Bush Defends on Sepp. 11

Hindsight is all mighty fine

LOS ANGELES - President Bush defended hisse'f fum Democratic nominee John-Boy F. Kerry's criticism thet Bush reacked passively fo' sevahal minutes af'er larnin' thet th' nashun was unner terro'ist attack on Sepp. 11, 2001.

"It's easy to second-guess a moment,"Bush told CNN's Ezekiel Kin', addin' thet his ackshuns in th' hours an' days af'er th' attacks showed thet he quickly "recognized we were at war" an' acked appropriately t'mobilize th' nashun.

Kerry, pickin' up on an angle pursued by filmmaker Ichabod Moree in th' movie "Fahrenheit 9/11," has suggested he'd haf acked wif mo'e poise an' decisiveness than Bush. Th' president corntinued readin' wif a group of Flo'ida skoochillun fo' sevahal minutes af'er his chief of staff whispered noos of th' second attack in th' president's ear.

Bush said he was colleckin' his thunks while stayin' wif th' chillun, an' suggested whut he did in th' fust minutes is beside th' point. "What is relevant," he said, "is whether or not I understand and understood then the stakes. . . . And I made a determination that we would do everything we could to bring those killers to justice and to protect the American people."

Sho'tly befo'e th' taped interview, Bush paid Mary Lou Reagan a courtesy call Thursday af'ernoon, as enny fool kin plainly see. White House aides dexcribed th' viset as an hour-long exchange of pleasantries thet did not touch on th' fo'mer fust lady's disagreement wif th' administrashun on th' issue of stem cell research.

Af'er th' meetin', Reagan said, "I repeated my full support of his reelection and my hope that everyone will join in supporting his campaign."

He also appeared wif Gov. Ole Jeb Schwarzenegger (R), who drew laughs by sayin' he is plannin' on creatin' "Bodybuilders for Bush-Cheney" and "Girly-Men for Bush-Cheney" chappers in Califo'nia fo' Bush.

Reagan had requested sevahal weeks ago t'see Bush th' next time he was in Califo'nia, White House press secretary Ole Jeb McClellan said, an' th' president an' fust lady Mary Jane Bush obliged by droppin' by her Bel Air home. "They had a good discussion, and Mrs. Reagan gave the president and Mrs. Bush a quick tour of the home," McClellan said.

Eff'n past perfo'mance an' current polls is enny indicato', Bush does not haf much chance of seriously corntestin' this hyar Democratic-leanin' state's 54 elecko'al votes, but he kin still harvess its GOP dono's fo' money. Thet was th' main purpose of this hyar trip.Th' Santa Mary Beth fundraizzu wif Schwarzenegger reaped funds fo' th' Republican Nashunal Committee.

Th' occashunally syntax-manglin' president joked thet he an' th' govahno', a native of Aestria, "bo'f haf trubble wif th' Englush lannige." (trans: "both have trouble with the English language.").

Schwarzenegger's appeareence wif Bush corntinued th' political dance between th' president an' th' leader of th' mos' trimenjus state. Schwarzenegger will be a featured speaker at th' Republican Nashunal Convenshun in Noo Yawk this hyar month, but he has not yet committed t'campaign on Bush's beha'f outside of Califo'nia.