grieved with a nation that was grieiving. And he did it in a way that reassured us.

During that same time, Bush was hiding under his mattress on Air Force One, soiling his pajama bottoms. I believe that's a comparison that needs to be made.

I disagree with Rudy on a lot of things, and I probably wouldn't ever vote for him. But I can't fault him for his actions on 9/11. That day, Bush wasn't leading this country, and frankly neither was anyone else. Rudy filled that leadership vaccuum.

My approach now-a-days is to NEVER give aid or credit to the opposition. Kerry did this recently with Bush by agreeing with one of Bush's foreign policy decisions. When it comes to the opposition, my mother should have said, "if you have nothing bad to say, say nothing at all". Giuliani will be running for office in the future, and as an elected official, I think he was terrible, for many reasons. Yet, when he does run, he will run on that exact image that you have of him. And as result, he will probably win. And your letter will have helped him do that.

But whatever small degree of positive influence for Rudy my letter may have had that may or may not help him in the future, I believe that it had ten times the negative influence toward Dubya*. I needed to show how Bush SHOULD have handled 9/11 and compare it to how he DID handle 9/11. And the truth is that Rudy handled 9/11 the way Bush SHOULD have.

I'm no Giuliani-worshipper, but in this case Rudy was an effective tool to use against Bush. I think we should use every tool at our disposal.

If Bush does something positive or progressive, will you write a letter to the editor commending him on it?

If Bush did positive, progressive things, that would make me very happy. But I think you are misunderstanding the point of the letter... it wasn't to "commend" Giuliani per se, but to show that Bush by contrast was not the "strong, steady leader" he proclaims himself to be every fifteen minutes on primetime television while showing video of 9/11.

that I think the letter is excellent, but I also think that you could have written it w/o giving any credit to Giuliani.

I'm not offended by your comments in the least. You're entitled to your opinion, and I certainly understand it. Giuliani is a Republican, he leaves a bad taste in your mouth -- mine too. He has done and said a lot of things that make me dislike him.

But credit where it's due. If Bill Clinton had been in NYC that day, and had done what Giuliani did while Bush* was pissing his pants, we wouldn't be having this conversation. This isn't about the "R" after Giuliani's name, it's about the "Coward" after Bush's.

I get your point (over and over again). But it seems you missed my point, so I'll leave it at that. Thanks for the letter, and congrats for the publication.

as a native NYer, I was constantly amazed at his disgusting cuts in social services, particularly in education.

But in the aftermath of 9/11, Rudy earned my ever-lasting respect and admiration. Honestly, if he ran for nearly any office in NY, he'd win in a landslide, and I'd bet even a majority of Democrats would vote for him. He showed real heroism, and regardless of his political affiliation, he deserves a ton of credit.

Giuliani did not have "thousands of gallons of diesel fuel stored in the upper floors of one of the twin towers". The diesel fuel was in WTC7.

"Right away, Rudolph Giuliani came out to defend him to the death. He said the commercial was true and right to put on because it was "appropriate." He was a nobody as a mayor and in one day he became a hero. This sudden career, this door opening to a room of gold, all started for Rudolph Giuliani when his indestructible bunker in a World Trade Center building blew up. He had personally selected it, high in the sky, and with tons of diesel fuel to give emergency power."

http://www.newsday.com/mynews/ny-nybres073698923mar07,0,3515744.column

I meant to say in at the World Trade Center, not one of the Twin Towers. As a reminder, WTC7 blew up too, with no apparent reason.

(from Australia) before w.

http://dir.salon.com/politics/feature/2001/09/14/clinton/index.html

"Clinton made his remarks during an unannounced and spontaneous walk through lower Manhattan Thursday afternoon, not far from where rescue workers were still desperately digging through mounds of rubble at what had been the World Trade Center. Clinton, accompanied by three Secret Service agents and an aide, arrived at 4 p.m. at Union Square, where hundreds of people have set up a makeshift memorial to the victims of the Trade Center attack."

Later....

"President Bush is scheduled to visit New York Friday."

What the heck is Bush thinking swaggering about his so-called leadership?

.

people like you will change the world :yourock:

Well, people at my primarily Republican workplace saw the article. I think it made them feel... uncomfortable.

The best thing I heard about it at work today was one of my coworkers (and a good friend) said, "I didn't COMPLETELY agree with what you said, but I understood it."

Sometimes being right isn't always popular.

N/t

Just Great. Thank you.

What a great letter.