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http://af.reuters.com/article/idAFTRE78A0OU20110911Witness: With President Bush after the planes hit on Sept 11Sun Sep 11, 2011 5:29am GMT
By Steve Holland and Arshad Mohammed
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two Reuters reporters travelled with George W. Bush on September 11, 2001 on what began as a feel-good trip to Florida to promote education.
Here are some of their memories of that day, and those that followed, as they watched Bush's evolution from the leader of a country enjoying peace and prosperity to a wartime president.
Arshad Mohammed:
"Mr. President, are you aware of the reports of a plane crash in New York?"
I called out that question to Bush in the Florida classroom where, unbeknownst to me, he had just learned the second World Trade Center tower had been hit by an airplane.
Those minutes in the Emma E. Booker Elementary school, where Bush silently came to grips with the attack on the United States illustrate the blessings and the frustrations of being in the media pool that travels everywhere with the president.
On the one hand, we witness history in real time -- watching White House chief of staff Andrew Card whisper into Bush's ear as he sat with second graders, and enjoying direct access to the president to lob questions at will.
On the other, as in every White House, the information flow is tightly controlled and our questions often go unanswered. Continued...
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