Asleep at the Wheel: Bush's August 2001 Vacation from WP

Must read and forward article, IMO:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A2676-2004Apr10?language=printer

Bush Gave No Sign of Worry In August 2001

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A former Bush aide who remains close to the White House said the use of the term "battle stations" by Rice was an overstatement as it is understood in what the White House constantly calls "the post-9/11 world." The former aide, who refused to be identified to avoid angering the president and his staff, said that some members of Bush's senior staff did not know the extent of the information he had been given about the al Qaeda threat, and that even those in his inner circle did not imagine "the scale, the precision, the magnitude" of the strikes on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

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In retrospect, Bush's schedule for August 2001 seems quaint, the issues relatively small. On the first of the month, Bush announced a tentative agreement on an HMO patients' "Bill of Rights." The next day, he met with lawmakers about education. On Aug. 4, the issue was Medicaid; on Aug. 8, Bush helped to build a Habitat for Humanity home. Aug. 13 found him celebrating agricultural legislation, and the next day put him at a YMCA picnic. The rest of the month brought him to a fundraiser in New Mexico, a Harley-Davidson plant, a Target store, a Little League championship and a steelworkers' picnic.

Security issues did arise, but nothing about domestic terrorism. During the month, Bush announced his support of peace developments in Northern Ireland, spoke of U.S. withdrawal from an arms treaty with Russia, complained about the "menace" of Saddam Hussein shooting at U.S. planes over Iraq, and named Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers to be the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The possibility of terrorist attacks against the United States never came up.

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...on his little vacation week, saying that he better get his shit together real quick.

August 2001 was like the doldrums ... it was way too quiet ...

with * getting off to a shaky start after the coronation ... many of us were uneasy during that time ...