President Bush has been lampooned for years by the left for his reaction to hearing about the WTC attack on 9/11. He was reading “The Pet Goat” to some school kids when an aide came in and whispered in his ear news of the attack. Instead of jumping up running out of the room hysterically, Bush played it cool and finished reading the book. It only took 9 minutes to finish reading the book and then he left the room to take control of the situation. Bush has said since day one that he reacted the way he did for the sake of the children. It was a group of 6 and 7 year olds and he didn’t want to frighten them. He also thought it was important that as the leader of the free world he act in cool manner and not let his emotions get out of hand.

Those little kids are now 16 and 17 year olds and they’re speaking out for the first time about that day. They’re thankful to President Bush for reacting the way he did and believe his critics have it all wrong.

All sorts of similar kid fears started running through Mariah Williams’ head. “I don’t remember the story we were reading — was it about pigs?” says Williams, 16. “But I’ll always remember watching his face turn red. He got really serious all of a sudden. But I was clueless. I was just seven. I’m just glad he didn’t get up and leave because then I would have been more scared and confused.” Chantal Guerrero, 16, agrees: even today she’s grateful that Bush regained his composure and stayed with the students until The Pet Goat was finished. “I think the President was trying to keep us from finding out,” says Guerrero, “so we all wouldn’t freak out.”

…Dubrocq, now a junior at Riverview High School in Sarasota, doubts he’d be a student in the rigorous IB, or international baccalaureate program, if he hadn’t been with the President as one of history’s most infamous global events unfolded. “Because of that,” he says, “I came to realize as I grew up that the world is a much bigger place, and that there are differing opinions about us out there, not all of them good.”

Guerrero, today a junior at the Sarasota Military Academy, believes the experience “has since given us all a better understanding of the situation, sort of made us take it all more seriously. At that age I couldn’t understand how anyone could take innocent lives that way. And I still of course can’t. But today I can problem-solve it all a lot better, maybe better than other kids because I was kind of part of it.” Williams, also a junior at the military academy, says those 9/11 moments spent with Bush conferred on the kids a sort of historical authority as they grew up in Sarasota. “Today, when we talk about 9/11 in class and you hear kids make mistakes about what happened with the President that day, I can tell them they’re wrong. Because I was there.”

They also had a few words for left wing filmmaker Michael Moore who immortalized the classroom scene in his faux documentary, “Fahrenheit 9/11.”

One thing they’d like to tell Bush’s critics — like liberal filmmaker Michael Moore, whose 2004 documentary Fahrenheit 911 disparaged Bush for lingering almost 10 minutes with the Booker students after getting word that two planes had crashed into New York’s World Trade Center — is that they think the President did the right thing. “I think he was trying to keep everybody calm, starting with us,” says Guerrero. Dubrocq agrees: “I think he was trying to protect us.” Booker Principal Gwendolyn Tose’-Rigell, who died in 2007, later insisted, “I don’t think anyone could have handled it better. What would it have served if [Bush] had jumped out of his chair and ran out of the room?”

Click over to Time to read the rest of the piece. It’s a good one.

Former President George W. Bush went on a 100K mountain bike ride through West Texas with wounded warriors from Iraq and Afghanistan.

(hat tip The Right Scoop)

President Bush spoke at the Bush Center in Dallas, TX about building Afghanistan’s future.

(hat tip George W. Bush Presidential Center)

CSPAN held a Q & A over the weekend with former President George W. Bush. The event was held at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX:

This was a great moment. The troops had no idea President Bush was coming. You can tell how touched he was by their warm welcome.

(hat tip Breitbart TV)

Here’s President George W. Bush addressing the nation from the Oval Office on the evening of 9/11/2001. This is another moment I will never forget. Every American was watching that night to see what the president would say.

Here’s President George W. Bush throwing out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium in 2001.

(hat tip Breitbart TV)

Here’s President George W. Bush giving an impromptu speech via bullhorn to rescue workers at Ground Zero. This was on Sept. 14, 2001 — only 3 days after 9/11. This two-minute off-the-cuff speech has become an iconic symbol of 9/11. In my opinion, this is one of the most presidential moments in history.

Here’s President George W. Bush giving one of the most powerful speeches of his presidency. Exactly nine days after the horrific attacks on 9/11 President Bush addressed a Joint Session of Congress. I believe this speech will go down in history as one of the best by any president. I remember it like it was yesterday. I’m so thankful we had this man in office at that moment. I believe he was exactly the right man at exactly the right time.

Former President Bush participated in a charity golf tournament to raise money for veterans. Fox’s Brian Kilmeade was invited to play. The best part is when a veteran tells Bush, “you’ll always be my commander-in-chief.”

(hat tip The Blaze)