65 of 74 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding mix of history and angry sarcasm. Will dispel many assumptions we've had since 9/11, June 16, 2006
This review is from: Bullshit Artist: The 9/11 Leadership Myth (Paperback)
One would assume that the president did everything he could on that Tuesday in September 2001. But this book, using thorough research, quotes from the President's own advisors, and the author's acid commentary, show that Bush did next to nothing that day. In fact, this is the first book I have seen that directly discusses the fact that no effort was made to evacuate the Pentagon even though national Security Advisor, Condoleeza Rice, knew that 2 planes were heading towards DC, and Donald Rumsfeld had a gut feeling that the Pentagon would be hit.
Most of us had no time to think about it back then, but the only person to be protected during the attacks was Dick Chaney, who was removed from the White House and escorted to a bunker, while everyone else there was left to fend for themselves (and again, this was before tower 2 fell down or the Pentagon was hit). Bush was well protected after the attacks were over (and you could argue that he was in no danger that entire day being in Florida, Louisiana, Nebraska, and finally DC). It simply shows the tragedy of the Pentagon attack. If ANY lives could have been saved that day once the hijackings were in-progress, the 120 who perished in the Pentagon could have.
This is also the only book I have encountered that reflects the feeling I have had all along that Bush took too long to visit New York City. He arrived the morning of Friday September 14th, and instead of assuring New Yorkers that their president was there for them, he played the role of cheerleader (literally with a megaphone) and staged a photo-op with men who were risking their health to be at that site. Pathetic. And our 'liberal' media used that moment to compare Bush to Winston Churchill during the Blitz. No one reminded the anchorpeople that Churchill was working in a city that was being bombed daily - or that Churchill actually made decisions while being attacked. Bush was content to let the attacks end before making a single decision, and he showed no desire to put himself at the slight risk to fight back and defend his country that day.
This book proves without a doubt that Bush did nothing while we were under attack for 102 minutes (from the time flight 11 struck 1WTC, to the time flight 93 crashed in Pennsylvania). Never mind the 7 frozen minutes in the Booker Elementary School. He followed those 7 minutes with 18 minutes that consisted of 5 short phone calls and scribbling a speech with Dan Bartlett, which he delivered at 9:30am, before flight 93 was hijacked. Speaking of which, the passengers of flight 93 have now been proven to know more about what was going on than Bush did, and they did something about it. This book gives kudos to the passengers on flight 93 for at least trying to fight back.
The 9/11 commission report glosses-over these enormous mistakes by the Commander in Chief. Most Americans assume that Bush was unable to talk to Dick Cheney in Washington until he got back to Air Force One shortly before 10am. Bust as this book proves, secure communications follow the president wherever he goes. In the classroom next door to where My Pet Goat was being read, there were telephones connected to dedicated circuits for the president to use. While he did eventually use them around 9:15am, or an hour after flight 11 was hijacked, he did not give one single order. He didn't place the military on high alert. He didn't order the White House to be evacuated (while in NYC buildings were being evacuated). And he didn't ask if there were other hijacked planes in the sky. Most important, he did not realize that he was the only person to give the order to shoot down hijacked planes, and he made no such order that entire day.
THIS is the fearless 'War President' who wakes-up every day wondering how to protect Americans from acts of terrorism? I think not. This book demonstrates that well before his failure to respond to Katrina, his greatest moment of inaction was the 102 minutes while our nation was under attack.
Bush has long argued that we are fighting terrorists "there" so we don't have to fight them "here." Well, they WERE here. And Bush didn't fight them, nor did he order the military to fight them. He then proceeded to turn his failure into "political gold" as the title of the book says, and for at least 3 years, he only had to remind Americans of "9/11" to demonstrate his effectiveness in protecting the American public. Most Americans now realize his failings, but it is too late (Bush's approval ratings dipped under 50% in the spring of 2005 and are expected to remain under 50% for the duration of his second term). But at least this book, in its second half, explains how Bush was able to keep his ratings above 50% right up until election day 2004. His performance surrounding "9/11" was just enough to get him through to a second term. Had Americans learned about what Bush actually did between September 11 and September 13, it might have been different.
This book has over 200 pages, but it is in outline format, using a scattered timeline sprinkled with illustrations, photos, quotes, and the authors' furious commentary. So it is not written as a traditional history book. The style is a little disorienting at first, but it makes for a quick and memorable read. I think Ron Schalow should be commended for constructing the book the way he did. He doesn't give us a dry timeline, but rather a lively criticism of the President that focuses solely on his incompetence, not his policies. It is a timeline blended with commentary and little quotations and factoids. It could have been written by a libertarian or even a conservative (if you could find one willing to acknowledge the president's incompetence). Using mainly raw facts, Schalow tears Bush's 9/11 aurora and legend into pieces.
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55 of 62 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent read, April 20, 2006
This review is from: Bullshit Artist: The 9/11 Leadership Myth (Paperback)
Our President seems like such a nice man, but when you read this book you have to wonder if we elected an incompetent. He choked, big time, when we needed him to act decisively, and then his spin doctors went into overdrive, creating a raft of contradictions, mis-truths and, to quote the title, bullsh*t. It's a scandalous chapter in our recent history, and Ron Schalow's book does an excellent job of laying out the timeline, the actions and the ongoing spin-job. Schalow isn't the most polished writer you'll ever read, but he clearly has done his research and his intelligence and wit are razor-sharp.
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