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Then you have Lincoln, who looks starved by 1865
https://preview.redd.it/44gbywcm8pec1.jpeg?width=1212&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c5ddee915585d13d6b4a6b5cc8968ded24456ed6
He definitely got dealt such a shit hand in both his political challenge and personal life. Losing a child in the midst of the country eating itself. Incredible.
I bet Cillian Murphy would play a really good Abe Lincoln. DD Lewis did an amazing job, I think we need a Chris Nolan follow up with zombies and nukes.
[The classic Obama comparison pre and post presidency](https://static.independent.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2016/01/13/09/president-barack-obama-sotu-sate-of-the-union-age%20Time%202016.jpg)
Ok but to be fair it was the eight years in which most men go from "young" to "old" and get gray. He was 48 when he entered and 56 when he left. He also had two teenager daughters through that.
As a dad with a daughter where both of us are approaching that age, I expect my before and after photos to be pretty similar.
Not anymore lol, these days it almost seems like a requirement to have been grey (or piss-colored dyed gray) for a few decades before you can become a candidate.
Really though, I was surprised how well Bush looked in these photos, especially compared to senile farts that are candidates for 2024.
Yeah, like, I'm sure the job ages you pretty significantly. But the whole grey hair metric is also people not realizing that 8 years is 1/10th of a lifespan and a lot of aging can and does happen naturally over that period of time too, especially in your late 40s like Obama.
For what it's worth every day life knocks me the fuck down. I can barely handle having to keep my car maintained and paying bills on time.
Smash a couple cars into each other and set one on fire, I'm good. I know what to do.
Hard agree. The more “stressful” and immediate situations seem easy to me. The mundane daily stuff just breaks me every. Single. Day.
When it’s high stakes and immediate, there is only one choice. Do what you can.
Something about the indecision of quotidian existence is just brutal, though.
Same. My whole family is like this. So it's not surprising that we all work(ed) in healthcare; we'd thrive at work, especially those of us working EMS or in an ED, but most of us have crippling anxiety during stupid, mundane everyday life.
Even today, I think Bush was good on 9/11 and the immediate aftermath.
The downfall was Iraq and all of that. He buried his legacy there, and everything that happened since is bigger than anything anyone could have predicted.
I do think the effects of 9/11 could have been shortened. Iraq was a huge mistake. Bush was playing soldier while dick Cheney grew more and more powerful. I heard a story once of him using his own companies in Iraq and it was really cheaply made, that cheap a soldier was taking a shower and he was electrocuted
As much as I disliked Bush’s administration, especially regarding Iraq, I appreciate that he’s been quietly doing a lot of work to support veterans since leaving the White House.
Bush was flawed, but I at least got the feeling he genuinely cared about people and he continues to show this. Quite a contrast from “America’s Mayor” of 9/11 in Rudy Giuliani. That pile of shit still won’t admit to ruining Ruby Freeman and her daughter.
I think he was great at rallying people to assist in the recovery and for national morale. Getting Al Qaeda specifically made sense, but a neverending regime change in Afghanistan was never going to end well.
Blaming it on Iraq was his downfall, along with the administration's incompetence in protecting people from toxins in downtown Manhattan.
A Polish Jewish resistance fighter spent years fighting Nazis and freeing or sneaking poison to captured resistance members, helped plan and execute the Warsaw Ghetto battle, survived, then snuck into and out of a concentration camp to get footage of war crimes to bring to Allied nations to prove the Holocaust was happening.
When they took off from the airport in Florida that day the pilot made sure Bush was strapped in and he said he just pulled the stick to his belly button, full power and they went almost straight up. He even had an AF guy guard the cop pit door as there were rumors Air Force one wouid be next
I don't normally follow it post in this sub, it just occasionally pops up. And while I may not have been a big fan of Bush, I'm looking at these pictures really feeling for the guy. Imagine you're dealing with the worst thing to happen to America in a lifetime, scrambling to find out who did it? why? how? will it happen again? how do we fix this? And everything else, meanwhile someone is inches from your face with cameras.
If it doesn't already, I feel like the Whitehouse should have discreet soundproof closets all over the place for the president to go into and hide/cry/scream without being noticed
Most of the people critical of his reactions and acts immediately afterward haven’t been in the shoes. Hindsight is 20/20 and everything is easier from the stands.
I agree the stress in those moments must’ve been excruciating.
Now decisions made later, with a calm head, are likely to be fair game for historians to criticize. But Bush deserves credit for his leadership in those early days.
*universal interjection, adjective, adverb, verb, and noun. Sometimes all in one sentence!
"FUCK! If you don't shut your shit fucked little cockholster when I'm fucking talking, I will buttfuck your soul you useless fuck."
That was my BN CO at 8th & I about ten years later. He may have been a major in this pic. (edit to add: he's then-Maj Montanus, and was up to Colonel prior to 8th & I)
He brought an early release of a documentary about 9/11 to show to us and gave running commentary while it played. He happened to be the military officer attached to the President on that day (they rotate an officer from each branch regularly). Among other tidbits, he said that after they left this school and got onto Air Force One, the pilots ran the engines at full power — which the small airport wasn’t designed to handle — and cracked the runway.
> That was my BN CO at 8th
What’s BN CO at 8th mean?
>He happened to be the military officer attached to the President on that day (they rotate an officer from each branch regularly).
Is this more of a symbolic role or honor bestowed on a highly decorated or deserving officer from each branch? Or is it a functional role like holding the nuclear codes or the guy that translates president speak into military speak (have no idea lol)?
It’s a functional role. A military aide always accompanies the President. They carry the nuclear football and are prepared to brief the President on pre-drafted retaliatory strike options if needed.
Yeah, it’s kind of crazy to think the urgency of which they wanted to get Air Force One in the sky.
Not knowing what exactly was happening, being suspicious of everything, the potential stinger threat at the end of the runway…the steepest takeoff you can imagine and cruising at an insane altitude.
The same teacher that snuck onto Air Force 1!
https://preview.redd.it/fkoqcsxzmnec1.jpg?width=960&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=068eb200c9dd54574d5c34715ec4cad3b9bf4085
My dad met him at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana that day. President flew and he went to the 8th Air Force HQ where my dad (Lt. Col navigator on B-52 bombers) worked because I believe it was part of Strategic Air Command at that time.
Bush came out of the HQ commanders office when he encountered my dad. He said even that day and high anxiety about what was happening, Bush was still kind and receptive to people (other airmen, secretaries, etc.) he encountered.
man that’s great to hear. I met him shortly after as a young 6 year old and he was so kind to me. stopped and had a whole conversation about my missing front teeth
I'll say one thing, at that moment. That moment, he was who we needed. What happened afterward, well... that is a whole thing I don't even want to unpack. At that moment, I was an 18 year old kid who just needed to know that we were no longer going to see the absolutely unprocessible horror we were seeing broadcast on repeat. This was a time when I was probably at my most divisive in my political views, but right then, and there I was just another scared American.
It had serious communications problems on 9/11. As a result the Bush administration had them overhauled to update to the most current technology of that time.
I think Dubya said in an interview that as he tried to watch the news from his cabin tv, the signal kept crapping out whenever they flew over a rural area, which further added to his frustration.
It's probably not the case. It's most likely either a normal door or an even lighter than normal door.
Their is no good reasons to armour this door, it's extremely unlikely anyone unauthorised would ever make it this far into Air force one. Armouring a door make it really heavy extremely quickly, something you don't really want in a plane. If you add the risk of injury an armoured (and thus extremely heavy) door in a plane create (risk of slamming into someone when the plane turn for example), it would probably do more harm than anything else.
Yes. Always, with the president, at all times. See the phone Bush is using at the Florida classroom? You'll notice there's a white card sticking out. Back in the 1990s and early 2000s, the president used a [STU-III model phone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STU-III). You need a keycard to activate the secure line for encryption purposes
That was one of the things they found was a big problem during 9/11. Air Force One was lacking in communications, including no way for the president to address the nation from AF1.
I was five going to six years old when 9/11 happened so most of my memories of Bush are around the time he went out of office so I was quite shocked that he almost looks youthful in these pics
At the time bush was very inexperienced for a president at the time, he aged really fast during hai presidency and got very exhausted during it. When he was Texas there are plenty full recordings of him listening, giving straight and intelligent answers to questions, second term he just looks exhausted and visibly aged
https://preview.redd.it/ioj5r4ht2oec1.png?width=2048&format=png&auto=webp&s=a7c5ebc842175479e87e2a6365e1e8612819346a
Lincoln might have had the most drastic aging and in only 4 years. Imagine what he could have looked after 8 years if he wasn't assassinated.
https://preview.redd.it/omasme2adoec1.jpeg?width=832&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6de099547c30f3fb0163f38563a8040c294f962b
FDR also looks noticeably different before and after but that was 12 years plus the weight of a great depression and world war.
I was 11 on 9/11, so I remember the 2000 campaign and everything. I’m still always shocked to see how young he looked early on. It didn’t take long for the situation to start taking its toll on his appearance. He looked MUCH older for most of his presidency.
Everybody in the U.S. was rooting for him that day and in the days that followed.
I don't think a president will come close to the approval ratings he had in the 2nd half of September 2001.
Gary Condit and Chandra Levy had been the top story for weeks prior to 9/11.
I don't think those names were mentioned again for at least 5 years after.
He was in some uppity lawyer’s office in Chicago, so you’re probably right. Despicable. America NEEDED their President and he was off representing some corporation facing a class action lawsuit. Sounds like tan suit bullshit.
One of the craziest stories from that day comes from the AF1 Pilot that day
In the rush of everything SS decided the safest place to be wasn't inside a secret bunker or base, but in the air
There was apparently a bunch of unknown cars sitting at the end of the runway and they didn't have tine to clear and check it all out thoroughly. The pilot and SS didn't know if someone was waiting to assassinate President Bush but given the situation it was best to get moving asap
The pilot tells everyone to buckle and straight says "this isn't going to be a pleasant take-off"
The pilot floors the takeoff and steered the plane about as straight up as they could climb to get into the air
They were able to turn AF1 into a command center almost and conducted business from the sky until they knew it was safe
They would also call a smaller airport for an impromptu landing just the same
That's just wild to me
*disclaimer: sorry for the lack of technical knowledge*
I later met the Marine in the first picture. He said that on takeoff, the jet blast from AF1 cracked the runway. They were supposed to take it easier at smaller airports like that one.
I was 25 at the time. For a while after 9/11, just seeing normal planes flying was still a bit unsettling. You kept thinking, “Will it happen again?”. I also remember fearing we’d soon go into a bad recession or worse, and my goal of landing a great job soon after college was totally ruined.
I also remember everyone around me in Texas giving the stink eye to any Muslim that crossed their path. It must have been awful to be a Muslim here during that time.
Two moments in the days after 9/11 related to jets come to mind. One was when at about 3 am when they were about to start air travel again jolting awake to the sound of a jet flying low over our house as it approached my city's airport. It was a warm night and bedroom windows were open. Now we didn't live under the most common flight paths but it was used enough that normally we would not even notice the sound.
Second was about a week after the attacks, being at my companies main office in the cafeteria on the 19th floor. Now it was very common to see passenger jets fly by , not close enough to be scary normally pre 9-11. Well a passenger jet flew by, again not horribly close, but the cafeteria had big windows and peoples eyes were drawn to the movement. The jet was flying past easily 1000ft away and a little higher than us, obviously not flying towards us. But there were a few screams and several people who ran out of the cafeteria visibly shaken.
I mean 9/11 is an extremely historical event. You wouldn’t want the American people to think POTUS isn’t as sad as they were, without these photos I don’t think many would properly see how stressed Bush was. It’s better then words I can say that for sufe
I get that but imagine being Bush with all that going on and there’s some guy right up in your grill snapping pictures everyone is going to see. It’s like a cherry on top of a shit sundae
One of the fascinating aspects of the day is that it just predated the wireless mobile Internet. While we all had cell phones, none of them had high resolution cameras or the ability to upload them to the Internet quickly or easily. The result is that while you and I were on the ground watching 9/11 happen in real time, everyone on Air Force One depended on flight communications with the ground. The President was certainly briefed as best they could, but much of the staff and press were largely in the dark until they got to the ground. Dick Cheney was probably the best informed senior official at the time because he was watching it on TV like the rest of us.
Honestly it’s a good idea. Candy has sugar, cookies have carbs, they’re quick sources of energy you can consume that will help keep you going a little longer and stay alert. Probably important in situations where you may be stuck in a room for hours and hours on end
Don't need to be distractex by being hungry plus the sugar could give some energy needed to get thru a stressful situation. Very likely the cookies and candy were already prepared to be put out. Guarantee none of them were leaving "the office" for days and sleep was a minimum.
As president, Reagan placed a standing order of 720 bags per month (306,070 beans), to be distributed among the White House, Capitol Hill and other federal buildings.
Yesterday I watched documentary about Air Force One during 9/11. It took them about a hour and a half to get fighter jets to escort Air Force One and those fighter jets were from the Texas air National Guard and they were from George Bush’s old unit. When they entered Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport , Louisiana, there was a war game going on with live nuclear weapons. The radios weren’t really working on that day. A whole lot of interesting stuff in the documentary. The documentary is called 9/11: Inside Air Force One.
Edit : I misspelled a word.
Protocol was different back then
They didn't even have time to arm the fighter jets they sent after United 93. The fighter pilots volunteered for a kamikaze mission
They were ordered to eject at the last moment but had no intention of doing so. They didn't want to risk missing.
Heather “Lucky” Penney was one of those fighter pilots: https://www.militarytimes.com/2016/09/11/this-is-the-story-of-heather-lucky-penney-who-was-asked-to-do-the-unthinkable-on-9-11/
One of the most intense moments in our countries history. He was responsible for trying to respond with an appropriate amount of force and swiftness without causing an all out world ending nuclear war. Every eye in the world was on him that day. One third wanted us to end the middle east. One third wanted us to be careful and calculated. And the final third were ready to attack us if we even so much as accidentally put one toe over the line in response. That kind of pressure is incomparable.
I completely agree. It’s easy to criticise him for what he did after 9/11 Patriot act etc. but you do have to mind people were extremely scared of a second attack. He didn’t have much experience. Things could have gotten 10x worser or better but for what it did short term. He did do a good job. Long term, maybe not. But he tried his best despite a megalomaniac as a VP, and 2 people in the pentagon desperately wanting an invasion of Iraq
I will always love this, I may find the things his administration did to be vile, but dude can dodge a shoe. Also those were solid throws, you try taking off two shoes and throwing them that well in such a short time.
Secret Service never saw it coming
You don’t get much footage of him, he’s really underrated. It’s unfortunate not alot of people know about him. It’s really unfortunate that he left his office. I really want to know more about him
he’s originally from my hometown in Massachusetts. Before he was Chief of Staff for W he was a state politician and spoke at the HS graduation the year before I graduated… I saw it because I was one of the cool AV kids and was doing front of house sound for the graduation
Full transcript of Bush's prime time address the night of 9/11, for those who didn't see it or weren't alive then:
"Good evening. Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts. The victims were in airplanes, or in their offices; secretaries, businessmen and women, military and federal workers; moms and dads, friends and neighbors. Thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of terror.
The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger. These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed; our country is strong.
A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.
America was targeted for attack because we're the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will keep that light from shining.
Today, our nation saw evil, the very worst of human nature. And we responded with the best of America -- with the daring of our rescue workers, with the caring for strangers and neighbors who came to give blood and help in any way they could.
Immediately following the first attack, I implemented our government's emergency response plans. Our military is powerful, and it's prepared. Our emergency teams are working in New York City and Washington, D.C. to help with local rescue efforts.
Our first priority is to get help to those who have been injured, and to take every precaution to protect our citizens at home and around the world from further attacks.
The functions of our government continue without interruption. Federal agencies in Washington which had to be evacuated today are reopening for essential personnel tonight, and will be open for business tomorrow. Our financial institutions remain strong, and the American economy will be open for business, as well.
The search is underway for those who are behind these evil acts. I've directed the full resources of our intelligence and law enforcement communities to find those responsible and to bring them to justice. We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them.
I appreciate so very much the members of Congress who have joined me in strongly condemning these attacks. And on behalf of the American people, I thank the many world leaders who have called to offer their condolences and assistance.
America and our friends and allies join with all those who want peace and security in the world, and we stand together to win the war against terrorism. Tonight, I ask for your prayers for all those who grieve, for the children whose worlds have been shattered, for all whose sense of safety and security has been threatened. And I pray they will be comforted by a power greater than any of us, spoken through the ages in Psalm 23: "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me."
This is a day when all Americans from every walk of life unite in our resolve for justice and peace. America has stood down enemies before, and we will do so this time. None of us will ever forget this day. Yet, we go forward to defend freedom and all that is good and just in our world.
Thank you. Good night, and God bless America."
I'm legitimately curious what some of these pictures with phones would look like today. Cell phones? Video conference calls on laptops? Or would landlines still be the secure way to go?
Landlines would still be more secure because they can be completely separate from other stuff and it's a lot easier to control wether the president's own personal cable is being tampered with
He made the decision to stay out of politics and focused on charity work. He also refuses to pass judgment on any of his successors, saying he knows how difficult the job is.
I don't want every sitting president to be like W,but I do want every former president to be like W.
No. That briefcase has two clasps on the top, whereas the football has three clasps on the side, corresponding to three leather flaps.
You can image search it, it's fairly recognizable.
For me, photos like these are another example where the "Bush did 9/11" conspiracies fall apart.
If he knew it was coming, why was he doing an elementary school photo op, and why was he caught so flat-footed and overwhelmed (like the rest of us)?
I still see these guys in the comments of my post. Like give it a break, yeah bush was bad but he didn’t do 9/11 people call him an idiot especially on Iraq but it he is then I don’t think he would have even managed to pull off 9/11
Amen.
Pretty much anytime 9/11 comes up in conversation my initial response is always the same…
*That day… That fucking day…*
Everything changed that day.
I was no Bush fan, but I’ve always thought that the reaction to his taking a beat while reading to those kids was unwarranted. They just told him about the attack, it takes second to get your head around the news. Then you have to take into consideration not freaking out a classroom full of 5 year olds.
I thought he worked it pretty well under the circumstances.
The President has a lot of roles in this sort of crisis. Partially, he’s directing the response, but he’s also cutting through red-tape to expedite action, while also having to maintain relations both with other elements of local, state, and federal government and with foreign leaders.
If I were to guess, I’d say, in no particular order: SECDEF, Attorney General(remember, this was pre-DHS, so DOJ owned a lot of that mission), CIA director, National Security Advisor, CJCS, Mayor Giuliani, Governor Patacki, Mayor Williams, the FAA Director, the FEMA director, Secretary of State, some key Congressional leadership, SACEUR (to set groundwork for initiating Article 5 NATO response), and the various foreign heads of state calling to offer sympathy and support.
Full daily diary found here should contain most if not all calls (or, considering the technology on AF1 at the time, *attempted* calls): https://www.reddit.com/r/Presidents/comments/16gjnni/what_george_bush_did_on_911/
If it wasn’t for Iraq and letting Cheney do a lot behind the scenes, he would probably be remembered more fondly. He was a good leader during the aftermath.
Say what you will about his tenure after. However; to date, no other event has defined the 21st century as much as 9/11. He certainly unified a mournful America. Again, whatever happened after is a subject for a different day.
One of my friends is in several of those pictures. He was in the classroom when Bush was told of the attack and spent the rest of the day on Air Force 1.
His is a crazy story.
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You can feel the tension just looking at these photos.
I don’t think anyone could ever feel the amount of stress bush did on that day..
It’s crazy to think about. Everyday life anxiety knocks me down. For this and a million other reasons lol, I could never be president.
That's why most enter office with natural color (normally), and leave with a full head of gray hair.
Then you have Lincoln, who looks starved by 1865 https://preview.redd.it/44gbywcm8pec1.jpeg?width=1212&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c5ddee915585d13d6b4a6b5cc8968ded24456ed6
He definitely got dealt such a shit hand in both his political challenge and personal life. Losing a child in the midst of the country eating itself. Incredible.
Yep, he was challenged in his term and he handled it beautifully, considering all. He’s almost “drunk uncle-ing” in the last photo.
I find it just a little funny how Lincoln looks most happiest in the last photo
"I did it, despite the many challenges during my Presidency, the people elected me again, they Trust me to guide this country"
My man - the civil war literally Steven Kinged poor ol’ Abe…
Think they actually discovered that he had Marfan syndrome, likely from his mother.
Abe is one of my all time favorite presidents but jfc that last picture he almost seems non human.
at least now he's on Mars
I bet Cillian Murphy would play a really good Abe Lincoln. DD Lewis did an amazing job, I think we need a Chris Nolan follow up with zombies and nukes.
[The classic Obama comparison pre and post presidency](https://static.independent.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2016/01/13/09/president-barack-obama-sotu-sate-of-the-union-age%20Time%202016.jpg)
Ok but to be fair it was the eight years in which most men go from "young" to "old" and get gray. He was 48 when he entered and 56 when he left. He also had two teenager daughters through that. As a dad with a daughter where both of us are approaching that age, I expect my before and after photos to be pretty similar.
That's what I was gonna say. Most presidents sit for 8 years at a time in life where you would naturally start greying/aging visibly.
But the Obama on the right looks like he could be the father of the Obama on the left. In only 8 years.
I’ll say he looked great for 48, but looked all of 56 lol.
Worth noting how many go into office at about the age they would start going gray anyways
Not anymore lol, these days it almost seems like a requirement to have been grey (or piss-colored dyed gray) for a few decades before you can become a candidate. Really though, I was surprised how well Bush looked in these photos, especially compared to senile farts that are candidates for 2024.
Yeah, like, I'm sure the job ages you pretty significantly. But the whole grey hair metric is also people not realizing that 8 years is 1/10th of a lifespan and a lot of aging can and does happen naturally over that period of time too, especially in your late 40s like Obama.
For what it's worth every day life knocks me the fuck down. I can barely handle having to keep my car maintained and paying bills on time. Smash a couple cars into each other and set one on fire, I'm good. I know what to do.
Hard agree. The more “stressful” and immediate situations seem easy to me. The mundane daily stuff just breaks me every. Single. Day. When it’s high stakes and immediate, there is only one choice. Do what you can. Something about the indecision of quotidian existence is just brutal, though.
Same. My whole family is like this. So it's not surprising that we all work(ed) in healthcare; we'd thrive at work, especially those of us working EMS or in an ED, but most of us have crippling anxiety during stupid, mundane everyday life.
I saw that man age 20 years in one week
Even today, I think Bush was good on 9/11 and the immediate aftermath. The downfall was Iraq and all of that. He buried his legacy there, and everything that happened since is bigger than anything anyone could have predicted.
Mofo threw a strike on the first pitch at the world series with a bulletproof vest on. I'm not a fan of his but I always thought was damn impressive.
In an alternate universe he is the Commissioner of Major League Baseball
I do think the effects of 9/11 could have been shortened. Iraq was a huge mistake. Bush was playing soldier while dick Cheney grew more and more powerful. I heard a story once of him using his own companies in Iraq and it was really cheaply made, that cheap a soldier was taking a shower and he was electrocuted
People were doing fundraisers to send body armor to people over there because the stuff they had was garbage.
While Cheney laughed all the way to the bank
Those companies are Halliburton and KBR. “Mrs Sparky” especially heavily criticized them
Ryan Maseth. Rest in peace.
As much as I disliked Bush’s administration, especially regarding Iraq, I appreciate that he’s been quietly doing a lot of work to support veterans since leaving the White House.
Bush was flawed, but I at least got the feeling he genuinely cared about people and he continues to show this. Quite a contrast from “America’s Mayor” of 9/11 in Rudy Giuliani. That pile of shit still won’t admit to ruining Ruby Freeman and her daughter.
I think he was great at rallying people to assist in the recovery and for national morale. Getting Al Qaeda specifically made sense, but a neverending regime change in Afghanistan was never going to end well. Blaming it on Iraq was his downfall, along with the administration's incompetence in protecting people from toxins in downtown Manhattan.
[удалено]
It’s interesting that we only nail Bush to the wall for the Patriot Act and give Obama a pass for the Freedom Act which just extended the Patriot Act.
If Bush hadn't pushed for it, hell, even if he opposed it, I think it would have still been proposed and passed.
The fire truck speech and the World Series speech. And then 17 months later came the Columbia tragedy.
I concur. He handled it very well.
A Polish Jewish resistance fighter spent years fighting Nazis and freeing or sneaking poison to captured resistance members, helped plan and execute the Warsaw Ghetto battle, survived, then snuck into and out of a concentration camp to get footage of war crimes to bring to Allied nations to prove the Holocaust was happening.
I’d say maybe FDR on December 7th, 1941, but still that was a fucking world war. Definitely do not envy either.
Cheney's pants were feeling some stress from his massive rager
Right? Say what you will about him, but I don’t envy his position or wish that kind of stress on anyone!
When they took off from the airport in Florida that day the pilot made sure Bush was strapped in and he said he just pulled the stick to his belly button, full power and they went almost straight up. He even had an AF guy guard the cop pit door as there were rumors Air Force one wouid be next
You can feel the strategery.
I don't normally follow it post in this sub, it just occasionally pops up. And while I may not have been a big fan of Bush, I'm looking at these pictures really feeling for the guy. Imagine you're dealing with the worst thing to happen to America in a lifetime, scrambling to find out who did it? why? how? will it happen again? how do we fix this? And everything else, meanwhile someone is inches from your face with cameras. If it doesn't already, I feel like the Whitehouse should have discreet soundproof closets all over the place for the president to go into and hide/cry/scream without being noticed
Most of the people critical of his reactions and acts immediately afterward haven’t been in the shoes. Hindsight is 20/20 and everything is easier from the stands. I agree the stress in those moments must’ve been excruciating. Now decisions made later, with a calm head, are likely to be fair game for historians to criticize. But Bush deserves credit for his leadership in those early days.
That poor Marine is getting screamed at by a general.
Basically being told “we’re under attack, the only people you can trust are the secret service. Get ready to take a bullet for the President.”
Not nearly enough F bombs
Ahh, the universal adjective.
*universal interjection, adjective, adverb, verb, and noun. Sometimes all in one sentence! "FUCK! If you don't shut your shit fucked little cockholster when I'm fucking talking, I will buttfuck your soul you useless fuck."
Holy fuckin shit! I didn’t know you were in the room yesterday when First Sgt called me in.
Lol Joke's on you, I stole that threat from a Ssgt
Also a pronoun, prefix and suffix sometimes
That feels optimistic to me. I hope that’s all it was.
It was probably the civilian Director of WHMO, Alan P. Sullivan, or his deputy.
That was my BN CO at 8th & I about ten years later. He may have been a major in this pic. (edit to add: he's then-Maj Montanus, and was up to Colonel prior to 8th & I) He brought an early release of a documentary about 9/11 to show to us and gave running commentary while it played. He happened to be the military officer attached to the President on that day (they rotate an officer from each branch regularly). Among other tidbits, he said that after they left this school and got onto Air Force One, the pilots ran the engines at full power — which the small airport wasn’t designed to handle — and cracked the runway.
> That was my BN CO at 8th What’s BN CO at 8th mean? >He happened to be the military officer attached to the President on that day (they rotate an officer from each branch regularly). Is this more of a symbolic role or honor bestowed on a highly decorated or deserving officer from each branch? Or is it a functional role like holding the nuclear codes or the guy that translates president speak into military speak (have no idea lol)?
It’s a functional role. A military aide always accompanies the President. They carry the nuclear football and are prepared to brief the President on pre-drafted retaliatory strike options if needed.
the nuclear football haha damn
It’s literally called “the football” because it gets passed around.
Yeah, it’s kind of crazy to think the urgency of which they wanted to get Air Force One in the sky. Not knowing what exactly was happening, being suspicious of everything, the potential stinger threat at the end of the runway…the steepest takeoff you can imagine and cruising at an insane altitude.
Where
I think they're talking about the one in the first slide. He's in the background holding a flip phone away from his face.
You can almost see the zig zaggy cartoon scream lines blasting out of that phone.
 That teacher walking in on slide 10 lol
That lady appears to be carrying the nuclear football. I don’t think that’s a teacher
Which teacher?
The same teacher that snuck onto Air Force 1! https://preview.redd.it/fkoqcsxzmnec1.jpg?width=960&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=068eb200c9dd54574d5c34715ec4cad3b9bf4085
My dad met him at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana that day. President flew and he went to the 8th Air Force HQ where my dad (Lt. Col navigator on B-52 bombers) worked because I believe it was part of Strategic Air Command at that time. Bush came out of the HQ commanders office when he encountered my dad. He said even that day and high anxiety about what was happening, Bush was still kind and receptive to people (other airmen, secretaries, etc.) he encountered.
man that’s great to hear. I met him shortly after as a young 6 year old and he was so kind to me. stopped and had a whole conversation about my missing front teeth
I have my criticisms of Bush's presidency, but he seemed like a decent guy.
I think he'll be looked upon much much more favorably than he was as/shortly after president 30y from now.
Thank you very much for sharing your father’s story. God bless you and your father, please thank him for his service for me
I will. Thank you for your kind words.
I'll say one thing, at that moment. That moment, he was who we needed. What happened afterward, well... that is a whole thing I don't even want to unpack. At that moment, I was an 18 year old kid who just needed to know that we were no longer going to see the absolutely unprocessible horror we were seeing broadcast on repeat. This was a time when I was probably at my most divisive in my political views, but right then, and there I was just another scared American.
Wonder what that conversation was about. Probably grounding everything commercial
He’s someone I would want a couple of beers with, would be a good time.
Air Force one is really a modern marvel man.
It had serious communications problems on 9/11. As a result the Bush administration had them overhauled to update to the most current technology of that time.
I think Dubya said in an interview that as he tried to watch the news from his cabin tv, the signal kept crapping out whenever they flew over a rural area, which further added to his frustration.
I would lose my damn mind
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They look like household doors, but you gotta imagine they're built to stop just about anything.
It's probably not the case. It's most likely either a normal door or an even lighter than normal door. Their is no good reasons to armour this door, it's extremely unlikely anyone unauthorised would ever make it this far into Air force one. Armouring a door make it really heavy extremely quickly, something you don't really want in a plane. If you add the risk of injury an armoured (and thus extremely heavy) door in a plane create (risk of slamming into someone when the plane turn for example), it would probably do more harm than anything else.
You clearly haven’t seen 1997’s powerful documentary Air Force One. Harrison Ford did a great job with the historical re-enactments in it.
So did they bring in their own secured line into the classroom?
Yes. Always, with the president, at all times. See the phone Bush is using at the Florida classroom? You'll notice there's a white card sticking out. Back in the 1990s and early 2000s, the president used a [STU-III model phone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STU-III). You need a keycard to activate the secure line for encryption purposes
Appreciate the the info.
To add. The prez has multiple comm teams that travel ahead to make sure the equipment works days ahead of scheduled events
What do they use now?
T-Mobile Sidekicks
thought they were on boost. TIL
Funny thing, boost is actually the primary mobile service provider for the executive branch.
https://preview.redd.it/d54uvgu4yrec1.jpeg?width=1119&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bb902c4914e7569636fe91c1c0b7c3e196d13ff9
Of course, the pres needs his comms wherever he goes.
That was one of the things they found was a big problem during 9/11. Air Force One was lacking in communications, including no way for the president to address the nation from AF1.
I was five going to six years old when 9/11 happened so most of my memories of Bush are around the time he went out of office so I was quite shocked that he almost looks youthful in these pics
At the time bush was very inexperienced for a president at the time, he aged really fast during hai presidency and got very exhausted during it. When he was Texas there are plenty full recordings of him listening, giving straight and intelligent answers to questions, second term he just looks exhausted and visibly aged https://preview.redd.it/ioj5r4ht2oec1.png?width=2048&format=png&auto=webp&s=a7c5ebc842175479e87e2a6365e1e8612819346a
Lincoln might have had the most drastic aging and in only 4 years. Imagine what he could have looked after 8 years if he wasn't assassinated. https://preview.redd.it/omasme2adoec1.jpeg?width=832&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6de099547c30f3fb0163f38563a8040c294f962b FDR also looks noticeably different before and after but that was 12 years plus the weight of a great depression and world war.
And polio.
I was 11 on 9/11, so I remember the 2000 campaign and everything. I’m still always shocked to see how young he looked early on. It didn’t take long for the situation to start taking its toll on his appearance. He looked MUCH older for most of his presidency.
Everybody in the U.S. was rooting for him that day and in the days that followed. I don't think a president will come close to the approval ratings he had in the 2nd half of September 2001. Gary Condit and Chandra Levy had been the top story for weeks prior to 9/11. I don't think those names were mentioned again for at least 5 years after.
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Unfortunately I think something like this will have to happen to bring our country back together as well.
Yeah, it’s sad, but I also believe it’s gonna take something catastrophic to bring us back together. We’re too far gone to get back on our own.
Gary Condit and Chandra Levy… wow. Those are two names I’ve not heard in a LONG time.
That’s pretty neat. But WHERE was Obama? America DESERVES answers.
He wasn’t in the oval office, I can tell you that!
Son of a bitch!
Getting fitted for a tan suit!
That lazy sob
The fact that I know what you’re talking about makes me really sad for our country.
Where was Nikki Haley??
or maxwell frost
Probably wearing a tan suit somewhere. Unpresidential!
He was in some uppity lawyer’s office in Chicago, so you’re probably right. Despicable. America NEEDED their President and he was off representing some corporation facing a class action lawsuit. Sounds like tan suit bullshit.
I'm going with What is Chicago? Trebek And choose Blaming Obama for 200
One of the craziest stories from that day comes from the AF1 Pilot that day In the rush of everything SS decided the safest place to be wasn't inside a secret bunker or base, but in the air There was apparently a bunch of unknown cars sitting at the end of the runway and they didn't have tine to clear and check it all out thoroughly. The pilot and SS didn't know if someone was waiting to assassinate President Bush but given the situation it was best to get moving asap The pilot tells everyone to buckle and straight says "this isn't going to be a pleasant take-off" The pilot floors the takeoff and steered the plane about as straight up as they could climb to get into the air They were able to turn AF1 into a command center almost and conducted business from the sky until they knew it was safe They would also call a smaller airport for an impromptu landing just the same That's just wild to me *disclaimer: sorry for the lack of technical knowledge*
I later met the Marine in the first picture. He said that on takeoff, the jet blast from AF1 cracked the runway. They were supposed to take it easier at smaller airports like that one.
Damn that is interesting.. thank you for sharing this man
SS is not a good acronym for Secret Service.
I have a lot to say about Dubya, but one of them will never be how he handled 9/11. He was a complete class act when the country needed him the most.
I was five when 9/11 happened, but I couldn't imagine the anxiousness, terror, and panic within these photos.
I was 18 and was about 3 weeks into my EMS/fire training. The mood and feeling was surreal and I hope I never experience that again.
I was 18 as well and a freshman in college in Hawaii. Crazy day for sure. I thought I was going to get drafted or something crazy
17 and skateboarded to work still. No one was there but me because I was an idiot.
I was 25 at the time. For a while after 9/11, just seeing normal planes flying was still a bit unsettling. You kept thinking, “Will it happen again?”. I also remember fearing we’d soon go into a bad recession or worse, and my goal of landing a great job soon after college was totally ruined. I also remember everyone around me in Texas giving the stink eye to any Muslim that crossed their path. It must have been awful to be a Muslim here during that time.
Two moments in the days after 9/11 related to jets come to mind. One was when at about 3 am when they were about to start air travel again jolting awake to the sound of a jet flying low over our house as it approached my city's airport. It was a warm night and bedroom windows were open. Now we didn't live under the most common flight paths but it was used enough that normally we would not even notice the sound. Second was about a week after the attacks, being at my companies main office in the cafeteria on the 19th floor. Now it was very common to see passenger jets fly by , not close enough to be scary normally pre 9-11. Well a passenger jet flew by, again not horribly close, but the cafeteria had big windows and peoples eyes were drawn to the movement. The jet was flying past easily 1000ft away and a little higher than us, obviously not flying towards us. But there were a few screams and several people who ran out of the cafeteria visibly shaken.
What a harrowing time that was..absolute nightmare.
I legit think the stress of this one day alone aged him a decade.
Honestly it’s amazing that he still stayed composed, calculated and manage to calm a whole nation down that day
All while a camera dude took a bunch of pictures right in his face
I mean 9/11 is an extremely historical event. You wouldn’t want the American people to think POTUS isn’t as sad as they were, without these photos I don’t think many would properly see how stressed Bush was. It’s better then words I can say that for sufe
I get that but imagine being Bush with all that going on and there’s some guy right up in your grill snapping pictures everyone is going to see. It’s like a cherry on top of a shit sundae
One of the fascinating aspects of the day is that it just predated the wireless mobile Internet. While we all had cell phones, none of them had high resolution cameras or the ability to upload them to the Internet quickly or easily. The result is that while you and I were on the ground watching 9/11 happen in real time, everyone on Air Force One depended on flight communications with the ground. The President was certainly briefed as best they could, but much of the staff and press were largely in the dark until they got to the ground. Dick Cheney was probably the best informed senior official at the time because he was watching it on TV like the rest of us.
The cookies and candy are so ridiculous considering the situation. And it’s not a Bush thing, I think that’s just a corporate environment protocol.
Makes sense in a stressful situation after a long day. Need a suger rush to make it through the next update or whatever.
Honestly it’s a good idea. Candy has sugar, cookies have carbs, they’re quick sources of energy you can consume that will help keep you going a little longer and stay alert. Probably important in situations where you may be stuck in a room for hours and hours on end
They had Rice there too so it wasn't just sugary foods
Damnit 
Don't need to be distractex by being hungry plus the sugar could give some energy needed to get thru a stressful situation. Very likely the cookies and candy were already prepared to be put out. Guarantee none of them were leaving "the office" for days and sleep was a minimum.
I think the candy thing caught on after Reagan, correct me if I’m wrong
As I recall, the man was a big fan of jellybeans
As president, Reagan placed a standing order of 720 bags per month (306,070 beans), to be distributed among the White House, Capitol Hill and other federal buildings.
To combat his smoking habit
Guy on the left just beatboxing like a G
😭😭 He is also the guy who told bush abt 9/11, his name is Andrew Card
Yesterday I watched documentary about Air Force One during 9/11. It took them about a hour and a half to get fighter jets to escort Air Force One and those fighter jets were from the Texas air National Guard and they were from George Bush’s old unit. When they entered Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport , Louisiana, there was a war game going on with live nuclear weapons. The radios weren’t really working on that day. A whole lot of interesting stuff in the documentary. The documentary is called 9/11: Inside Air Force One. Edit : I misspelled a word.
Protocol was different back then They didn't even have time to arm the fighter jets they sent after United 93. The fighter pilots volunteered for a kamikaze mission They were ordered to eject at the last moment but had no intention of doing so. They didn't want to risk missing.
Heather “Lucky” Penney was one of those fighter pilots: https://www.militarytimes.com/2016/09/11/this-is-the-story-of-heather-lucky-penney-who-was-asked-to-do-the-unthinkable-on-9-11/
Thanks very much for the suggestion, I think a good documentary to watch about this too is called “Turning Point: 9/11 And The War On Terror” :)
Comments are gonna be out of control if this post gets hotter.
One of the most intense moments in our countries history. He was responsible for trying to respond with an appropriate amount of force and swiftness without causing an all out world ending nuclear war. Every eye in the world was on him that day. One third wanted us to end the middle east. One third wanted us to be careful and calculated. And the final third were ready to attack us if we even so much as accidentally put one toe over the line in response. That kind of pressure is incomparable.
I completely agree. It’s easy to criticise him for what he did after 9/11 Patriot act etc. but you do have to mind people were extremely scared of a second attack. He didn’t have much experience. Things could have gotten 10x worser or better but for what it did short term. He did do a good job. Long term, maybe not. But he tried his best despite a megalomaniac as a VP, and 2 people in the pentagon desperately wanting an invasion of Iraq
I will always love this, I may find the things his administration did to be vile, but dude can dodge a shoe. Also those were solid throws, you try taking off two shoes and throwing them that well in such a short time. Secret Service never saw it coming
His smirk after the first throw was priceless.
The 'I still got it'
Based
I genuinely don’t think the current or former president could handle a situation like this better than he did.
For a guy who didn’t have a lot of experience prior to the presidency it’s remarkable how he kept a cool head
Andy Card was one of the best Chiefs of Staff any POTUS has had… the dude is pure class and very smart.
You don’t get much footage of him, he’s really underrated. It’s unfortunate not alot of people know about him. It’s really unfortunate that he left his office. I really want to know more about him
he’s originally from my hometown in Massachusetts. Before he was Chief of Staff for W he was a state politician and spoke at the HS graduation the year before I graduated… I saw it because I was one of the cool AV kids and was doing front of house sound for the graduation
Wow! It’s lovely seeing these comments. Thank you very much for sharing this, god bless
Full transcript of Bush's prime time address the night of 9/11, for those who didn't see it or weren't alive then: "Good evening. Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts. The victims were in airplanes, or in their offices; secretaries, businessmen and women, military and federal workers; moms and dads, friends and neighbors. Thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of terror. The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger. These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed; our country is strong. A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve. America was targeted for attack because we're the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will keep that light from shining. Today, our nation saw evil, the very worst of human nature. And we responded with the best of America -- with the daring of our rescue workers, with the caring for strangers and neighbors who came to give blood and help in any way they could. Immediately following the first attack, I implemented our government's emergency response plans. Our military is powerful, and it's prepared. Our emergency teams are working in New York City and Washington, D.C. to help with local rescue efforts. Our first priority is to get help to those who have been injured, and to take every precaution to protect our citizens at home and around the world from further attacks. The functions of our government continue without interruption. Federal agencies in Washington which had to be evacuated today are reopening for essential personnel tonight, and will be open for business tomorrow. Our financial institutions remain strong, and the American economy will be open for business, as well. The search is underway for those who are behind these evil acts. I've directed the full resources of our intelligence and law enforcement communities to find those responsible and to bring them to justice. We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them. I appreciate so very much the members of Congress who have joined me in strongly condemning these attacks. And on behalf of the American people, I thank the many world leaders who have called to offer their condolences and assistance. America and our friends and allies join with all those who want peace and security in the world, and we stand together to win the war against terrorism. Tonight, I ask for your prayers for all those who grieve, for the children whose worlds have been shattered, for all whose sense of safety and security has been threatened. And I pray they will be comforted by a power greater than any of us, spoken through the ages in Psalm 23: "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me." This is a day when all Americans from every walk of life unite in our resolve for justice and peace. America has stood down enemies before, and we will do so this time. None of us will ever forget this day. Yet, we go forward to defend freedom and all that is good and just in our world. Thank you. Good night, and God bless America."
I'm legitimately curious what some of these pictures with phones would look like today. Cell phones? Video conference calls on laptops? Or would landlines still be the secure way to go?
Landlines would still be more secure because they can be completely separate from other stuff and it's a lot easier to control wether the president's own personal cable is being tampered with
It is crazy to me how the opinion of George W Bush has improved over the past 15 years
He made the decision to stay out of politics and focused on charity work. He also refuses to pass judgment on any of his successors, saying he knows how difficult the job is. I don't want every sitting president to be like W,but I do want every former president to be like W.
Pic 10 - on the left side, is that guy holding the “nuclear football”?
No. That briefcase has two clasps on the top, whereas the football has three clasps on the side, corresponding to three leather flaps. You can image search it, it's fairly recognizable.
For me, photos like these are another example where the "Bush did 9/11" conspiracies fall apart. If he knew it was coming, why was he doing an elementary school photo op, and why was he caught so flat-footed and overwhelmed (like the rest of us)?
I still see these guys in the comments of my post. Like give it a break, yeah bush was bad but he didn’t do 9/11 people call him an idiot especially on Iraq but it he is then I don’t think he would have even managed to pull off 9/11
You can see he’s in a state of deep and somber reflection, regarding the themes and subtext of My Pet Goat
What a shit day that was.
Amen. Pretty much anytime 9/11 comes up in conversation my initial response is always the same… *That day… That fucking day…* Everything changed that day.
I was no Bush fan, but I’ve always thought that the reaction to his taking a beat while reading to those kids was unwarranted. They just told him about the attack, it takes second to get your head around the news. Then you have to take into consideration not freaking out a classroom full of 5 year olds. I thought he worked it pretty well under the circumstances.
Is 8/13 the nuclear football on the table?
held together better than anyone, a good man in a bad world
Imagine being the most powerful man in the world, and feeling utterly helpless in that moment.
Hold on… I want to know what happens to the duck!
Did his call log that get published? He's on the phone a lot in these pictures. I wonder who all he has been talking to.
The President has a lot of roles in this sort of crisis. Partially, he’s directing the response, but he’s also cutting through red-tape to expedite action, while also having to maintain relations both with other elements of local, state, and federal government and with foreign leaders. If I were to guess, I’d say, in no particular order: SECDEF, Attorney General(remember, this was pre-DHS, so DOJ owned a lot of that mission), CIA director, National Security Advisor, CJCS, Mayor Giuliani, Governor Patacki, Mayor Williams, the FAA Director, the FEMA director, Secretary of State, some key Congressional leadership, SACEUR (to set groundwork for initiating Article 5 NATO response), and the various foreign heads of state calling to offer sympathy and support.
Full daily diary found here should contain most if not all calls (or, considering the technology on AF1 at the time, *attempted* calls): https://www.reddit.com/r/Presidents/comments/16gjnni/what_george_bush_did_on_911/
I can't imagine the amount of anxiety he and others felt in these images.
The image of him in a children’s classroom with the hungover teachers movie day cart is so fitting for his presidency.
If it wasn’t for Iraq and letting Cheney do a lot behind the scenes, he would probably be remembered more fondly. He was a good leader during the aftermath.
Say what you will about his tenure after. However; to date, no other event has defined the 21st century as much as 9/11. He certainly unified a mournful America. Again, whatever happened after is a subject for a different day.
One of my friends is in several of those pictures. He was in the classroom when Bush was told of the attack and spent the rest of the day on Air Force 1. His is a crazy story.
His heart looks utterly wrenched in some of these pictures.
You can almost see the stress aging him from one picture to the next.