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Tonight on
"American Experience,"
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00:00:03,733 --> 00:00:04,900
a two-night event.
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00:00:04,933 --> 00:00:06,900
He had taken office
after one of the closest
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00:00:06,933 --> 00:00:10,466
and most controversial elections
in the nation's history.
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CBS News special report...
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00:00:12,300 --> 00:00:13,833
the United States Supreme Court
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has reached a decision
in the case of Bush v. Gore.
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His opponents claimed
he had risen to the top
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00:00:18,866 --> 00:00:21,600
only because
he was his father's son.
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His life was a pattern,
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and part of that pattern
was duplicating
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00:00:25,466 --> 00:00:27,266
his father's successes.
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Inside the family,
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I think they were
a little nervous
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00:00:31,100 --> 00:00:33,033
because they were afraid
he'd fail at it.
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And he knew that,
which drove him on all the more.
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He was an incredibly
disciplined candidate.
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One of the best one-on-one
politicians of the modern age.
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While he campaigned
as a domestic president,
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he was now going to be
a wartime president.
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During two terms as president,
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George W. Bush would soar
to the heights of popularity...
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I can hear you...
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then plummet to the depths
of public disfavor.
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He has been beset by so many
crises, so many challenges,
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that it would have been
overwhelming
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to almost anyone else.
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He wanted to be a great figure
in history
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and to be
on the side of the angels.
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The president's virtues and
vices were one and the same.
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He's the big-picture visionary
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who won't pay attention
to the details when he needs to.
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I hear the voices,
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and I read the front page,
and I know the speculation,
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but I'm the decider,
and I decide what is best.
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♪ ♪
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"George W. Bush."
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Part one begins tonight.
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Part one begins tonight.
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This program contains content
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which may not be suitable
for all audiences.
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Viewer discretion is advised.
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The cockpit's not answering.
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Somebody's stabbed
in business class.
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And, um, I think there is Mace.
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That we can't breathe.
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I don't know,
I think we're getting hijacked.
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Which flight are you on?
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Boston to Los Angeles.
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Hello?
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Nobody move, everything
will be okay.
52
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If you try to make any moves,
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you will injure yourself
and the airplane.
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Just stay quiet.
55
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We have ah, a problem here.
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We have a hijacked aircraft
headed towards New York.
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Is, is this real-world
or exercise?
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No, this is not an exercise,
not a test.
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00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:00,766
September 11 unfolded
from clear blue skies,
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perfect, cool weather
in Florida.
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The president went
for an early-morning jog.
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How far did you go altogether?
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Four-and-a-half.
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Four-and-a-half miles?
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I think so.
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I went down to get
into the president's motorcade,
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and it was on the ride from the
hotel to the elementary school
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that the first plane hit.
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I remember Ari turning around
in the van and saying,
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"Michael, do you know anything
about a plane
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hitting the World Trade Center?"
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We were just pulling up
to the school
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when the first tower
had been hit.
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He had a quizzical look
on his face.
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"Was it bad weather?"
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You know, he was a pilot...
Didn't make sense.
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- Get ready!
- More!
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- Yes, more!
- Get ready!
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Might!
Yes, might! Get ready!
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While President Bush sat
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in the Emma Booker Elementary
School classroom
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in Sarasota, Florida,
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his staff was scrambling
for information.
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At just after 9:00 a.m.,
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Chief of Staff Andy Card
interrupted the reading.
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The teacher told the students
to take out their books,
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00:04:03,433 --> 00:04:06,100
and I whispered
into his right ear:
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"A second plane
hit the second tower.
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America is under attack."
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So I wrote on the back
of a yellow legal pad,
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"Don't say anything yet."
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I put my back to the press corps
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and I flashed the card
to the president.
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He made one of those little nods
like that.
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Thank you, press...
if you can step out the door
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- we came in, please.
- Mr. President,
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are you aware of the reports
of the plane crash in New York?
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We'll talk about it later.
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Thank you, all...
if you could step out
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the door we came in.
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And then we got the press
out of the room
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where the reading
was being done,
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assembled in the holding room.
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♪ ♪
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Immediately, we have
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what is commonly called
"the fog of war."
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As the president's
on a secure phone,
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the rest of us are working
our phones,
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00:04:51,833 --> 00:04:53,966
trying to figure out
what we can figure out,
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00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:56,242
starting to work on a statement
for the president to deliver.
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It was controlled chaos
in that room,
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and it was information gathering
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under immense, immense pressure.
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I saw a large plane, a jet,
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go immediately headed directly
into the World Trade Center.
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It, it just flew into it,
into the... into the other tower,
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coming from south to north.
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I watched the planes fly
into the World Trade Center.
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We're just getting
initial reports of that.
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And again, we must tell you
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00:05:24,366 --> 00:05:26,733
that we're trying to get
as much information,
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00:05:26,766 --> 00:05:28,900
but it is trickling in.
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00:05:30,433 --> 00:05:32,700
After a brief televised address,
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Bush and his entourage sped
toward the Sarasota airport.
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Normally, a motorcade goes,
like, 40 miles an hour.
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00:05:40,900 --> 00:05:42,042
We got on the highway,
and we were doing
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00:05:42,066 --> 00:05:43,433
85 miles an hour.
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Little was said.
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In the car,
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Bush learned a third plane
had been hijacked,
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and flown into the Pentagon.
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The phone rang.
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And the president picked it up
and began talking.
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And I could only hear one side
of the conversation,
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00:05:58,600 --> 00:06:01,766
but I knew it was bad when
he said, "Is Rumsfeld alive?"
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We got back to the airport,
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00:06:06,566 --> 00:06:08,900
and I remember seeing
Air Force One
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00:06:08,933 --> 00:06:14,466
ringed by Secret Service agents
with automatic weapons visible.
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And I had never seen that
before.
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00:06:18,033 --> 00:06:19,176
I remember getting on the plane,
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and I remember the plane
taking off
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much more rapidly
than it usually took off
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00:06:23,633 --> 00:06:27,200
and ascending
at a very steep angle.
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00:06:27,233 --> 00:06:28,576
The president wanted to get back
to Washington.
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He thought it was important
for the nation
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to see the president
back in Washington.
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At the same time,
it was the last thing
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the Secret Service
would ever want to happen.
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We did not want to bring
the president back
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into what, frankly,
was a war zone.
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00:06:43,766 --> 00:06:47,133
There were F-15s
circling the White House,
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armored vehicles, like tanks.
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00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:52,433
The Pentagon had blown up.
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00:06:52,466 --> 00:06:54,900
Most of the city
had been evacuated.
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We didn't know
what was yet to happen.
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00:06:57,133 --> 00:06:59,400
The White House
might be a target
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00:06:59,433 --> 00:07:00,800
for such an airplane attack.
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00:07:00,833 --> 00:07:02,900
Everybody back.
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00:07:02,933 --> 00:07:04,776
In the president's absence
from Washington,
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00:07:04,800 --> 00:07:08,066
Vice President Dick Cheney
assumed operational control
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00:07:08,100 --> 00:07:09,466
of the federal government
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from a secret bunker
under the White House,
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where he was patched through
to Air Force One.
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00:07:16,033 --> 00:07:19,866
There were several occasions
when the vice president
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was talking to the president,
and they got cut off.
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The communications were,
were frustratingly primitive.
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Straining to hear each other,
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00:07:29,233 --> 00:07:31,100
Bush and Cheney
discussed what to do
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with planes still in the air,
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some of which
were not communicating
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with ground control.
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00:07:36,833 --> 00:07:39,566
Bush directed Cheney
to ground every flight
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in U.S. airspace.
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But one plane
did not heed the order.
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00:07:45,066 --> 00:07:48,833
United Flight 93 was not
responding to communications
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00:07:48,866 --> 00:07:53,833
and was now headed
toward Washington, DC.
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00:07:53,866 --> 00:07:56,966
After consulting with Cheney,
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00:07:57,000 --> 00:08:03,266
Bush authorized fighter jets
to shoot down United Flight 93.
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00:08:03,300 --> 00:08:06,766
It was quiet around the table,
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00:08:06,800 --> 00:08:11,333
because everybody appreciated
the gravity of that moment.
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00:08:11,366 --> 00:08:13,666
We were dispatching
the U.S. military
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00:08:13,700 --> 00:08:15,566
to shoot down
a civilian aircraft
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00:08:15,600 --> 00:08:17,566
loaded with innocent Americans.
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00:08:17,600 --> 00:08:20,100
The region commander
has declared
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00:08:20,133 --> 00:08:22,366
that we can shoot down aircraft
that do not respond
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to our directions... copy that?
187
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Copy that, sir.
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00:08:26,366 --> 00:08:30,100
Vice president has cleared.
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00:08:30,133 --> 00:08:32,276
We didn't hear anything
about what happened to it
190
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for some time,
191
00:08:33,500 --> 00:08:36,633
until eventually,
we heard that it turned out
192
00:08:36,666 --> 00:08:39,466
that it was a bunch
of brave American civilians
193
00:08:39,500 --> 00:08:42,300
who, who brought that plane down
on their own.
194
00:08:43,966 --> 00:08:47,033
Although the president insisted
on returning to Washington,
195
00:08:47,066 --> 00:08:48,633
the Secret Service
remained adamant
196
00:08:48,666 --> 00:08:50,166
that it was not yet safe.
197
00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:54,200
After a brief stop to refuel
in Louisiana,
198
00:08:54,233 --> 00:08:57,766
Air Force One,
flying at 45,000 feet
199
00:08:57,800 --> 00:09:00,666
and zig-zagging to avoid
a possible missile attack,
200
00:09:00,700 --> 00:09:04,900
headed for Offutt Air Force Base
in Omaha, Nebraska.
201
00:09:04,933 --> 00:09:08,833
We put him in one of the most
secure places we could,
202
00:09:08,866 --> 00:09:13,066
the headquarters
of Strategic Command.
203
00:09:13,100 --> 00:09:17,166
We had a video set up
so that we could talk to him,
204
00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:20,366
and we could see him
walking into the bunker.
205
00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:24,500
Very determined.
206
00:09:24,533 --> 00:09:27,266
He sat down, and before
anybody could say anything,
207
00:09:27,300 --> 00:09:31,333
he looked at us,
up on the TV screens,
208
00:09:31,366 --> 00:09:36,366
and said,
"I am coming back to Washington.
209
00:09:36,400 --> 00:09:38,866
"Don't argue with me.
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00:09:38,900 --> 00:09:40,833
I'm coming back... now!"
211
00:09:42,800 --> 00:09:44,300
By 4:30 p.m.,
212
00:09:44,333 --> 00:09:47,766
Air Force One
was headed back to Washington.
213
00:09:47,800 --> 00:09:50,466
I'll never forget the images...
214
00:09:50,500 --> 00:09:55,000
arriving into DC airspace
on Air Force One,
215
00:09:55,033 --> 00:09:56,576
with two fighter jets so close
to our wings,
216
00:09:56,600 --> 00:10:00,333
you could see the stubble
of the beard of the pilot.
217
00:10:00,366 --> 00:10:03,533
And then to look down
on our nation's capital,
218
00:10:03,566 --> 00:10:06,700
and it just be deserted,
219
00:10:06,733 --> 00:10:09,633
and seeing smoke
billowing out of the Pentagon.
220
00:10:09,666 --> 00:10:12,966
You could have heard a pin drop
on that airplane.
221
00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:16,700
In all the chaos,
it was eerily silent.
222
00:10:20,966 --> 00:10:23,733
Finally back at the White House,
223
00:10:23,766 --> 00:10:25,642
Bush and his team readied
the most important speech
224
00:10:25,666 --> 00:10:28,933
of his presidency so far,
225
00:10:28,966 --> 00:10:31,166
which he would deliver
to the nation that night.
226
00:10:31,200 --> 00:10:32,709
There was a lot of debate
internally
227
00:10:32,733 --> 00:10:35,000
about what was
the appropriate message.
228
00:10:35,033 --> 00:10:37,700
It was certainly clear
to President Bush
229
00:10:37,733 --> 00:10:41,666
that his presidency
was fundamentally altered
230
00:10:41,700 --> 00:10:44,666
on that day.
231
00:10:44,700 --> 00:10:46,800
Two minutes.
232
00:10:46,833 --> 00:10:48,566
♪ ♪
233
00:10:48,600 --> 00:10:53,000
Today our fellow citizens,
our way of life...
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00:10:53,033 --> 00:10:54,700
Our very freedom...
235
00:10:54,733 --> 00:10:56,466
Came under attack
236
00:10:56,500 --> 00:11:00,000
in a series of deliberate
and deadly terrorist acts.
237
00:11:00,033 --> 00:11:02,633
Midway through the speech,
238
00:11:02,666 --> 00:11:05,066
Bush made a statement
that would lay the groundwork
239
00:11:05,100 --> 00:11:07,666
for a sweeping war on terror,
240
00:11:07,700 --> 00:11:10,633
shifting the course
of American foreign policy
241
00:11:10,666 --> 00:11:13,300
and defining his presidency.
242
00:11:13,333 --> 00:11:16,166
We will make no distinction
243
00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:19,366
between the terrorists
who committed these acts
244
00:11:19,400 --> 00:11:21,466
and those who harbor them.
245
00:11:21,500 --> 00:11:24,600
In the span
of just over 12 hours,
246
00:11:24,633 --> 00:11:28,900
a president who had been scorned
as inexperienced and unprepared,
247
00:11:28,933 --> 00:11:30,700
overshadowed by his father,
248
00:11:30,733 --> 00:11:33,133
and unappreciated
by the country,
249
00:11:33,166 --> 00:11:34,966
had been thrust into a crisis
250
00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:39,033
the likes of which
few presidents had ever faced.
251
00:11:39,066 --> 00:11:42,466
He became a war president,
as he would put it.
252
00:11:42,500 --> 00:11:44,900
The nation rallied
because we were attacked,
253
00:11:44,933 --> 00:11:46,409
but I think the nation
also had question marks
254
00:11:46,433 --> 00:11:49,600
about its nine-month-long
president at that point.
255
00:11:49,633 --> 00:11:51,400
Who are you?
256
00:11:51,433 --> 00:11:53,966
What will you do?
257
00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:56,333
♪ ♪
258
00:11:59,200 --> 00:12:01,366
♪ ♪
259
00:12:01,400 --> 00:12:04,300
Little in the past
of George Walker Bush
260
00:12:04,333 --> 00:12:06,000
had prepared him
for the challenges
261
00:12:06,033 --> 00:12:09,066
he would face after 9/11,
262
00:12:09,100 --> 00:12:11,933
nor inspire much confidence
that he could rise to them.
263
00:12:11,966 --> 00:12:14,733
George Bush was almost
264
00:12:14,766 --> 00:12:17,666
the perfect example,
if not the wastrel,
265
00:12:17,700 --> 00:12:21,833
the profligate kid,
the good-time Charlie,
266
00:12:21,866 --> 00:12:25,533
the wonderfully engaging friend
and fraternity brother
267
00:12:25,566 --> 00:12:28,133
that you've met
a thousand times.
268
00:12:28,166 --> 00:12:30,700
What he wasn't,
at least to my mind,
269
00:12:30,733 --> 00:12:34,233
was someone who would emerge
as governor of Texas
270
00:12:34,266 --> 00:12:36,433
or president
of the United States.
271
00:12:36,466 --> 00:12:40,433
In 1970, 24-year-old George Bush
272
00:12:40,466 --> 00:12:43,000
was far
from the Washington fast track...
273
00:12:43,033 --> 00:12:47,066
Often found poolside
at Chateaux Dijon,
274
00:12:47,100 --> 00:12:49,966
an apartment complex catering
to the young and single,
275
00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:52,133
where he lived in Houston.
276
00:12:52,166 --> 00:12:54,609
He was kind of drifting,
to be honest with you.
277
00:12:54,633 --> 00:12:57,933
I don't think he had a focus
on where he was heading.
278
00:12:57,966 --> 00:13:00,966
I don't think he had
a regular job, you know,
279
00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:04,466
that was a career path for him.
280
00:13:04,500 --> 00:13:06,866
He had to figure out
what he wanted to do,
281
00:13:06,900 --> 00:13:08,900
and he wasn't doing it
very quickly.
282
00:13:08,933 --> 00:13:12,666
Mostly, he was drinking,
carousing, and having fun.
283
00:13:12,700 --> 00:13:14,666
ROBERT McCLESKEY:
He'd drink too much,
284
00:13:14,700 --> 00:13:19,066
and he could really be obnoxious
when he drank too much.
285
00:13:19,100 --> 00:13:20,400
For lack of a better word,
286
00:13:20,433 --> 00:13:22,766
he could be a real
ass when he drank.
287
00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:25,466
♪ ♪
288
00:13:25,500 --> 00:13:28,100
Bush's father,
George Herbert Walker Bush,
289
00:13:28,133 --> 00:13:31,033
was a political star
in the Republican Party.
290
00:13:31,066 --> 00:13:33,100
At this point, his father is
291
00:13:33,133 --> 00:13:34,766
in a succession
of appointed jobs
292
00:13:34,800 --> 00:13:37,033
from Richard Nixon
and Gerald Ford:
293
00:13:37,066 --> 00:13:39,200
ambassador
to the United Nations,
294
00:13:39,233 --> 00:13:41,400
Republican Party chairman,
295
00:13:41,433 --> 00:13:43,566
ambassador to China,
296
00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:46,566
and, finally, C.I.A. director.
297
00:13:46,600 --> 00:13:48,866
It's a whole new realm of life
298
00:13:48,900 --> 00:13:50,566
for my dad and our family.
299
00:13:50,600 --> 00:13:53,066
Having been in elected politics,
you kind of deal in one area,
300
00:13:53,100 --> 00:13:55,200
and now in
international politics,
301
00:13:55,233 --> 00:13:56,376
it's just... I think it's just,
302
00:13:56,400 --> 00:13:58,700
it's going to add
so much more breadth
303
00:13:58,733 --> 00:13:59,800
to this man's life,
304
00:13:59,833 --> 00:14:01,866
it's just fantastically
exciting.
305
00:14:01,900 --> 00:14:03,200
He is at the height
306
00:14:03,233 --> 00:14:04,766
of American government.
307
00:14:04,800 --> 00:14:06,233
In diplomacy, foreign policy,
308
00:14:06,266 --> 00:14:07,833
he's dealing
with weighty issues.
309
00:14:07,866 --> 00:14:09,000
And back home,
310
00:14:09,033 --> 00:14:12,333
his son is trying
to find himself.
311
00:14:13,900 --> 00:14:15,566
Father and son
were often at odds
312
00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:18,366
over W's waywardness.
313
00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:20,733
The situation reached
its breaking point
314
00:14:20,766 --> 00:14:24,666
during the Christmas holidays
in 1972.
315
00:14:24,700 --> 00:14:26,466
After a night of heavy drinking,
316
00:14:26,500 --> 00:14:29,133
Bush crashed into his
neighbor's garbage cans.
317
00:14:29,166 --> 00:14:34,066
His 16-year-old brother Marvin
was in the car.
318
00:14:34,100 --> 00:14:35,376
When his parents confronted him,
319
00:14:35,400 --> 00:14:38,600
Bush revealed
a seething resentment,
320
00:14:38,633 --> 00:14:42,466
challenging his father
to a fight.
321
00:14:42,500 --> 00:14:45,966
The father was always
measuring the son,
322
00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:51,033
and the measuring, of course,
is what makes it so hard
323
00:14:51,066 --> 00:14:55,400
for, you know, the firstborn
of a, of a storied family.
324
00:14:55,433 --> 00:14:56,500
They share a name,
325
00:14:56,533 --> 00:14:59,466
they share a family,
they share a legacy.
326
00:14:59,500 --> 00:15:03,033
It is possible to overstate
the level of tension there,
327
00:15:03,066 --> 00:15:06,400
but it is important
to understanding who they are.
328
00:15:08,600 --> 00:15:12,166
W, or Little George,
as his family called him,
329
00:15:12,200 --> 00:15:14,200
was born
in New Haven, Connecticut,
330
00:15:14,233 --> 00:15:17,533
on July 6, 1946,
331
00:15:17,566 --> 00:15:22,366
while his father was studying
at Yale.
332
00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:25,033
His father is from a family
333
00:15:25,066 --> 00:15:28,800
that mixed with the Roosevelts
and the Vanderbilts
334
00:15:28,833 --> 00:15:31,800
and the, and the elites
of American society.
335
00:15:31,833 --> 00:15:33,633
No pressure.
336
00:15:33,666 --> 00:15:34,866
Right?
337
00:15:34,900 --> 00:15:39,300
But here is the inheritor
of a dynasty, in effect.
338
00:15:39,333 --> 00:15:40,766
My God,
339
00:15:40,800 --> 00:15:44,833
George W. Bush grows up with
this insanely accomplished dad.
340
00:15:44,866 --> 00:15:47,266
He's the captain
of every team he's on,
341
00:15:47,300 --> 00:15:49,066
from Yale baseball on forward.
342
00:15:49,100 --> 00:15:52,800
His father was
the youngest Navy aviator
343
00:15:52,833 --> 00:15:54,500
in the Pacific.
344
00:15:54,533 --> 00:15:57,133
He was shot down over the ocean.
345
00:15:57,166 --> 00:15:59,100
Two of his crewmates died.
346
00:15:59,133 --> 00:16:04,033
He survived,
and is rescued by a submarine.
347
00:16:05,633 --> 00:16:07,300
After graduating from Yale,
348
00:16:07,333 --> 00:16:08,866
George H.W. Bush...
349
00:16:08,900 --> 00:16:11,300
or Poppy, as he was called
in the family...
350
00:16:11,333 --> 00:16:13,233
set about building up
his own fortune,
351
00:16:13,266 --> 00:16:16,533
moving his wife, Barbara,
and young son from Connecticut
352
00:16:16,566 --> 00:16:21,466
to Midland-Odessa, Texas,
where the oil was gushing.
353
00:16:22,800 --> 00:16:25,866
This wasn't, you know,
Connecticut.
354
00:16:25,900 --> 00:16:29,333
They parachuted
into a foreign country.
355
00:16:29,366 --> 00:16:34,500
It was just a culture shock,
and out in far West Texas,
356
00:16:34,533 --> 00:16:36,633
where people literally
were chewing tobacco,
357
00:16:36,666 --> 00:16:40,400
where, literally, tumbleweeds
would come tumbling by.
358
00:16:40,433 --> 00:16:42,700
♪ ♪
359
00:16:42,733 --> 00:16:46,400
But Little George was
very much at home in Texas.
360
00:16:46,433 --> 00:16:48,200
"The word I'd use is idyllic,"
361
00:16:48,233 --> 00:16:50,800
he recalled
of his childhood home.
362
00:16:50,833 --> 00:16:53,200
"When I would speak
about the American Dream,
363
00:16:53,233 --> 00:16:55,666
it was Midland I had in mind."
364
00:16:57,466 --> 00:17:01,366
In 1953,
tragedy would strike the family,
365
00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:04,200
when Bush's
three-year-old sister Robin died
366
00:17:04,233 --> 00:17:05,966
after battling leukemia.
367
00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:10,400
Barbara Bush fell
into a deep depression.
368
00:17:10,433 --> 00:17:14,466
His father responded
by working even harder
369
00:17:14,500 --> 00:17:18,600
and not being around very much,
so it was left to George W.
370
00:17:18,633 --> 00:17:21,033
To be the comfort to his mother.
371
00:17:21,066 --> 00:17:23,233
He told jokes, he cracked wise,
372
00:17:23,266 --> 00:17:25,400
he was trying
to get her to smile.
373
00:17:25,433 --> 00:17:27,800
And it became a lifelong trait
for him, you know...
374
00:17:27,833 --> 00:17:30,500
the cut-up, the class clown.
375
00:17:31,800 --> 00:17:33,976
He was a bit of a scamp,
he was a bit of a troublemaker.
376
00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:36,166
He got in trouble when he was
caught with a cigarette,
377
00:17:36,200 --> 00:17:39,000
he got in trouble
when he crashed the family car,
378
00:17:39,033 --> 00:17:41,033
when he was 14... twice.
379
00:17:42,400 --> 00:17:44,966
"Georgie aggravates the hell
out of me at times,"
380
00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:47,833
an exasperated Poppy
would complain.
381
00:17:47,866 --> 00:17:51,166
"But then at times, I am
so proud of him, I could die."
382
00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:56,066
Like all Bush boys,
George was sent to prep school
383
00:17:56,100 --> 00:17:59,300
at Phillips Academy
in Massachusetts.
384
00:17:59,333 --> 00:18:01,300
Unable to match
his father's exploits
385
00:18:01,333 --> 00:18:02,966
on the baseball diamond,
386
00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:05,800
Bush concentrated
on his social skills,
387
00:18:05,833 --> 00:18:07,966
becoming head cheerleader.
388
00:18:09,433 --> 00:18:11,566
Upon graduation,
389
00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:14,033
he followed two previous
generations of Bushes
390
00:18:14,066 --> 00:18:16,266
to Yale University.
391
00:18:16,300 --> 00:18:17,876
He doesn't have
his father's history,
392
00:18:17,900 --> 00:18:21,166
he doesn't have his father's
academic or athletic skills,
393
00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:24,033
so he becomes
a student of people...
394
00:18:24,066 --> 00:18:26,966
a student of other kids.
395
00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:28,966
Well, he is a people person.
396
00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:31,366
He was friendly,
warm, humorous, uh,
397
00:18:31,400 --> 00:18:34,866
but had this fantastic,
genuine interest in people.
398
00:18:37,200 --> 00:18:38,876
Bush spent most of his time
at Yale
399
00:18:38,900 --> 00:18:40,800
drinking, socializing,
400
00:18:40,833 --> 00:18:42,400
and studiously ignoring
401
00:18:42,433 --> 00:18:44,633
the growing discord
in the country
402
00:18:44,666 --> 00:18:46,700
over the war in Vietnam.
403
00:18:46,733 --> 00:18:50,200
But by 1968, Bush's senior year,
404
00:18:50,233 --> 00:18:53,033
he could no longer hold
the outside world at bay.
405
00:18:56,533 --> 00:18:59,066
Bush knew that
with commencement,
406
00:18:59,100 --> 00:19:00,733
he would lose
the academic deferment
407
00:19:00,766 --> 00:19:03,566
that had shielded him
from the draft.
408
00:19:03,600 --> 00:19:06,433
♪ ♪
409
00:19:06,466 --> 00:19:10,100
In his heart of hearts, he
did not want to go to Vietnam.
410
00:19:10,133 --> 00:19:14,400
But he knew damn well
that his father's next step
411
00:19:14,433 --> 00:19:20,966
had been to join the military
and then become a war hero.
412
00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:22,700
To avoid combat in Vietnam,
413
00:19:22,733 --> 00:19:26,600
Bush joined the
147th Texas Air National Guard,
414
00:19:26,633 --> 00:19:32,066
along with other sons of wealthy
and well-connected Texans.
415
00:19:32,100 --> 00:19:33,900
Though Bush proved
an able pilot,
416
00:19:33,933 --> 00:19:36,533
he was never tested in battle.
417
00:19:36,566 --> 00:19:40,033
The 147th, it was said,
would only see action
418
00:19:40,066 --> 00:19:44,366
if Oklahoma decided
to invade Texas.
419
00:19:44,400 --> 00:19:47,433
Some people derisively called it
a champagne unit.
420
00:19:47,466 --> 00:19:51,366
Certainly, Bush had help getting
into the National Guard.
421
00:19:51,400 --> 00:19:56,433
It was a matter
of privilege and access.
422
00:19:56,466 --> 00:19:58,700
Decades later,
questions would surface
423
00:19:58,733 --> 00:20:02,200
whether Bush had pulled strings
to join the 147th,
424
00:20:02,233 --> 00:20:06,566
and whether he left
before fulfilling his full term.
425
00:20:06,600 --> 00:20:09,933
But in 1970,
he was honorably discharged,
426
00:20:09,966 --> 00:20:15,466
a fighter pilot
who had never seen combat.
427
00:20:15,500 --> 00:20:17,066
At each stage, you know,
428
00:20:17,100 --> 00:20:19,100
he's following
his dad's footsteps.
429
00:20:19,133 --> 00:20:23,100
Each stage,
never as successful as the dad.
430
00:20:25,300 --> 00:20:27,633
With little direction
of his own,
431
00:20:27,666 --> 00:20:31,300
Bush remained on the course
his father had set,
432
00:20:31,333 --> 00:20:36,133
this time seeking his fortune
in the Texas oil fields.
433
00:20:36,166 --> 00:20:41,366
After earning an MBA from
Harvard Business School in 1975,
434
00:20:41,400 --> 00:20:43,733
W procured some seed money
from the family
435
00:20:43,766 --> 00:20:45,166
and returned to Midland.
436
00:20:46,366 --> 00:20:47,709
It was an opportunity
to duplicate
437
00:20:47,733 --> 00:20:50,300
his father's success
in the oil business.
438
00:20:50,333 --> 00:20:52,066
But it was also a place,
I think,
439
00:20:52,100 --> 00:20:54,600
he felt comfortable immediately.
440
00:20:54,633 --> 00:20:56,100
"This is who I am.
441
00:20:56,133 --> 00:20:58,066
"I'm a guy
who's wearing cowboy boots.
442
00:20:58,100 --> 00:21:00,766
"I'm a guy
who knows what a pumpjack is
443
00:21:00,800 --> 00:21:03,600
"and can go down
to the Midland diner
444
00:21:03,633 --> 00:21:05,900
and eat with anyone."
445
00:21:05,933 --> 00:21:08,133
Probably was tired of...
446
00:21:08,166 --> 00:21:10,133
Drifting, if that's a good term.
447
00:21:10,166 --> 00:21:12,700
So he came to Midland
with a singular focus, I think.
448
00:21:12,733 --> 00:21:14,733
♪ ♪
449
00:21:14,766 --> 00:21:16,000
In Midland,
450
00:21:16,033 --> 00:21:18,966
Bush formed
his own oil exploration company
451
00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:22,200
named Arbusto,
Spanish for "bush."
452
00:21:22,233 --> 00:21:25,800
He drilled across West Texas
looking for a big strike.
453
00:21:27,633 --> 00:21:30,766
But as he worked to get Arbusto
off the ground,
454
00:21:30,800 --> 00:21:34,766
W found himself tempted by yet
another Bush family tradition.
455
00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:36,900
I'm George Bush,
running for the Congress.
456
00:21:36,933 --> 00:21:38,166
I'm George Bush...
457
00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:41,266
This group of conservative
Midland oil men
458
00:21:41,300 --> 00:21:43,200
thought he would be
a good candidate.
459
00:21:43,233 --> 00:21:44,566
They, they encouraged him
to run,
460
00:21:44,600 --> 00:21:47,200
and, and he accepted
the challenge,
461
00:21:47,233 --> 00:21:49,333
and he was a natural.
462
00:21:49,366 --> 00:21:52,033
While it was way premature
for someone
463
00:21:52,066 --> 00:21:54,733
who, relatively speaking,
just got there,
464
00:21:54,766 --> 00:21:58,000
his life was a pattern,
and part of that pattern
465
00:21:58,033 --> 00:22:00,766
was duplicating
the father's successes,
466
00:22:00,800 --> 00:22:03,266
but at the same time
defining himself,
467
00:22:03,300 --> 00:22:06,133
in the West Texas tradition,
as his own man.
468
00:22:06,166 --> 00:22:08,366
♪ ♪
469
00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:10,409
A few weeks
after announcing his candidacy,
470
00:22:10,433 --> 00:22:12,966
Bush attended
a backyard barbecue
471
00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:16,400
where a pretty, young librarian
named Laura Welch
472
00:22:16,433 --> 00:22:17,766
caught his eye.
473
00:22:17,800 --> 00:22:19,333
"If there is
love at first sight,"
474
00:22:19,366 --> 00:22:21,566
Bush would later write,
475
00:22:21,600 --> 00:22:23,566
"this was it."
476
00:22:25,100 --> 00:22:26,276
McCLESKEY:
I don't know, you know,
477
00:22:26,300 --> 00:22:28,233
that anybody would have put them
together at all.
478
00:22:28,266 --> 00:22:32,700
They just were two totally
different personalities.
479
00:22:33,666 --> 00:22:34,900
Like I say, you know,
480
00:22:34,933 --> 00:22:39,133
most people that knew
both of them were surprised.
481
00:22:39,166 --> 00:22:42,033
This is clearly a case
of opposites attracting...
482
00:22:42,066 --> 00:22:47,766
the quiet, somewhat shy,
introverted school librarian
483
00:22:47,800 --> 00:22:52,033
meets up with the
wise-cracking, rough-edged,
484
00:22:52,066 --> 00:22:53,833
cowboy persona,
485
00:22:53,866 --> 00:22:56,233
hard-drinking George Bush.
486
00:22:56,266 --> 00:22:59,233
As he put it, she was beautiful,
487
00:22:59,266 --> 00:23:01,600
she was elegant, she was smart,
488
00:23:01,633 --> 00:23:05,233
and he said,
"She accepted my rough edges
489
00:23:05,266 --> 00:23:06,933
and helped to smooth them."
490
00:23:09,433 --> 00:23:11,033
No sooner had they married
491
00:23:11,066 --> 00:23:13,666
than the couple was back out
on the road,
492
00:23:13,700 --> 00:23:17,566
driving the West Texas district
from Lubbock to Abilene.
493
00:23:17,600 --> 00:23:21,966
That campaign was
my first year of my marriage.
494
00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:26,266
It was just like honeymooning
on the campaign trail.
495
00:23:26,300 --> 00:23:27,942
I feel sure I can be
an effective congressman.
496
00:23:27,966 --> 00:23:30,566
I'll listen to you,
I'll work hard for you,
497
00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:32,400
and I'll introduce
and vote for legislation
498
00:23:32,433 --> 00:23:33,966
that's in our best interests.
499
00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:36,866
Together, we can do a lot
for West Texas.
500
00:23:36,900 --> 00:23:39,833
He was running against
a Democrat named Kent Hance,
501
00:23:39,866 --> 00:23:44,733
and Hance just portrayed him
as a... as an outsider,
502
00:23:44,766 --> 00:23:46,566
somebody from New England,
503
00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:51,266
and Bush has to prove himself
as being an authentic Texan.
504
00:23:51,300 --> 00:23:54,266
We put a theme of, you know,
"I'm one of you,
505
00:23:54,300 --> 00:23:55,800
and he's not."
506
00:23:55,833 --> 00:23:57,600
Uh, "He's an outsider."
507
00:23:57,633 --> 00:24:02,466
We tried to make it a race
of Texas Tech versus Yale.
508
00:24:02,500 --> 00:24:03,676
He has to answer for it.
509
00:24:03,700 --> 00:24:06,066
He has to answer
for this New England family
510
00:24:06,100 --> 00:24:09,066
he's trying to escape from
in some ways.
511
00:24:09,100 --> 00:24:11,500
With Poppy's help,
512
00:24:11,533 --> 00:24:15,433
W's campaign broke
Texas state fundraising records,
513
00:24:15,466 --> 00:24:19,233
but along with the money
came charges of nepotism.
514
00:24:19,266 --> 00:24:20,509
You look at the four fundraisers
he's had,
515
00:24:20,533 --> 00:24:22,100
and the fact
that his dad's there,
516
00:24:22,133 --> 00:24:23,833
that definitely helps him
raise money.
517
00:24:23,866 --> 00:24:26,300
It... you know,
it's amazing to me
518
00:24:26,333 --> 00:24:28,176
that here we are, running
for an important position,
519
00:24:28,200 --> 00:24:29,842
and we're now talking
about whether or not people
520
00:24:29,866 --> 00:24:31,142
in the 19th congressional
district
521
00:24:31,166 --> 00:24:32,633
are confusing me with my dad.
522
00:24:32,666 --> 00:24:36,766
Although the race was closer
than anyone expected,
523
00:24:36,800 --> 00:24:41,800
Bush's congressional run ended
in defeat.
524
00:24:41,833 --> 00:24:43,633
He used to say
525
00:24:43,666 --> 00:24:46,533
that we tried
to "good-old-boy" him to death.
526
00:24:46,566 --> 00:24:49,533
Uh, we did "good-old-boy" him,
but, but I'll say this.
527
00:24:49,566 --> 00:24:50,933
After the race was over,
528
00:24:50,966 --> 00:24:53,666
he said he'd never be
out- "good-old-boyed" again
529
00:24:53,700 --> 00:24:55,366
in the state of Texas.
530
00:24:56,400 --> 00:24:59,333
After his congressional loss,
531
00:24:59,366 --> 00:25:00,576
W returned to the oil business,
532
00:25:00,600 --> 00:25:04,600
now suffering
through a prolonged slump.
533
00:25:05,866 --> 00:25:08,800
George and Laura were also
struggling to start a family,
534
00:25:08,833 --> 00:25:12,000
and had begun interviews with
a Fort Worth adoption agency.
535
00:25:12,033 --> 00:25:14,833
They were well into the process
536
00:25:14,866 --> 00:25:19,666
when Laura learned she was
pregnant with twin girls.
537
00:25:19,700 --> 00:25:23,600
Jenna and Barbara Bush
were born in 1981,
538
00:25:23,633 --> 00:25:26,833
each named after a grandmother.
539
00:25:26,866 --> 00:25:29,800
With a young family
to provide for,
540
00:25:29,833 --> 00:25:33,700
Bush felt ever more pressured
to make a big strike,
541
00:25:33,733 --> 00:25:37,766
and ever more frustrated
by his repeated failures.
542
00:25:37,800 --> 00:25:39,500
His company, some joked,
543
00:25:39,533 --> 00:25:43,433
should change its name
from Arbusto to Ar-bust-o.
544
00:25:43,466 --> 00:25:44,666
It's very risky.
545
00:25:44,700 --> 00:25:47,733
I mean, you know,
you can be a millionaire one day
546
00:25:47,766 --> 00:25:50,900
and absolutely broke
the next day.
547
00:25:50,933 --> 00:25:53,766
It was always better to be
lucky than, than good.
548
00:25:53,800 --> 00:25:58,766
I mean, let's face it,
he wasn't particularly lucky.
549
00:25:58,800 --> 00:25:59,900
He's ranked, I think,
550
00:25:59,933 --> 00:26:03,533
in the 995th-biggest oil company
in Texas
551
00:26:03,566 --> 00:26:04,966
or something like that.
552
00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:09,200
At one point, he says,
"I'm all name and no money."
553
00:26:09,233 --> 00:26:13,266
I think his friends and family,
when he was nearly 40 years old,
554
00:26:13,300 --> 00:26:16,033
were worried about what he was
going to do with his life.
555
00:26:16,066 --> 00:26:20,233
He drank too much and he had
very little direction.
556
00:26:22,800 --> 00:26:24,066
Feeling lost,
557
00:26:24,100 --> 00:26:26,566
Bush began to attend
a weekly Bible study session
558
00:26:26,600 --> 00:26:29,033
at the suggestion
of some friends.
559
00:26:29,066 --> 00:26:32,933
The program was called
Community Bible Study
560
00:26:32,966 --> 00:26:35,533
and was a scriptural boot camp.
561
00:26:35,566 --> 00:26:38,000
He's looking for something,
right?
562
00:26:38,033 --> 00:26:41,733
He's seeking out direction,
meaning, understanding.
563
00:26:41,766 --> 00:26:43,800
Religion begins to give him
564
00:26:43,833 --> 00:26:45,966
that definition,
that path forward.
565
00:26:48,166 --> 00:26:50,933
The oil business
was up and down,
566
00:26:50,966 --> 00:26:53,366
and there was a kind of
spiritual sense in Midland,
567
00:26:53,400 --> 00:26:55,533
and an understanding
that things go down,
568
00:26:55,566 --> 00:26:57,033
but they will go up,
569
00:26:57,066 --> 00:26:59,033
and that, fundamentally,
you must have faith,
570
00:26:59,066 --> 00:27:02,333
and part of that faith
was a Christian faith.
571
00:27:02,366 --> 00:27:04,000
He transitioned
from a churchgoer
572
00:27:04,033 --> 00:27:05,500
to a Christ follower,
573
00:27:05,533 --> 00:27:09,366
and wanted to emulate
574
00:27:09,400 --> 00:27:12,200
the tenets and teachings
of Jesus Christ,
575
00:27:12,233 --> 00:27:15,600
and he made
a definite transformation there.
576
00:27:15,633 --> 00:27:18,366
♪ ♪
577
00:27:18,400 --> 00:27:20,533
Armed with a newfound faith,
578
00:27:20,566 --> 00:27:24,066
Bush finally addressed
one of his lifelong demons...
579
00:27:24,100 --> 00:27:25,700
Alcohol.
580
00:27:25,733 --> 00:27:27,133
The decisive moment would come
581
00:27:27,166 --> 00:27:30,900
after Bush's 40th
birthday party.
582
00:27:30,933 --> 00:27:33,866
He woke up hungover,
583
00:27:33,900 --> 00:27:36,500
he'd overdone it
the night before,
584
00:27:36,533 --> 00:27:38,566
and he didn't feel good,
585
00:27:38,600 --> 00:27:40,800
and I think Laura told him
586
00:27:40,833 --> 00:27:43,466
that he could have
behaved better.
587
00:27:43,500 --> 00:27:45,833
He just said,
"I don't need this in my life.
588
00:27:45,866 --> 00:27:48,100
It's robbing me of my energy."
589
00:27:48,133 --> 00:27:51,266
You know, "It's taking
too much of my time."
590
00:27:51,300 --> 00:27:54,600
Well, I quit
because at times, I thought,
591
00:27:54,633 --> 00:27:56,600
you know,
I like to drink too much.
592
00:27:56,633 --> 00:27:58,466
Somebody said,
"Well, can you think of any day
593
00:27:58,500 --> 00:28:00,600
you hadn't had a beer?"
594
00:28:00,633 --> 00:28:02,600
And, uh... I couldn't.
595
00:28:03,966 --> 00:28:05,342
I think another big factor is,
596
00:28:05,366 --> 00:28:07,766
he didn't want to be
an embarrassment to his dad.
597
00:28:07,800 --> 00:28:12,100
And it's always been
a driving force in his life.
598
00:28:12,133 --> 00:28:14,333
After serving two terms
599
00:28:14,366 --> 00:28:16,500
as Ronald Reagan's
vice president,
600
00:28:16,533 --> 00:28:21,100
George H.W. Bush was
the G.O.P.'s leading candidate
601
00:28:21,133 --> 00:28:24,800
for the
1988 presidential election.
602
00:28:24,833 --> 00:28:27,700
With a White House bid
would come increased scrutiny
603
00:28:27,733 --> 00:28:29,700
of the entire Bush family.
604
00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:34,400
His father was gearing up
to run for president.
605
00:28:34,433 --> 00:28:37,000
A bad incident by his son
606
00:28:37,033 --> 00:28:39,933
would reflect terribly
on the father.
607
00:28:39,966 --> 00:28:42,466
It's that fear
608
00:28:42,500 --> 00:28:44,009
that helps him
finally get his act together.
609
00:28:44,033 --> 00:28:47,800
He sells his oil business,
he moved to Washington,
610
00:28:47,833 --> 00:28:49,733
and he joins the campaign.
611
00:28:49,766 --> 00:28:51,100
And he has no title.
612
00:28:51,133 --> 00:28:52,333
His dad says,
613
00:28:52,366 --> 00:28:54,066
"You don't need a title,
you're my son."
614
00:28:54,100 --> 00:28:55,133
Victory time!
615
00:28:55,166 --> 00:28:56,100
Oh, but your hand looks good.
616
00:28:56,133 --> 00:28:57,133
What time is it?
617
00:28:57,166 --> 00:28:58,266
Victory time!
618
00:28:58,300 --> 00:29:00,366
This is the non-political part
of this.
619
00:29:00,400 --> 00:29:03,200
This is a moment that begins
to change their relationship.
620
00:29:03,233 --> 00:29:05,466
His father begins
to trust his son
621
00:29:05,500 --> 00:29:09,166
and give him responsibility,
knowing he can rely on him.
622
00:29:09,200 --> 00:29:12,600
For W, he begins to sort of
shed some of the baggage
623
00:29:12,633 --> 00:29:14,900
that had been there in the past.
624
00:29:14,933 --> 00:29:16,900
George Bush is
625
00:29:16,933 --> 00:29:20,700
the 41st president
of the United States.
626
00:29:20,733 --> 00:29:23,000
After the '88 election,
627
00:29:23,033 --> 00:29:26,200
he started talking
about who's going to go where,
628
00:29:26,233 --> 00:29:29,800
who on the staff is going to go
to the inaugural committee,
629
00:29:29,833 --> 00:29:32,566
who's going to go
to the White House,
630
00:29:32,600 --> 00:29:34,076
and in the middle
of that conversation,
631
00:29:34,100 --> 00:29:36,966
he pauses, and he says,
632
00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:38,076
"What's going to happen to me?"
633
00:29:38,100 --> 00:29:40,233
First child of the first family,
634
00:29:40,266 --> 00:29:42,300
George Bush, Jr.!
635
00:29:50,800 --> 00:29:52,042
There was sort of a push
636
00:29:52,066 --> 00:29:56,100
for both him and his brother Jeb
to go into politics.
637
00:29:56,133 --> 00:29:58,033
The family kind of favored Jeb.
638
00:29:58,066 --> 00:30:02,700
George had been sort of
the ne'er-do-well son.
639
00:30:02,733 --> 00:30:04,866
Jeb is our politician.
640
00:30:04,900 --> 00:30:07,100
He's the
Republican county chairman
641
00:30:07,133 --> 00:30:09,100
of Dade County, Florida... Miami.
642
00:30:09,133 --> 00:30:11,400
You oughta ask Jeb,
don't skip him.
643
00:30:11,433 --> 00:30:16,066
W felt overlooked
and unappreciated.
644
00:30:16,100 --> 00:30:18,033
"My pool has been expanded
so much
645
00:30:18,066 --> 00:30:20,233
because of who my dad is,"
646
00:30:20,266 --> 00:30:21,766
Bush would tell a reporter.
647
00:30:21,800 --> 00:30:25,000
"The advantage is
that everybody knows who I am.
648
00:30:25,033 --> 00:30:28,600
"The disadvantage is, no matter
how great my accomplishments,
649
00:30:28,633 --> 00:30:31,366
no one is going to give me
credit for them."
650
00:30:33,300 --> 00:30:36,766
While his father prepared
to move into the White House,
651
00:30:36,800 --> 00:30:39,666
Bush returned to Texas,
and for the first time,
652
00:30:39,700 --> 00:30:42,633
set out on a course of his own.
653
00:30:46,533 --> 00:30:49,600
The opportunity came up to buy
the Texas Rangers baseball team.
654
00:30:49,633 --> 00:30:51,666
And there was no question,
I think, in his mind
655
00:30:51,700 --> 00:30:53,433
that there was
a political calculus
656
00:30:53,466 --> 00:30:55,600
in the sense
that this can't hurt.
657
00:30:55,633 --> 00:30:56,666
We're fixing to build
658
00:30:56,700 --> 00:30:58,866
the greatest baseball park
ever built.
659
00:30:58,900 --> 00:31:00,700
He didn't have enough
to buy a baseball team,
660
00:31:00,733 --> 00:31:01,800
so what he does is,
661
00:31:01,833 --> 00:31:04,266
he does what he does best...
He networks.
662
00:31:04,300 --> 00:31:06,800
Pulls together
tens of millions of dollars
663
00:31:06,833 --> 00:31:08,366
by other people's money.
664
00:31:08,400 --> 00:31:10,800
He becomes sort of
this fixture at the ballpark.
665
00:31:10,833 --> 00:31:12,833
Bush, being Bush,
666
00:31:12,866 --> 00:31:15,266
put on
his Texas Rangers cowboy boots,
667
00:31:15,300 --> 00:31:18,066
and got a seat
not up in the box,
668
00:31:18,100 --> 00:31:20,166
not where the owners
usually sit,
669
00:31:20,200 --> 00:31:23,800
but down there
where the rest of the fans sat,
670
00:31:23,833 --> 00:31:26,966
and that's where he was,
game after game.
671
00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:28,233
It really is
672
00:31:28,266 --> 00:31:29,576
the most fabulous place to watch
baseball ever built.
673
00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:32,900
And he became
a really beloved figure
674
00:31:32,933 --> 00:31:35,966
for the Texas Rangers.
675
00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:38,000
Now Bush could say,
676
00:31:38,033 --> 00:31:42,466
"I did this on my own,
I'm my own man."
677
00:31:42,500 --> 00:31:46,300
There was one little other
subtle thing,
678
00:31:46,333 --> 00:31:47,642
that while he was partner
with the Rangers,
679
00:31:47,666 --> 00:31:52,400
he went to all 254 counties
in the state of Texas
680
00:31:52,433 --> 00:31:55,633
in the name
of promoting Ranger baseball,
681
00:31:55,666 --> 00:32:00,500
but he was also getting
name recognition
682
00:32:00,533 --> 00:32:02,000
in all 254 counties,
683
00:32:02,033 --> 00:32:06,100
and I think
that would fend him well
684
00:32:06,133 --> 00:32:08,500
in any future
statewide political run.
685
00:32:08,533 --> 00:32:11,400
I think that was another motive.
686
00:32:11,433 --> 00:32:15,966
In 1992, Poppy's long
political career
687
00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:18,666
came to an abrupt
and shocking end
688
00:32:18,700 --> 00:32:19,742
with his re-election defeat
689
00:32:19,766 --> 00:32:22,466
by the dynamic
Arkansas governor,
690
00:32:22,500 --> 00:32:23,700
Bill Clinton.
691
00:32:23,733 --> 00:32:26,466
There is important work
to be done,
692
00:32:26,500 --> 00:32:28,966
and America must always
come first.
693
00:32:29,000 --> 00:32:33,100
Thank you, George!
Thank you very much, look...
694
00:32:33,133 --> 00:32:34,866
The loss to Bill Clinton
695
00:32:34,900 --> 00:32:37,266
was a blow to the whole family.
696
00:32:37,300 --> 00:32:39,500
I just don't think
they ever thought
697
00:32:39,533 --> 00:32:43,066
that the war hero
George H.W. Bush,
698
00:32:43,100 --> 00:32:44,400
the statesman that he was,
699
00:32:44,433 --> 00:32:49,466
could lose to the Baby Boomer,
draft-dodging,
700
00:32:49,500 --> 00:32:53,300
marijuana-smoking Bill Clinton.
701
00:32:53,333 --> 00:32:54,633
They were devastated by it.
702
00:32:54,666 --> 00:32:58,933
But as one door closes,
another door opens.
703
00:32:58,966 --> 00:33:02,366
It turns out
that for George W. Bush,
704
00:33:02,400 --> 00:33:07,066
this would be the door opener
for him.
705
00:33:07,100 --> 00:33:09,366
Just days after
his little brother Jeb
706
00:33:09,400 --> 00:33:12,533
declared his candidacy
for governor of Florida,
707
00:33:12,566 --> 00:33:16,566
W announced his own in Texas.
708
00:33:16,600 --> 00:33:18,433
Let's make it official.
709
00:33:18,466 --> 00:33:19,633
All right!
710
00:33:19,666 --> 00:33:22,166
I'm a candidate
for governor of Texas.
711
00:33:22,200 --> 00:33:24,733
He would be challenging
Ann Richards,
712
00:33:24,766 --> 00:33:26,300
the popular Democrat incumbent
713
00:33:26,333 --> 00:33:30,100
and longtime nemesis
of the Bush family.
714
00:33:30,133 --> 00:33:32,266
And he's going to run
against the very person,
715
00:33:32,300 --> 00:33:34,300
Ann Richards,
Democratic governor,
716
00:33:34,333 --> 00:33:37,766
who had mocked his dad...
So viciously, in his view...
717
00:33:37,800 --> 00:33:40,266
at the Democratic convention.
718
00:33:40,300 --> 00:33:42,066
Poor George.
719
00:33:43,700 --> 00:33:47,333
He was born
with a silver foot in his mouth.
720
00:33:47,366 --> 00:33:52,100
A lot of people,
myself included,
721
00:33:52,133 --> 00:33:54,900
thought that she'd be very hard
to beat.
722
00:33:54,933 --> 00:33:56,400
But...
723
00:33:56,433 --> 00:33:59,633
He said, "I'm going to run,
and I'm going to beat her."
724
00:33:59,666 --> 00:34:03,600
I think that he wanted
to even that score.
725
00:34:03,633 --> 00:34:05,766
Ann Richards was
a stage persona.
726
00:34:05,800 --> 00:34:09,333
I mean, she was charismatic,
electric,
727
00:34:09,366 --> 00:34:12,133
she was funny,
she was quick-witted.
728
00:34:13,366 --> 00:34:15,866
And she could be really mean.
729
00:34:15,900 --> 00:34:18,033
You know, I have a fella
730
00:34:18,066 --> 00:34:19,833
who is challenging me
for governor,
731
00:34:19,866 --> 00:34:22,666
and I am sure...
732
00:34:24,700 --> 00:34:26,300
And I, I really and truly...
733
00:34:26,333 --> 00:34:29,066
and I've said many times...
I know he means well,
734
00:34:29,100 --> 00:34:32,566
and if he would start by running
for the city council or for...
735
00:34:39,133 --> 00:34:40,200
Inside the family,
736
00:34:40,233 --> 00:34:41,800
I think they were
a little nervous,
737
00:34:41,833 --> 00:34:45,566
because they were afraid
he'd fail at it.
738
00:34:45,600 --> 00:34:48,800
And he knew that,
which drove him on all the more.
739
00:34:50,233 --> 00:34:53,300
On the surface,
Richards looked unbeatable,
740
00:34:53,333 --> 00:34:55,033
an incumbent
with an approval rating
741
00:34:55,066 --> 00:34:57,766
in the high 60s.
742
00:34:57,800 --> 00:34:59,166
But Bush had an edge...
743
00:34:59,200 --> 00:35:05,300
the help of a clever Republican
strategist named Karl Rove.
744
00:35:05,333 --> 00:35:08,666
Rove was a longtime associate
of Poppy's,
745
00:35:08,700 --> 00:35:11,466
and one of the most formidable
and ruthless strategists
746
00:35:11,500 --> 00:35:12,866
in the country.
747
00:35:13,800 --> 00:35:15,400
He had been captivated by W
748
00:35:15,433 --> 00:35:20,300
since their first meeting
in the 1970s.
749
00:35:20,333 --> 00:35:24,066
In walks this guy in his
National Guard Air flight jacket
750
00:35:24,100 --> 00:35:25,733
wearing cowboy boots and Levis.
751
00:35:25,766 --> 00:35:28,066
He exuded more charisma
than anybody should
752
00:35:28,100 --> 00:35:29,266
and he was smart as heck.
753
00:35:29,300 --> 00:35:31,533
I mean, I know the,
you know, the reputation,
754
00:35:31,566 --> 00:35:34,566
the good old boy from Midland,
the village idiot.
755
00:35:34,600 --> 00:35:38,266
But here's a Yale history major
and a Harvard MBA.
756
00:35:38,300 --> 00:35:42,833
He was a screw-up at the time.
757
00:35:42,866 --> 00:35:46,000
Karl saw something in Bush
before anybody else did.
758
00:35:46,033 --> 00:35:48,100
He was smitten.
759
00:35:48,133 --> 00:35:50,533
W was central
to Karl Rove's vision
760
00:35:50,566 --> 00:35:53,133
of a solid red Texas...
761
00:35:53,166 --> 00:35:55,366
someone who could appeal
to centrist Democrats
762
00:35:55,400 --> 00:35:57,266
and Republicans alike.
763
00:35:57,300 --> 00:36:00,866
For Bush,
Rove was the strategic brain
764
00:36:00,900 --> 00:36:02,700
who could take him
to the political heights
765
00:36:02,733 --> 00:36:04,900
he dreamed of.
766
00:36:04,933 --> 00:36:06,800
I mean, Karl Rove was Pygmalion,
767
00:36:06,833 --> 00:36:08,633
and he created George W. Bush.
768
00:36:08,666 --> 00:36:09,900
He saw that this was
769
00:36:09,933 --> 00:36:12,433
a kind of ruggedly handsome guy,
young man,
770
00:36:12,466 --> 00:36:16,000
who could be groomed
for something greater.
771
00:36:16,033 --> 00:36:18,733
He convinced George Bush
that he was that candidate,
772
00:36:18,766 --> 00:36:20,533
and then he made him
that candidate.
773
00:36:20,566 --> 00:36:24,900
I have spent
11 long, long joyous months
774
00:36:24,933 --> 00:36:26,233
campaigning all over the state.
775
00:36:26,266 --> 00:36:28,033
My mission was to tell Texans
776
00:36:28,066 --> 00:36:30,133
that there is another
George Bush in this state.
777
00:36:30,166 --> 00:36:32,500
And I have been able to do so.
778
00:36:34,233 --> 00:36:36,633
The only thing
George W. Bush doesn't have
779
00:36:36,666 --> 00:36:39,100
is any knowledge
of how government works.
780
00:36:39,133 --> 00:36:43,000
And so what Rove did is,
recruited experts
781
00:36:43,033 --> 00:36:46,500
and put Bush onto a series
of lessons
782
00:36:46,533 --> 00:36:48,066
that went for months
783
00:36:48,100 --> 00:36:50,700
in which he learned
about the budget,
784
00:36:50,733 --> 00:36:52,066
and he learned about taxes,
785
00:36:52,100 --> 00:36:53,800
and he learned
how to answer questions.
786
00:36:53,833 --> 00:36:57,033
Every politician,
if they're smart,
787
00:36:57,066 --> 00:36:58,300
recognizes they need help.
788
00:36:58,333 --> 00:37:01,100
He kept going around saying,
"I'm a capitalist!"
789
00:37:01,133 --> 00:37:03,600
You know, "Mr. Bush,
790
00:37:03,633 --> 00:37:04,909
"you maybe oughta stop
saying, 'Capitalist, '
791
00:37:04,933 --> 00:37:06,400
"and start saying,
792
00:37:06,433 --> 00:37:08,633
'I believe in free enterprise
and I'm a businessman.'"
793
00:37:08,666 --> 00:37:11,766
Ann Richards knew
that George W. Bush
794
00:37:11,800 --> 00:37:14,300
could run a good race
against her,
795
00:37:14,333 --> 00:37:19,533
but she underestimated him
because she thought he was dumb.
796
00:37:19,566 --> 00:37:23,666
He just relished that, and,
and...
797
00:37:23,700 --> 00:37:26,833
He's self-confident enough that
he didn't let that get to him.
798
00:37:26,866 --> 00:37:28,900
He made fun of it,
799
00:37:28,933 --> 00:37:31,033
and was able
to let it roll off his back.
800
00:37:31,066 --> 00:37:34,433
Unless you can put
a dollar figure
801
00:37:34,466 --> 00:37:36,433
to what you propose,
802
00:37:36,466 --> 00:37:40,600
and then tell the people
how you are going to pay for it,
803
00:37:40,633 --> 00:37:43,300
you are being inexperienced
804
00:37:43,333 --> 00:37:45,700
at the cost of the taxpayers
of Texas.
805
00:37:45,733 --> 00:37:48,166
The incumbent governor
of the State of Texas
806
00:37:48,200 --> 00:37:50,366
is spending all her money on TV
807
00:37:50,400 --> 00:37:52,366
trying to make me
something I'm not.
808
00:37:52,400 --> 00:37:55,433
We ought to be discussing
welfare reform,
809
00:37:55,466 --> 00:37:58,366
juvenile justice, education,
810
00:37:58,400 --> 00:38:01,366
ways to make Texas
a better place for our children.
811
00:38:01,400 --> 00:38:04,100
Bush's discipline
took the Richards campaign
812
00:38:04,133 --> 00:38:05,600
by surprise.
813
00:38:07,133 --> 00:38:09,766
One thing that Bush
was capable of doing
814
00:38:09,800 --> 00:38:10,800
is staying on message.
815
00:38:10,833 --> 00:38:13,233
He just never went
outside the lines.
816
00:38:13,266 --> 00:38:17,800
He was an incredibly
disciplined candidate.
817
00:38:17,833 --> 00:38:19,966
By election day,
he was polling higher
818
00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:22,933
than anyone
had thought possible.
819
00:38:22,966 --> 00:38:25,666
Running for governor
was important to Bush
820
00:38:25,700 --> 00:38:28,333
for his own self-validation:
821
00:38:28,366 --> 00:38:33,333
to win an office,
do it on his own,
822
00:38:33,366 --> 00:38:35,900
and kind of prove to his parents
823
00:38:35,933 --> 00:38:38,166
that he could be
as good as Jeb was.
824
00:38:38,200 --> 00:38:39,633
Thank you all very much.
825
00:38:39,666 --> 00:38:42,266
Their younger son Jeb
lost a close race
826
00:38:42,300 --> 00:38:43,233
for the governor of Florida...
827
00:38:43,266 --> 00:38:45,100
Uh, surprise, surprise,
828
00:38:45,133 --> 00:38:47,000
Jeb lost and George won.
829
00:38:47,033 --> 00:38:50,200
A race that was supposed to last
well into the night
830
00:38:50,233 --> 00:38:51,666
was over early.
831
00:38:53,966 --> 00:38:56,133
Lots of people are cheering
and getting excited.
832
00:38:56,166 --> 00:38:58,566
Lots of friends of his
are in the room,
833
00:38:58,600 --> 00:38:59,776
and he wants to go talk
to his parents.
834
00:38:59,800 --> 00:39:01,200
So, he motions to me,
835
00:39:01,233 --> 00:39:03,700
and he walks into the,
to the bathroom,
836
00:39:03,733 --> 00:39:05,833
and he calls up his dad.
837
00:39:05,866 --> 00:39:08,266
It's clear his father's
just in complete meltdown
838
00:39:08,300 --> 00:39:09,800
about Jeb losing.
839
00:39:09,833 --> 00:39:14,266
And finally, the now
governor-to-be of Texas, said,
840
00:39:14,300 --> 00:39:16,733
"Well, Dad, I won."
841
00:39:19,966 --> 00:39:22,400
On January 17, 1995,
842
00:39:22,433 --> 00:39:26,000
George W. Bush was sworn in
as governor of Texas.
843
00:39:26,033 --> 00:39:27,700
So help me God.
844
00:39:37,933 --> 00:39:40,533
Bush was just the second
Republican governor
845
00:39:40,566 --> 00:39:41,500
elected in Texas
846
00:39:41,533 --> 00:39:44,566
in over 100 years.
847
00:39:44,600 --> 00:39:46,600
He would soon
have to hold his own
848
00:39:46,633 --> 00:39:48,142
against the entrenched
Democratic powers
849
00:39:48,166 --> 00:39:53,800
who ran the state legislature
with an iron hand.
850
00:39:53,833 --> 00:39:57,266
The governor of Texas
is constitutionally weak.
851
00:39:57,300 --> 00:39:59,733
The speaker and, particularly,
the lieutenant governor
852
00:39:59,766 --> 00:40:00,900
are all-powerful.
853
00:40:00,933 --> 00:40:02,466
Literally, no bill
can be brought up
854
00:40:02,500 --> 00:40:05,100
without the permission of the,
of the lieutenant governor.
855
00:40:05,133 --> 00:40:07,666
Lieutenant governor
was Bob Bullock,
856
00:40:07,700 --> 00:40:10,500
who was strong
as an acre of garlic.
857
00:40:10,533 --> 00:40:12,500
He was meaner than a snake.
858
00:40:12,533 --> 00:40:13,966
He was intimidating.
859
00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:18,033
Senators described
his drive-by ass-chewings.
860
00:40:18,066 --> 00:40:19,566
To Bullock's surprise,
861
00:40:19,600 --> 00:40:23,000
Bush approached him
with an olive branch.
862
00:40:23,033 --> 00:40:24,176
George W. Bush
didn't come in
863
00:40:24,200 --> 00:40:25,166
acting like he knew everything.
864
00:40:25,200 --> 00:40:26,633
He listened.
865
00:40:26,666 --> 00:40:30,133
And, and I think Bullock
probably didn't expect that.
866
00:40:30,166 --> 00:40:33,533
George W. Bush
and Karl Rove seduced him.
867
00:40:33,566 --> 00:40:36,133
They courted him,
they worked him.
868
00:40:36,166 --> 00:40:40,500
And he came to hold Bush
in really high regard,
869
00:40:40,533 --> 00:40:45,233
and in the end, was something
of a political godfather.
870
00:40:45,266 --> 00:40:46,866
With Bullock's support,
871
00:40:46,900 --> 00:40:49,133
Bush sailed
through his first term,
872
00:40:49,166 --> 00:40:50,466
easily fending off
873
00:40:50,500 --> 00:40:51,776
a Democratic challenger
for re-election
874
00:40:51,800 --> 00:40:53,366
in 1998.
875
00:40:53,400 --> 00:40:55,766
It was Bob Bullock
876
00:40:55,800 --> 00:40:57,766
who was the first person
to declare,
877
00:40:57,800 --> 00:41:00,833
on Bush's 50th birthday,
878
00:41:00,866 --> 00:41:03,533
"We're looking at the next
president of the United States."
879
00:41:03,566 --> 00:41:04,800
Nobody had ever said that.
880
00:41:04,833 --> 00:41:06,100
And, it was a Democrat...
881
00:41:06,133 --> 00:41:08,366
it was the leading Democrat
in the state.
882
00:41:08,400 --> 00:41:11,066
It was a kind of anointing.
883
00:41:11,100 --> 00:41:13,833
You bet, I'm glad to... hi.
884
00:41:13,866 --> 00:41:15,900
By the mid-1990s,
885
00:41:15,933 --> 00:41:20,266
the one-time good old boy,
the Bush family's black sheep,
886
00:41:20,300 --> 00:41:21,900
was being seriously discussed
887
00:41:21,933 --> 00:41:26,166
as a Republican
presidential candidate.
888
00:41:26,200 --> 00:41:28,566
I got a call one day from a,
from a reporter,
889
00:41:28,600 --> 00:41:29,776
and they were asking me
about a poll
890
00:41:29,800 --> 00:41:32,233
"that shows your boss
as the frontrunner to be
891
00:41:32,266 --> 00:41:34,666
the G.O.P. nominee
for president."
892
00:41:34,700 --> 00:41:37,700
I made a beeline for his office,
and he said, "What?"
893
00:41:37,733 --> 00:41:39,733
We were both
kind of incredulous.
894
00:41:39,766 --> 00:41:41,500
And then it sort of
snowballed from there.
895
00:41:41,533 --> 00:41:43,600
People began to look at him
896
00:41:43,633 --> 00:41:46,666
as a presidential contender,
897
00:41:46,700 --> 00:41:47,842
but he thought he wasn't ready.
898
00:41:47,866 --> 00:41:49,042
He told his friends that,
you know,
899
00:41:49,066 --> 00:41:50,500
he felt
like a cork in the river,
900
00:41:50,533 --> 00:41:52,900
that it was just,
it was carrying him along,
901
00:41:52,933 --> 00:41:54,600
almost without his own volition.
902
00:41:57,533 --> 00:41:59,566
I come here under no illusions.
903
00:41:59,600 --> 00:42:05,333
I know expectations
are sky-high.
904
00:42:05,366 --> 00:42:07,633
But I got a pretty good reminder
about life its own self
905
00:42:07,666 --> 00:42:09,833
when my daughter,
one of our twins, said,
906
00:42:09,866 --> 00:42:12,766
"Daddy,
I've been reading the polls.
907
00:42:12,800 --> 00:42:16,200
You're not nearly as cool
as the people think you are."
908
00:42:16,233 --> 00:42:19,366
We built up
a gigantic fundraising apparatus
909
00:42:19,400 --> 00:42:21,200
outside of Texas.
910
00:42:21,233 --> 00:42:23,233
So we went to California,
we went to New York.
911
00:42:23,266 --> 00:42:24,633
We took his dad's network.
912
00:42:24,666 --> 00:42:28,133
I'm running for
president of the United States.
913
00:42:28,166 --> 00:42:29,400
There's no turning back.
914
00:42:29,433 --> 00:42:31,366
He had Harvard Business School
classmates
915
00:42:31,400 --> 00:42:33,666
that were being successful
all around the country.
916
00:42:33,700 --> 00:42:35,233
And I intend to be
917
00:42:35,266 --> 00:42:37,633
the next
president of the United States.
918
00:42:37,666 --> 00:42:38,900
Baseball friends.
919
00:42:38,933 --> 00:42:41,666
We, we had his brother's network
by then.
920
00:42:41,700 --> 00:42:43,633
There was an early announcement
921
00:42:43,666 --> 00:42:46,166
of the campaign contributions.
922
00:42:46,200 --> 00:42:47,800
And it was stunning.
923
00:42:47,833 --> 00:42:49,800
It was so many
millions of dollars
924
00:42:49,833 --> 00:42:54,766
that was simply beyond anything
anybody expected.
925
00:42:54,800 --> 00:42:56,666
By the summer of 2000,
926
00:42:56,700 --> 00:43:01,266
Bush had built an insurmountable
lead in the Republican race.
927
00:43:01,300 --> 00:43:04,066
But as he accepted
the nomination of his party,
928
00:43:04,100 --> 00:43:06,000
he knew he faced
an uphill battle
929
00:43:06,033 --> 00:43:08,600
to defeat
the Democratic candidate,
930
00:43:08,633 --> 00:43:11,333
Vice President Al Gore.
931
00:43:11,366 --> 00:43:16,466
Al Gore is running
to succeed a popular president.
932
00:43:16,500 --> 00:43:17,576
Bill Clinton had been impeached,
933
00:43:17,600 --> 00:43:20,366
but his approval ratings
were in the 60s.
934
00:43:20,400 --> 00:43:22,300
So once again,
Bush is kind of taking on,
935
00:43:22,333 --> 00:43:26,500
in effect, an underdog role.
936
00:43:27,866 --> 00:43:32,733
Bush had always done best
when least was expected.
937
00:43:32,766 --> 00:43:35,833
In the fall of 2000,
he took to the campaign trail
938
00:43:35,866 --> 00:43:37,833
criss-crossing the country
with the energy
939
00:43:37,866 --> 00:43:39,900
of a Texas twister.
940
00:43:39,933 --> 00:43:43,033
He felt very comfortable
on the campaign trail.
941
00:43:43,066 --> 00:43:45,800
He enjoyed it,
he enjoyed being with people.
942
00:43:45,833 --> 00:43:47,009
He is a classic extrovert
in that sense...
943
00:43:47,033 --> 00:43:48,433
he got energy from other people.
944
00:43:48,466 --> 00:43:49,666
We need a leader to bring
945
00:43:49,700 --> 00:43:51,866
Republicans and Democrats
together to reform...
946
00:43:51,900 --> 00:43:54,133
One of the best
947
00:43:54,166 --> 00:43:58,566
one-on-one politicians
of the modern age.
948
00:43:58,600 --> 00:43:59,900
It was always a frustration
949
00:43:59,933 --> 00:44:01,700
to those of us
who worked for him
950
00:44:01,733 --> 00:44:04,533
that that didn't always
communicate through mass media.
951
00:44:04,566 --> 00:44:08,433
While Bush shined
when face-to-face with voters,
952
00:44:08,466 --> 00:44:12,200
on television, he often seemed
unready to be president.
953
00:44:13,600 --> 00:44:16,033
If you're a single mother
with two children...
954
00:44:16,066 --> 00:44:18,000
which is the toughest job
in America,
955
00:44:18,033 --> 00:44:19,666
as far as I'm concerned...
956
00:44:19,700 --> 00:44:22,333
and you're working hard
to put food on your family...
957
00:44:22,366 --> 00:44:24,200
The American public
was seeing someone
958
00:44:24,233 --> 00:44:26,900
who had not spent
their entire life in politics.
959
00:44:26,933 --> 00:44:30,700
I mean, he went into politics
as a middle-aged person,
960
00:44:30,733 --> 00:44:33,966
and he didn't have
a set of acting skills
961
00:44:34,000 --> 00:44:37,866
that a lot of other politicians
had developed over time,
962
00:44:37,900 --> 00:44:40,800
so you did get certain gaffes.
963
00:44:40,833 --> 00:44:45,066
I want to make it clear
to people that...
964
00:44:45,100 --> 00:44:47,176
You know, the idea of putting
"subliminable" messages into ads
965
00:44:47,200 --> 00:44:49,900
is, is ridiculous.
966
00:44:49,933 --> 00:44:53,733
We cannot let terrorists
and rogue nations
967
00:44:53,766 --> 00:44:56,833
hold this nation hostile
or hold our allies hostile.
968
00:44:56,866 --> 00:45:00,233
More nations have
"nucular" weapons,
969
00:45:00,266 --> 00:45:02,866
and still more have
"nucular" aspirations.
970
00:45:04,766 --> 00:45:07,600
That guy mispronounces
everything.
971
00:45:07,633 --> 00:45:11,000
While his opponents howled
what a clown he was...
972
00:45:11,033 --> 00:45:16,233
I know that human being and fish
can coexist peacefully.
973
00:45:16,266 --> 00:45:18,066
He never really worried
974
00:45:18,100 --> 00:45:21,600
that this was
going to cost him a single vote.
975
00:45:21,633 --> 00:45:27,066
People were gonna vote for him
because he, George W. Bush,
976
00:45:27,100 --> 00:45:29,800
why, he's just like we are.
977
00:45:29,833 --> 00:45:31,766
If you think about it,
it is quite a trick
978
00:45:31,800 --> 00:45:35,166
for this man who was born
to wealth and power,
979
00:45:35,200 --> 00:45:39,366
and this sort of most exclusive
echelon of American society,
980
00:45:39,400 --> 00:45:42,533
to somehow convince
a lot of voters
981
00:45:42,566 --> 00:45:43,900
that he was just a regular guy.
982
00:45:46,066 --> 00:45:49,033
His missteps also played
into a key strategy,
983
00:45:49,066 --> 00:45:52,766
one that had served Bush well
for much of his political life...
984
00:45:52,800 --> 00:45:57,133
to set expectations low
and consistently surpass them.
985
00:45:59,466 --> 00:46:03,366
But Bush knew his inexperience
was a vulnerability,
986
00:46:03,400 --> 00:46:07,300
particularly on foreign policy
and national security.
987
00:46:07,333 --> 00:46:09,500
The prime minister of India?
988
00:46:09,533 --> 00:46:13,400
Uh, the new prime minister
of India is, uh...
989
00:46:13,433 --> 00:46:14,500
Uh... no.
990
00:46:15,700 --> 00:46:17,500
He'd need to compensate
991
00:46:17,533 --> 00:46:21,466
by weighing his ticket
with a seasoned vice president,
992
00:46:21,500 --> 00:46:24,666
someone with unquestionable
bona fides.
993
00:46:24,700 --> 00:46:28,066
So I'm proud to announce
that Dick Cheney,
994
00:46:28,100 --> 00:46:32,033
a man of great integrity,
sound judgment, and experience,
995
00:46:32,066 --> 00:46:33,600
is my choice to be
996
00:46:33,633 --> 00:46:36,233
the next vice president
of the United States.
997
00:46:38,866 --> 00:46:41,033
For Bush, there was only
one choice...
998
00:46:41,066 --> 00:46:43,700
Dick Cheney,
a veteran of Congress
999
00:46:43,733 --> 00:46:48,100
who had served as his father's
secretary of defense.
1000
00:46:48,133 --> 00:46:51,633
There's no question as to what
drew Bush to Dick Cheney.
1001
00:46:51,666 --> 00:46:54,133
There were two qualities.
1002
00:46:54,166 --> 00:46:56,200
First, Cheney was experienced.
1003
00:46:56,233 --> 00:46:59,733
Second, Cheney did not have
presidential ambitions.
1004
00:46:59,766 --> 00:47:02,800
So Bush would never
have to look over his shoulder.
1005
00:47:02,833 --> 00:47:04,200
Thank you.
1006
00:47:04,233 --> 00:47:05,866
After initially declining,
1007
00:47:05,900 --> 00:47:08,433
Cheney finally agreed,
1008
00:47:08,466 --> 00:47:10,733
but only after
extracting a pledge
1009
00:47:10,766 --> 00:47:14,766
that he would be given
unprecedented power and access.
1010
00:47:16,766 --> 00:47:18,442
He would be welcome
into any meeting,
1011
00:47:18,466 --> 00:47:23,300
that he would have a strong
voice in foreign policy,
1012
00:47:23,333 --> 00:47:27,400
defense policy,
economic policies.
1013
00:47:27,433 --> 00:47:30,600
He turned it
into a much more attractive job
1014
00:47:30,633 --> 00:47:31,733
before he accepted it.
1015
00:47:32,733 --> 00:47:34,109
While the selection of Cheney
1016
00:47:34,133 --> 00:47:35,500
lent gravitas to the ticket,
1017
00:47:35,533 --> 00:47:38,233
Bush still needed to prove
1018
00:47:38,266 --> 00:47:40,966
that he could go toe-to-toe
with Gore.
1019
00:47:41,000 --> 00:47:42,866
The public saw
the two men square off
1020
00:47:42,900 --> 00:47:47,866
in the first of three
nationally televised debates.
1021
00:47:47,900 --> 00:47:50,066
As Bush took to the stage,
1022
00:47:50,100 --> 00:47:52,766
expectations
were at historic lows,
1023
00:47:52,800 --> 00:47:56,066
exactly where
he and Rove wanted them.
1024
00:47:57,733 --> 00:48:00,400
The most decisive moments
in a presidential campaign
1025
00:48:00,433 --> 00:48:02,366
always seem to come down
to the debates.
1026
00:48:02,400 --> 00:48:05,933
That's really where Al Gore
really got pretty bollocksed-up.
1027
00:48:05,966 --> 00:48:08,866
Well, we do
come from different places.
1028
00:48:08,900 --> 00:48:10,166
I come from West Texas...
1029
00:48:10,200 --> 00:48:13,833
Al Gore is seen
rolling his eyes and sighing
1030
00:48:13,866 --> 00:48:15,866
at the things
that George W. Bush is saying,
1031
00:48:15,900 --> 00:48:19,366
and kind of looking down
at Bush,
1032
00:48:19,400 --> 00:48:22,933
who of course is not as
practiced or as knowledgeable
1033
00:48:22,966 --> 00:48:26,966
about national and international
issues as Gore is.
1034
00:48:27,000 --> 00:48:29,466
It looked kind of, you know,
1035
00:48:29,500 --> 00:48:31,766
condescending and,
and unappealing.
1036
00:48:36,833 --> 00:48:38,333
As election day approached,
1037
00:48:38,366 --> 00:48:42,266
polls showed that Gore's once
significant lead had vanished,
1038
00:48:42,300 --> 00:48:44,500
and Bush had vaulted ahead.
1039
00:48:44,533 --> 00:48:47,066
The mood in Bush's camp
was ecstatic.
1040
00:48:49,000 --> 00:48:51,633
Then, with just days remaining,
1041
00:48:51,666 --> 00:48:57,566
a long-buried secret suddenly
surfaced in the national media.
1042
00:48:57,600 --> 00:49:00,166
It was actually a staffer
on my team who came to me,
1043
00:49:00,200 --> 00:49:01,633
and he says, "Hey, Bartlett,
1044
00:49:01,666 --> 00:49:03,033
"you're not going
to believe this,
1045
00:49:03,066 --> 00:49:05,766
"but there's
this Fox affiliate up there
1046
00:49:05,800 --> 00:49:08,900
who claims that they
have evidence of a D.U.I."
1047
00:49:11,300 --> 00:49:12,576
Obviously,
there's a report out tonight
1048
00:49:12,600 --> 00:49:15,500
that 24 years ago,
I was apprehended
1049
00:49:15,533 --> 00:49:18,500
in Kennebunkport, Maine,
for a D.U.I.
1050
00:49:18,533 --> 00:49:20,000
That's an accurate story.
1051
00:49:20,033 --> 00:49:23,966
I'm not proud of that,
and I, uh...
1052
00:49:24,000 --> 00:49:26,300
I've oftentimes said
that years ago,
1053
00:49:26,333 --> 00:49:29,433
I made some mistakes,
I occasionally drank too much,
1054
00:49:29,466 --> 00:49:30,933
and I did on that night.
1055
00:49:32,233 --> 00:49:34,500
We always knew
this was going to be close.
1056
00:49:34,533 --> 00:49:36,500
But there was a sense
that weekend,
1057
00:49:36,533 --> 00:49:38,100
when you saw
the polling numbers,
1058
00:49:38,133 --> 00:49:41,666
that this hurt,
and that this was gonna make it
1059
00:49:41,700 --> 00:49:44,766
a real nail-biter.
1060
00:49:44,800 --> 00:49:47,733
The 11th-hour revelation
had hurt Bush,
1061
00:49:47,766 --> 00:49:50,600
but no one knew exactly
how much.
1062
00:49:50,633 --> 00:49:53,766
♪ ♪
1063
00:49:53,800 --> 00:49:54,800
On election night,
1064
00:49:54,833 --> 00:49:57,000
Bush retreated to Texas
with his family
1065
00:49:57,033 --> 00:49:59,333
to watch the returns.
1066
00:50:02,200 --> 00:50:03,733
He was at the governor's
mansion.
1067
00:50:03,766 --> 00:50:06,133
He's surrounded
by family and friends.
1068
00:50:06,166 --> 00:50:08,766
I was in my office
at the campaign.
1069
00:50:08,800 --> 00:50:10,200
Early returns come in,
obviously.
1070
00:50:10,233 --> 00:50:14,066
Indiana, Kentucky,
we're looking okay...
1071
00:50:14,100 --> 00:50:15,333
We're looking good.
1072
00:50:15,366 --> 00:50:16,400
But Florida, you know,
1073
00:50:16,433 --> 00:50:18,333
Jeb had been nervous
about Florida,
1074
00:50:18,366 --> 00:50:19,466
and we're watching Florida.
1075
00:50:19,500 --> 00:50:21,333
And then we get
the early call on Florida.
1076
00:50:21,366 --> 00:50:23,300
A big call to make.
1077
00:50:23,333 --> 00:50:27,433
CNN announces that we call
Florida in the Al Gore column.
1078
00:50:27,466 --> 00:50:31,833
This is a state both campaigns
desperately wanted to win.
1079
00:50:31,866 --> 00:50:35,366
Karl believed,
and persuaded all of us,
1080
00:50:35,400 --> 00:50:38,200
that the networks were,
were getting it wrong.
1081
00:50:38,233 --> 00:50:41,933
They called it for Gore
at first,
1082
00:50:41,966 --> 00:50:43,733
and that looked like it was it.
1083
00:50:43,766 --> 00:50:45,333
That looked like it was over.
1084
00:50:45,366 --> 00:50:47,200
Stand by, uh,
1085
00:50:47,233 --> 00:50:49,133
CNN, right now, is moving
1086
00:50:49,166 --> 00:50:53,000
our earlier declaration
of Florida
1087
00:50:53,033 --> 00:50:57,433
back to the
too-close-to-call column.
1088
00:50:57,466 --> 00:50:59,366
Projections start changing
1089
00:50:59,400 --> 00:51:03,033
and it goes to, "We don't know,
Florida is a toss-up."
1090
00:51:05,966 --> 00:51:08,800
And then one of the networks
came out and called it for Bush.
1091
00:51:08,833 --> 00:51:12,600
At 18 minutes past 2:00
Eastern Time,
1092
00:51:12,633 --> 00:51:16,800
CNN declares that
George Walker Bush has won
1093
00:51:16,833 --> 00:51:19,933
Florida's 25 electoral votes.
1094
00:51:19,966 --> 00:51:23,200
And I remember catching
Karl Rove's eye.
1095
00:51:23,233 --> 00:51:25,142
Even he, at that moment,
thought that the networks
1096
00:51:25,166 --> 00:51:26,500
had been premature.
1097
00:51:26,533 --> 00:51:29,666
It's one thing
to remove the call for Gore.
1098
00:51:29,700 --> 00:51:31,866
It's another thing
to call a state for Bush.
1099
00:51:31,900 --> 00:51:33,566
I don't see
where that's coming from.
1100
00:51:34,900 --> 00:51:36,933
But it's clear
Florida's gonna be tight, tight,
1101
00:51:36,966 --> 00:51:38,600
tight, tight, tight.
1102
00:51:40,000 --> 00:51:42,900
Certain that he'd lost
an agonizingly close race,
1103
00:51:42,933 --> 00:51:45,366
Al Gore called Bush
to concede the election.
1104
00:51:47,566 --> 00:51:49,400
Bush graciously accepts it
1105
00:51:49,433 --> 00:51:51,833
and says, "You ran a good race,
thanks very much."
1106
00:51:51,866 --> 00:51:53,966
But suddenly it's not over.
1107
00:51:54,000 --> 00:51:56,100
Suddenly, there are
more numbers coming in.
1108
00:51:56,133 --> 00:51:58,700
Call a doctor, call the police,
call a psychic.
1109
00:51:58,733 --> 00:52:00,800
In Florida, it's tightened up.
1110
00:52:00,833 --> 00:52:05,733
Only 37,000 votes now separate
George Bush and Al Gore,
1111
00:52:05,766 --> 00:52:08,933
49% to 49%.
1112
00:52:08,966 --> 00:52:11,233
And then all of a sudden,
the phone rang again.
1113
00:52:11,266 --> 00:52:15,433
And I remember hearing him just
sort of incredulously saying,
1114
00:52:15,466 --> 00:52:17,866
"You're retracting
your concession?"
1115
00:52:17,900 --> 00:52:19,266
It was unimaginable.
1116
00:52:19,300 --> 00:52:21,733
The vice president
has re-called the governor
1117
00:52:21,766 --> 00:52:23,600
and retracted his concession.
1118
00:52:23,633 --> 00:52:25,300
The last two months
of a campaign,
1119
00:52:25,333 --> 00:52:26,876
it feels like
you're running a marathon,
1120
00:52:26,900 --> 00:52:29,566
and the only thing that gets you
through those last two months
1121
00:52:29,600 --> 00:52:31,500
is the knowledge
that, come election day,
1122
00:52:31,533 --> 00:52:33,233
win or lose, at least it's over.
1123
00:52:33,266 --> 00:52:37,000
And they're basically saying,
"Keep running
1124
00:52:37,033 --> 00:52:38,673
and we'll let you know
when you can stop."
1125
00:52:38,700 --> 00:52:40,866
All right,
we're officially saying
1126
00:52:40,900 --> 00:52:46,133
that Florida is too close to
call because of a recall
1127
00:52:46,166 --> 00:52:48,066
of campaign and voter...
1128
00:52:48,100 --> 00:52:51,200
Counters are being called back
to work
1129
00:52:51,233 --> 00:52:52,933
to count absentee ballots.
1130
00:52:52,966 --> 00:52:54,709
You know, a speechwriter
has to be prepared
1131
00:52:54,733 --> 00:52:56,500
for any eventuality.
1132
00:52:56,533 --> 00:52:59,966
We were prepared for victory,
we were prepared for defeat,
1133
00:53:00,000 --> 00:53:02,466
but we were not prepared
for that outcome.
1134
00:53:02,500 --> 00:53:05,233
By dawn the next morning,
1135
00:53:05,266 --> 00:53:07,309
the question of who would be
the country's next leader
1136
00:53:07,333 --> 00:53:09,833
was no clearer.
1137
00:53:09,866 --> 00:53:11,042
You know, I've fully prepared
1138
00:53:11,066 --> 00:53:14,733
to go out
and give a speech, and, uh...
1139
00:53:14,766 --> 00:53:18,100
Thanking my supporters,
and, uh...
1140
00:53:18,133 --> 00:53:21,600
He, he withdrew his, uh...
1141
00:53:21,633 --> 00:53:24,266
His earlier comments,
and here we sit.
1142
00:53:26,200 --> 00:53:28,800
Overnight counting
had narrowed Bush's lead
1143
00:53:28,833 --> 00:53:32,566
to less than 1,800 votes
out of nearly six million cast...
1144
00:53:32,600 --> 00:53:35,466
a statistical dead heat.
1145
00:53:35,500 --> 00:53:37,800
The race was so close
that a machine recount
1146
00:53:37,833 --> 00:53:41,133
was ordered for all
of Florida's 67 counties.
1147
00:53:42,300 --> 00:53:44,866
I feel like a man
who worked my heart out,
1148
00:53:44,900 --> 00:53:50,033
put out a positive message,
and, uh, and, uh...
1149
00:53:50,066 --> 00:53:53,766
A person who is, uh...
1150
00:53:53,800 --> 00:53:55,176
Looking forward
to a quick resolution
1151
00:53:55,200 --> 00:53:58,333
of, of the ballots
in the state of Florida.
1152
00:53:58,366 --> 00:54:00,900
But it was, like,
up and down, up and down,
1153
00:54:00,933 --> 00:54:02,166
up and down.
1154
00:54:02,200 --> 00:54:05,633
And the skies over Tallahassee
are filled with jets
1155
00:54:05,666 --> 00:54:07,033
of personal injury
trial lawyers,
1156
00:54:07,066 --> 00:54:09,900
delivering tons of lawyers
to Florida.
1157
00:54:09,933 --> 00:54:11,733
And the battle is on.
1158
00:54:13,500 --> 00:54:14,866
Much of the disputes
1159
00:54:14,900 --> 00:54:18,300
centered on the minutiae
of imperfectly cast ballots...
1160
00:54:18,333 --> 00:54:20,400
holes that hadn't been
fully punched through,
1161
00:54:20,433 --> 00:54:23,533
lines that hadn't been
fully connected.
1162
00:54:23,566 --> 00:54:27,900
Millions of Americans learned
the phrase "hanging chad"...
1163
00:54:27,933 --> 00:54:30,433
the dangling bit of paper
that only vaguely hinted
1164
00:54:30,466 --> 00:54:33,033
at a voter's intentions.
1165
00:54:33,066 --> 00:54:35,700
Tens of thousands of ballots
1166
00:54:35,733 --> 00:54:37,733
that were incorrectly marked.
1167
00:54:37,766 --> 00:54:41,333
And if you counted them one way,
Bush would win.
1168
00:54:41,366 --> 00:54:42,409
And if you counted them
another way,
1169
00:54:42,433 --> 00:54:44,733
Gore would win.
1170
00:54:44,766 --> 00:54:46,033
By November 10,
1171
00:54:46,066 --> 00:54:50,666
Bush's lead had dwindled
to a mere 327 votes.
1172
00:54:50,700 --> 00:54:52,600
They've got the lead.
1173
00:54:52,633 --> 00:54:56,166
Their demand
is to shut down any recounts.
1174
00:54:56,200 --> 00:54:58,466
The minute that lead switches,
1175
00:54:58,500 --> 00:55:00,000
they lose
the argument they have,
1176
00:55:00,033 --> 00:55:01,509
which is that they're ahead
and that the other guys
1177
00:55:01,533 --> 00:55:02,833
are trying
to steal the election.
1178
00:55:02,866 --> 00:55:05,566
Hey, Al, get out
of Cheney's house!
1179
00:55:05,600 --> 00:55:07,400
Hey, Al...
1180
00:55:07,433 --> 00:55:10,233
Both sides are getting more
frustrated at each other
1181
00:55:10,266 --> 00:55:11,400
by the day.
1182
00:55:11,433 --> 00:55:15,100
♪ ♪
1183
00:55:15,133 --> 00:55:17,966
As the battle over the White
House dragged on,
1184
00:55:18,000 --> 00:55:19,966
Bush retreated to his ranch,
1185
00:55:20,000 --> 00:55:23,666
a 1,600-acre expanse of canyons,
ponds, and cedar forests
1186
00:55:23,700 --> 00:55:26,400
near Crawford, Texas.
1187
00:55:27,466 --> 00:55:31,200
I remember him
showing me his arms,
1188
00:55:31,233 --> 00:55:32,566
which were covered
with scratches
1189
00:55:32,600 --> 00:55:36,800
from clearing cedar on his ranch
1190
00:55:36,833 --> 00:55:38,833
and, I think,
taking out a lot of frustration
1191
00:55:38,866 --> 00:55:40,733
on the, on vegetation.
1192
00:55:40,766 --> 00:55:42,533
By December,
1193
00:55:42,566 --> 00:55:45,733
the focus of the recount
had shifted to the courts,
1194
00:55:45,766 --> 00:55:51,266
where a flurry of decisions left
both sides declaring victory.
1195
00:55:52,333 --> 00:55:54,266
Finally, on December 11,
1196
00:55:54,300 --> 00:55:57,300
the U.S. Supreme Court
heard the case.
1197
00:55:57,333 --> 00:55:59,566
♪ ♪
1198
00:55:59,600 --> 00:56:01,666
This is a CBS News
Special Report.
1199
00:56:01,700 --> 00:56:04,200
Dan Rather at CBS News
World Headquarters in New York.
1200
00:56:04,233 --> 00:56:05,600
Good evening.
1201
00:56:05,633 --> 00:56:09,033
We are on the air because the
United States Supreme Court
1202
00:56:09,066 --> 00:56:11,366
has reached a decision in the
case of Bush versus Gore.
1203
00:56:11,400 --> 00:56:15,333
36 days after the election
was held,
1204
00:56:15,366 --> 00:56:18,866
the Supreme Court ruled that all
recounts must stop immediately,
1205
00:56:18,900 --> 00:56:23,500
thereby preserving
Bush's razor-thin lead.
1206
00:56:23,533 --> 00:56:28,200
The election was close,
but tonight, after a count,
1207
00:56:28,233 --> 00:56:32,566
a recount,
and yet another manual recount,
1208
00:56:32,600 --> 00:56:34,933
Secretary Cheney and I
are honored and humbled
1209
00:56:34,966 --> 00:56:37,333
to have won
the state of Florida,
1210
00:56:37,366 --> 00:56:40,066
which gives us
the needed electoral votes
1211
00:56:40,100 --> 00:56:41,266
to win the election.
1212
00:56:41,300 --> 00:56:44,566
We will therefore
undertake the responsibility
1213
00:56:44,600 --> 00:56:45,833
of preparing to serve
1214
00:56:45,866 --> 00:56:49,466
as America's next president
and vice president.
1215
00:56:50,866 --> 00:56:55,733
On January 20, 2001,
1216
00:56:55,766 --> 00:56:58,000
in a chilly Washington drizzle,
1217
00:56:58,033 --> 00:56:59,566
George W. Bush was inaugurated
1218
00:56:59,600 --> 00:57:03,866
the 43rd president
of the United States.
1219
00:57:03,900 --> 00:57:05,833
Few presidents
had come into office
1220
00:57:05,866 --> 00:57:09,500
facing greater doubts
about their legitimacy.
1221
00:57:09,533 --> 00:57:11,076
Protesting is now very intense
1222
00:57:11,100 --> 00:57:13,466
as we're coming up here,
screaming, "Fraud,
1223
00:57:13,500 --> 00:57:14,800
Bush stole the election."
1224
00:57:14,833 --> 00:57:16,300
The police are now in
1225
00:57:16,333 --> 00:57:18,433
about three or four rows deep
along here,
1226
00:57:18,466 --> 00:57:20,200
trying to push back protesters.
1227
00:57:20,233 --> 00:57:22,900
Police are in riot gear, um,
a lot of screaming,
1228
00:57:22,933 --> 00:57:25,500
a lot of pushing,
a lot of yelling.
1229
00:57:25,533 --> 00:57:27,433
It's hard to tell exactly
1230
00:57:27,466 --> 00:57:29,366
how much the president can see,
1231
00:57:29,400 --> 00:57:30,442
but he can hear all of this...
1232
00:57:30,466 --> 00:57:32,800
The division was so bitter,
1233
00:57:32,833 --> 00:57:35,666
and neither side really won.
1234
00:57:35,700 --> 00:57:38,200
The decision was made
by the Supreme Court.
1235
00:57:39,433 --> 00:57:42,866
It's like a fight that never
really got resolved,
1236
00:57:42,900 --> 00:57:45,109
and I think that we've sort of
been in our corners ever since.
1237
00:57:45,133 --> 00:57:48,333
Racist, sexist, anti-gay!
Bush and Cheney go away!
1238
00:57:48,366 --> 00:57:49,966
The mood of the country,
1239
00:57:50,000 --> 00:57:51,309
obviously the mood
of the opposition party,
1240
00:57:51,333 --> 00:57:54,033
it was raw, you could feel it,
1241
00:57:54,066 --> 00:57:57,100
it was palpable
in Washington, DC.
1242
00:57:57,133 --> 00:57:59,833
There were going to be
a part of the public,
1243
00:57:59,866 --> 00:58:01,676
and a large part
of the opposition party, that,
1244
00:58:01,700 --> 00:58:03,166
there was always in their mind,
1245
00:58:03,200 --> 00:58:05,200
going to be an asterisk
on this presidency.
1246
00:58:06,933 --> 00:58:07,966
As he addressed
1247
00:58:08,000 --> 00:58:11,533
the largest crowd
he had ever faced,
1248
00:58:11,566 --> 00:58:15,433
Bush sought to calm the frayed
nerves of the country.
1249
00:58:16,633 --> 00:58:19,433
And sometimes, our differences
run so deep,
1250
00:58:19,466 --> 00:58:24,633
it seems we share a continent,
but not a country.
1251
00:58:24,666 --> 00:58:25,633
We do not accept this.
1252
00:58:25,666 --> 00:58:28,666
And we will not allow it.
1253
00:58:30,400 --> 00:58:31,833
We could not say,
1254
00:58:31,866 --> 00:58:33,633
"That's the job
the American people
1255
00:58:33,666 --> 00:58:34,666
elected us to do."
1256
00:58:34,700 --> 00:58:35,766
You couldn't say that,
1257
00:58:35,800 --> 00:58:36,942
because the American people had,
1258
00:58:36,966 --> 00:58:39,100
in their totality,
preferred the other guy.
1259
00:58:39,133 --> 00:58:42,833
That was something
1260
00:58:42,866 --> 00:58:44,666
that we were conscious of.
1261
00:58:44,700 --> 00:58:47,200
Today we affirm a new commitment
1262
00:58:47,233 --> 00:58:48,866
to live out our nation's promise
1263
00:58:48,900 --> 00:58:52,766
through civility,
courage, compassion,
1264
00:58:52,800 --> 00:58:54,700
and character.
1265
00:58:54,733 --> 00:58:58,466
Even as he pursued
reconciliation,
1266
00:58:58,500 --> 00:59:00,042
Bush was eager
to quickly assert control.
1267
00:59:00,066 --> 00:59:03,900
But the mechanisms
of government,
1268
00:59:03,933 --> 00:59:09,933
particularly foreign policy,
were still mysterious.
1269
00:59:09,966 --> 00:59:12,166
His father was one of the most
experienced people
1270
00:59:12,200 --> 00:59:13,466
in foreign affairs.
1271
00:59:13,500 --> 00:59:17,600
And George Bush was
untraveled and not interested.
1272
00:59:17,633 --> 00:59:21,000
And so he picked people to do
that part of the job for him.
1273
00:59:21,033 --> 00:59:26,300
As secretary of defense,
Bush named Dick Cheney's mentor,
1274
00:59:26,333 --> 00:59:28,700
Donald Rumsfeld,
who had held the same job
1275
00:59:28,733 --> 00:59:31,866
under President Gerald Ford.
1276
00:59:31,900 --> 00:59:33,500
Rumsfeld brought with him
to the Pentagon
1277
00:59:33,533 --> 00:59:37,500
a coterie of advisers
known as "neo-conservatives,"
1278
00:59:37,533 --> 00:59:42,033
foremost among them
his deputy, Paul Wolfowitz.
1279
00:59:42,066 --> 00:59:44,300
The neo-cons ardently believed
in the spread
1280
00:59:44,333 --> 00:59:45,666
of American power and values
1281
00:59:45,700 --> 00:59:48,100
through military strength.
1282
00:59:48,133 --> 00:59:51,433
Their view was
that the United States
1283
00:59:51,466 --> 00:59:54,433
had enough power
to exert its will,
1284
00:59:54,466 --> 00:59:56,866
at least on any major issue.
1285
00:59:56,900 --> 00:59:59,233
The emphasis was particularly
1286
00:59:59,266 --> 01:00:02,166
on military power,
as opposed to diplomacy.
1287
01:00:02,200 --> 01:00:05,066
There was
a mistrust of diplomacy
1288
01:00:05,100 --> 01:00:07,300
and international institutions.
1289
01:00:07,333 --> 01:00:12,166
While a neo-conservative enclave
was forming in the Pentagon,
1290
01:00:12,200 --> 01:00:14,466
Bush named a moderate,
Condoleezza Rice,
1291
01:00:14,500 --> 01:00:17,466
to be his
national security adviser.
1292
01:00:17,500 --> 01:00:18,800
At the State Department,
1293
01:00:18,833 --> 01:00:21,566
he appointed one of his father's
most trusted advisers,
1294
01:00:21,600 --> 01:00:24,233
General Colin Powell.
1295
01:00:24,266 --> 01:00:26,133
KAREN DeYOUNG:
He was a person
of great stature,
1296
01:00:26,166 --> 01:00:28,000
he had military experience.
1297
01:00:28,033 --> 01:00:30,466
He was widely respected
across the country.
1298
01:00:30,500 --> 01:00:35,133
He could calm a lot of people,
certainly Republican moderates,
1299
01:00:35,166 --> 01:00:39,133
who felt that Bush
was getting his advice
1300
01:00:39,166 --> 01:00:42,200
from people who were pretty
far over to the right,
1301
01:00:42,233 --> 01:00:44,166
of a neo-conservative bent.
1302
01:00:44,200 --> 01:00:46,333
General Powell
is a strong figure
1303
01:00:46,366 --> 01:00:50,700
and Dick Cheney
is no shrinking violet.
1304
01:00:50,733 --> 01:00:52,133
But neither is Don Rumsfeld.
1305
01:00:52,166 --> 01:00:54,033
Nor Condi Rice.
1306
01:00:54,066 --> 01:00:56,200
I view the four as being,
1307
01:00:56,233 --> 01:00:59,366
being able
to complement each other.
1308
01:00:59,400 --> 01:01:00,633
This arrangement...
1309
01:01:00,666 --> 01:01:03,066
Rumsfeld and the neo-cons
at Defense;
1310
01:01:03,100 --> 01:01:05,266
Powell and the moderates
at State...
1311
01:01:05,300 --> 01:01:07,066
Established a lasting fault line
1312
01:01:07,100 --> 01:01:10,700
in the administration's
foreign policy.
1313
01:01:10,733 --> 01:01:12,433
I don't think President Bush
1314
01:01:12,466 --> 01:01:14,733
intentionally went
for a team of rivals.
1315
01:01:14,766 --> 01:01:18,766
I think he went
for a team of strong members.
1316
01:01:18,800 --> 01:01:22,566
And if that meant
they were rivals, so be it.
1317
01:01:22,600 --> 01:01:27,233
But he came into office
not lacking in confidence
1318
01:01:27,266 --> 01:01:31,400
about his own position
and his own abilities
1319
01:01:31,433 --> 01:01:33,433
to sort out good advice.
1320
01:01:35,233 --> 01:01:36,309
This is in a way, a dream team,
1321
01:01:36,333 --> 01:01:39,466
although when people made
that argument,
1322
01:01:39,500 --> 01:01:41,966
they forgot that no group
1323
01:01:42,000 --> 01:01:46,033
of smart, articulate
foreign policy experts
1324
01:01:46,066 --> 01:01:47,533
agrees, usually.
1325
01:01:47,566 --> 01:01:54,600
And what you need is a president
who can make the decision.
1326
01:01:54,633 --> 01:01:57,133
There was this vacuum
for George Bush
1327
01:01:57,166 --> 01:02:00,566
about his foreign policy,
his defense policy.
1328
01:02:00,600 --> 01:02:03,333
He had no ideology
in those spaces.
1329
01:02:03,366 --> 01:02:05,566
And so those with strong views
1330
01:02:05,600 --> 01:02:08,833
obviously saw the opening
or the vacuum there,
1331
01:02:08,866 --> 01:02:10,800
and they filled it.
1332
01:02:12,933 --> 01:02:14,376
But the foreign entanglements
1333
01:02:14,400 --> 01:02:16,900
which were to define
Bush's presidency
1334
01:02:16,933 --> 01:02:20,200
were nowhere in sight
as he took office
1335
01:02:20,233 --> 01:02:23,366
in January 2001.
1336
01:02:23,400 --> 01:02:25,800
With the country
peaceful and prosperous,
1337
01:02:25,833 --> 01:02:27,966
Bush could focus
on the domestic agenda
1338
01:02:28,000 --> 01:02:30,200
on which he had campaigned.
1339
01:02:31,633 --> 01:02:35,666
In May, he pushed through
a $1.3 trillion tax cut
1340
01:02:35,700 --> 01:02:38,033
with provisions
to help all taxpayers,
1341
01:02:38,066 --> 01:02:39,833
but especially the wealthy.
1342
01:02:39,866 --> 01:02:43,100
He also moved forward
on education reform
1343
01:02:43,133 --> 01:02:46,900
with the help of Massachusetts
Democrat Ted Kennedy.
1344
01:02:49,466 --> 01:02:50,776
George Bush had been elected
1345
01:02:50,800 --> 01:02:52,466
on a very clear mandate.
1346
01:02:52,500 --> 01:02:53,800
He was going to cut taxes,
1347
01:02:53,833 --> 01:02:55,742
he was going to institute
certain educational reforms,
1348
01:02:55,766 --> 01:03:00,566
and he was going to continue
on the debt reduction path
1349
01:03:00,600 --> 01:03:03,000
that Bill Clinton
had put the country on.
1350
01:03:03,033 --> 01:03:05,466
The tax cut is passed.
1351
01:03:05,500 --> 01:03:08,266
The education bill
is well on the way.
1352
01:03:08,300 --> 01:03:10,000
The debt reduction
was going to continue
1353
01:03:10,033 --> 01:03:13,633
as long
as the prosperity continued.
1354
01:03:13,666 --> 01:03:16,633
And by August, you had
this tremendous feeling
1355
01:03:16,666 --> 01:03:17,866
of, "Now what?"
1356
01:03:17,900 --> 01:03:19,466
At the White House today,
1357
01:03:19,500 --> 01:03:21,033
President Bush
gathered his cabinet
1358
01:03:21,066 --> 01:03:24,333
to mark what he called
six months of accomplishments.
1359
01:03:24,366 --> 01:03:26,866
The president starts
a monthlong vacation tomorrow,
1360
01:03:26,900 --> 01:03:29,433
the longest of any president
since Richard Nixon.
1361
01:03:32,600 --> 01:03:35,500
By the summer of 2001,
1362
01:03:35,533 --> 01:03:38,400
his presidency seemed
to be going so well
1363
01:03:38,433 --> 01:03:40,866
that Bush took
an extended vacation
1364
01:03:40,900 --> 01:03:43,233
at his Texas ranch.
1365
01:03:44,700 --> 01:03:45,776
Coming out here
makes you realize
1366
01:03:45,800 --> 01:03:47,700
that Washington
is a wonderful place,
1367
01:03:47,733 --> 01:03:49,800
but it's certainly not
the center
1368
01:03:49,833 --> 01:03:52,366
of all wisdom and knowledge.
1369
01:03:54,566 --> 01:03:56,333
He fished, cut wood,
1370
01:03:56,366 --> 01:03:58,966
and enjoyed his time
away from Washington.
1371
01:03:59,000 --> 01:04:03,166
♪ ♪
1372
01:04:03,200 --> 01:04:05,633
Bush continued to receive
daily intelligence briefings
1373
01:04:05,666 --> 01:04:08,466
during his vacation,
1374
01:04:08,500 --> 01:04:10,866
but he did not
seem particularly concerned
1375
01:04:10,900 --> 01:04:13,100
by an August 6 briefing entitled
1376
01:04:13,133 --> 01:04:16,700
"Bin Laden Determined
to Strike in U.S."
1377
01:04:19,333 --> 01:04:21,000
Ever since taking office,
1378
01:04:21,033 --> 01:04:22,633
Bush had received
regular reports
1379
01:04:22,666 --> 01:04:26,200
about the activities
of the terrorist group Al Qaeda,
1380
01:04:26,233 --> 01:04:29,966
led by a Saudi millionaire
named Osama Bin Laden.
1381
01:04:30,000 --> 01:04:32,500
But this was an escalation.
1382
01:04:32,533 --> 01:04:33,900
The bells are ringing
1383
01:04:33,933 --> 01:04:35,900
in the intelligence community.
1384
01:04:35,933 --> 01:04:37,633
Red alerts.
1385
01:04:37,666 --> 01:04:39,900
They don't know specifically
what it is,
1386
01:04:39,933 --> 01:04:42,200
but they can see the activation
1387
01:04:42,233 --> 01:04:46,300
of, of a whole array of people
that they follow.
1388
01:04:46,333 --> 01:04:48,033
Bush doesn't want to hear it.
1389
01:04:48,066 --> 01:04:52,033
We heard from a number
of intelligence sources
1390
01:04:52,066 --> 01:04:55,733
that a major attack
was being planned by Al Qaeda.
1391
01:04:55,766 --> 01:04:58,866
As the summer went on,
we thought
1392
01:04:58,900 --> 01:05:01,833
perhaps it would occur
around July the 4th.
1393
01:05:01,866 --> 01:05:04,300
When July the 4th passed,
1394
01:05:04,333 --> 01:05:06,466
and there was no attack,
1395
01:05:06,500 --> 01:05:09,833
I think some people in
the Bush administration thought,
1396
01:05:09,866 --> 01:05:12,233
"Uh, well, we were wrong.
1397
01:05:12,266 --> 01:05:13,833
We were making this all up."
1398
01:05:15,200 --> 01:05:16,640
President Bush wasn't alone
1399
01:05:16,666 --> 01:05:20,233
in failing to appreciate
the threat Al Qaeda posed.
1400
01:05:20,266 --> 01:05:22,433
His more seasoned
national security team
1401
01:05:22,466 --> 01:05:23,800
also took little note
1402
01:05:23,833 --> 01:05:26,433
of the warnings
they received that summer.
1403
01:05:26,466 --> 01:05:31,333
These old dinosaurs
of U.S. foreign policy
1404
01:05:31,366 --> 01:05:33,900
were stuck in a time warp.
1405
01:05:33,933 --> 01:05:36,366
They're not
mentally flexible enough
1406
01:05:36,400 --> 01:05:37,933
to understand
the world has changed
1407
01:05:37,966 --> 01:05:40,000
since they were in office.
1408
01:05:40,033 --> 01:05:43,833
They were thinking
about the Cold War,
1409
01:05:43,866 --> 01:05:48,000
where states
were the source of threat.
1410
01:05:48,033 --> 01:05:52,000
They dismissed
these non-state actors,
1411
01:05:52,033 --> 01:05:53,966
these shadowy groups.
1412
01:05:54,000 --> 01:05:57,566
That was one of the flaws
in W's thinking,
1413
01:05:57,600 --> 01:05:59,733
that bringing old veterans in
1414
01:05:59,766 --> 01:06:02,966
would be useful
in a time of change.
1415
01:06:03,000 --> 01:06:05,233
It wasn't, it was the opposite.
1416
01:06:19,566 --> 01:06:21,533
- Oh, my God!
- Oh, my God!
1417
01:06:28,666 --> 01:06:34,633
♪ ♪
1418
01:06:42,100 --> 01:06:46,100
In the days after the attacks
on September 11,
1419
01:06:46,133 --> 01:06:50,666
a pall descended
over much of Washington.
1420
01:06:50,700 --> 01:06:54,800
The belief was not only strong,
1421
01:06:54,833 --> 01:06:56,800
it was a near-certainty
1422
01:06:56,833 --> 01:06:59,733
that a next wave of attacks
was going to happen.
1423
01:06:59,766 --> 01:07:02,966
There were credible threats
on the president
1424
01:07:03,000 --> 01:07:08,800
and on the White House
that took place day after day.
1425
01:07:08,833 --> 01:07:13,333
This city was in the grip
of wild rumors.
1426
01:07:13,366 --> 01:07:14,966
I remember having a thought
1427
01:07:15,000 --> 01:07:16,500
every time
I walked through downtown,
1428
01:07:16,533 --> 01:07:18,200
"Is this the day
a car bomb goes off?"
1429
01:07:18,233 --> 01:07:22,333
♪ ♪
1430
01:07:22,366 --> 01:07:24,566
Our perception wasn't just
that they had conducted
1431
01:07:24,600 --> 01:07:28,666
this incredible attack directly
against the United States,
1432
01:07:28,700 --> 01:07:29,876
it was that they could even
do something bigger
1433
01:07:29,900 --> 01:07:31,033
in the future,
1434
01:07:31,066 --> 01:07:33,366
like use nuclear weapons
or biological weapons.
1435
01:07:33,400 --> 01:07:35,433
That suddenly became a reality.
1436
01:07:37,533 --> 01:07:40,966
The terrorist threat Bush had
dismissed only weeks earlier
1437
01:07:41,000 --> 01:07:43,266
now consumed him.
1438
01:07:43,300 --> 01:07:45,733
He instructed
his national security staff
1439
01:07:45,766 --> 01:07:50,833
to inform him of any possible
attack, no matter how unlikely.
1440
01:07:50,866 --> 01:07:53,600
So we put together what
we called the "threat matrix,"
1441
01:07:53,633 --> 01:07:58,000
that listed
every single threat report,
1442
01:07:58,033 --> 01:08:01,133
where it came from,
who the source was,
1443
01:08:01,166 --> 01:08:02,733
what was being done about it,
1444
01:08:02,766 --> 01:08:05,533
what kind of credibility
we gave to it,
1445
01:08:05,566 --> 01:08:09,833
and we would begin the briefing
by him going through it.
1446
01:08:09,866 --> 01:08:12,066
"Michael,
tell me about number 21.
1447
01:08:12,100 --> 01:08:15,966
Michael,
tell me about number 45."
1448
01:08:16,000 --> 01:08:21,300
Bush struggled to conceal
his own grief and worry.
1449
01:08:21,333 --> 01:08:25,100
"I could see the lines cut
deeper in his face," Laura said,
1450
01:08:25,133 --> 01:08:28,466
"and I knew he was lying awake
next to me at night."
1451
01:08:33,400 --> 01:08:36,633
I am a, I am a loving guy,
1452
01:08:36,666 --> 01:08:42,200
and I'm also someone, however,
who's got a job to do,
1453
01:08:42,233 --> 01:08:44,133
and I intend to do it.
1454
01:08:44,166 --> 01:08:49,566
And, um, this is
a terrible moment.
1455
01:08:49,600 --> 01:08:52,433
He was not conveying
what he wanted to convey,
1456
01:08:52,466 --> 01:08:53,466
this message of strength.
1457
01:08:56,833 --> 01:08:58,433
Colin Powell sent him a note,
1458
01:08:58,466 --> 01:09:00,266
essentially saying,
1459
01:09:00,300 --> 01:09:03,433
"Don't show too much emotion
in public."
1460
01:09:03,466 --> 01:09:06,733
The president read the note
in front of everyone
1461
01:09:06,766 --> 01:09:09,200
that was assembled
at a cabinet meeting
1462
01:09:09,233 --> 01:09:11,300
and said, "Don't worry,
I'm not losing it."
1463
01:09:11,333 --> 01:09:16,300
Above all, Bush felt
he had let the country down,
1464
01:09:16,333 --> 01:09:21,266
and he was determined
never to do so again.
1465
01:09:21,300 --> 01:09:25,100
"I felt my responsibility
was clear," he later confessed.
1466
01:09:25,133 --> 01:09:26,733
"I would pour my heart and soul
1467
01:09:26,766 --> 01:09:31,766
into protecting the country,
whatever it took."
1468
01:09:31,800 --> 01:09:34,933
He told me
that his number-one job
1469
01:09:34,966 --> 01:09:37,866
was to protect
the American people,
1470
01:09:37,900 --> 01:09:42,466
and he told me
that he failed on 9/11.
1471
01:09:42,500 --> 01:09:45,366
And that he could not
let that happen again.
1472
01:09:45,400 --> 01:09:49,066
While he campaigned
as a domestic president,
1473
01:09:49,100 --> 01:09:53,533
he was now going to be
a wartime president.
1474
01:09:53,566 --> 01:09:55,400
He had to get the country ready
1475
01:09:55,433 --> 01:09:57,633
for what was going to be
a long struggle.
1476
01:09:57,666 --> 01:10:03,766
♪ ♪
1477
01:10:03,800 --> 01:10:06,100
Three days after the attack,
1478
01:10:06,133 --> 01:10:07,666
Bush rose early for a day
1479
01:10:07,700 --> 01:10:10,233
that would test his leadership
as few others.
1480
01:10:11,766 --> 01:10:14,700
A day to console the country
in its grief,
1481
01:10:14,733 --> 01:10:17,566
while also giving voice
to its anger.
1482
01:10:20,366 --> 01:10:21,733
That morning,
1483
01:10:21,766 --> 01:10:24,833
he attended a service
at the National Cathedral
1484
01:10:24,866 --> 01:10:27,533
before an extraordinary
assemblage of dignitaries,
1485
01:10:27,566 --> 01:10:29,966
including his parents.
1486
01:10:33,066 --> 01:10:36,533
Our responsibility to history
is already clear:
1487
01:10:36,566 --> 01:10:39,366
to answer these attacks
1488
01:10:39,400 --> 01:10:43,366
and rid the world of evil.
1489
01:10:43,400 --> 01:10:45,533
War has been waged against us
1490
01:10:45,566 --> 01:10:48,533
by stealth and deceit
and murder.
1491
01:10:48,566 --> 01:10:52,733
This nation is peaceful,
1492
01:10:52,766 --> 01:10:55,766
but fierce
when stirred to anger.
1493
01:10:55,800 --> 01:10:57,009
And I remember him telling me
1494
01:10:57,033 --> 01:10:58,700
he didn't want
to look at his family,
1495
01:10:58,733 --> 01:11:00,633
because he knew
that if they were in tears,
1496
01:11:00,666 --> 01:11:02,500
he would break down.
1497
01:11:02,533 --> 01:11:04,100
And so he was, I think,
1498
01:11:04,133 --> 01:11:06,700
trying to look generally
over people's heads
1499
01:11:06,733 --> 01:11:10,300
in order not to let the emotions
of the moment overcome him.
1500
01:11:11,566 --> 01:11:16,700
It is said that adversity
introduces us to ourselves.
1501
01:11:16,733 --> 01:11:19,933
This is true of a nation,
as well.
1502
01:11:19,966 --> 01:11:24,633
He was very much embracing
1503
01:11:24,666 --> 01:11:26,500
and understanding
the moment in history,
1504
01:11:26,533 --> 01:11:29,133
what it was going
to require of him.
1505
01:11:32,033 --> 01:11:34,500
I don't know
where he summoned it.
1506
01:11:34,533 --> 01:11:39,300
That was a, that was
a tough moment for anybody.
1507
01:11:39,333 --> 01:11:40,466
He sits back down
1508
01:11:40,500 --> 01:11:42,833
and his father takes his hand
and squeezes it.
1509
01:11:42,866 --> 01:11:46,566
I mean, he did it,
he did what he needed to do.
1510
01:11:46,600 --> 01:11:48,166
The pride of a father
seeing his son
1511
01:11:48,200 --> 01:11:51,000
in that awesome moment
of responsibility,
1512
01:11:51,033 --> 01:11:52,966
and then a son feeling
1513
01:11:53,000 --> 01:11:58,366
the support and confidence
of his, of his parents.
1514
01:11:59,500 --> 01:12:01,166
Later that day,
1515
01:12:01,200 --> 01:12:03,600
the president
traveled to New York
1516
01:12:03,633 --> 01:12:05,733
to visit the wreckage
of the World Trade Center
1517
01:12:05,766 --> 01:12:07,900
for the first time.
1518
01:12:07,933 --> 01:12:09,733
Five miles out,
1519
01:12:09,766 --> 01:12:13,033
you could actually
smell the burning,
1520
01:12:13,066 --> 01:12:15,033
the ashes, three days later.
1521
01:12:15,066 --> 01:12:19,666
That was the first thing
all of us noticed.
1522
01:12:19,700 --> 01:12:22,400
Police barricades are up.
1523
01:12:22,433 --> 01:12:26,266
People behind the barricades
are all wearing hard hats,
1524
01:12:26,300 --> 01:12:28,340
and the president says
"I want to stop and get out."
1525
01:12:31,666 --> 01:12:34,166
Although no public remarks
had been scheduled,
1526
01:12:34,200 --> 01:12:35,700
Bush grabbed a bullhorn
1527
01:12:35,733 --> 01:12:38,133
and climbed atop
the ruins of a fire truck.
1528
01:12:40,133 --> 01:12:43,733
As we mourn the loss
of thousands of our citizens...
1529
01:12:43,766 --> 01:12:46,333
George, we can't hear you!
1530
01:12:46,366 --> 01:12:48,300
I can hear you!
1531
01:12:53,733 --> 01:12:55,433
I can hear you,
1532
01:12:55,466 --> 01:12:57,900
the rest of the world hears you,
1533
01:12:57,933 --> 01:12:59,100
and the people...
1534
01:13:02,466 --> 01:13:05,833
And the people who
knocked these buildings down
1535
01:13:05,866 --> 01:13:07,733
will hear all of us soon.
1536
01:13:12,000 --> 01:13:16,366
This is where George W. Bush's
talent as a politician
1537
01:13:16,400 --> 01:13:17,533
was evident.
1538
01:13:17,566 --> 01:13:21,433
He wanted to send a signal
from there
1539
01:13:21,466 --> 01:13:23,766
that we were going to rebuild
as a country.
1540
01:13:23,800 --> 01:13:28,733
That, that tearing down
the Twin Towers created
1541
01:13:28,766 --> 01:13:32,500
a, a wound, but it wasn't
going to be a scar.
1542
01:13:32,533 --> 01:13:36,300
That's where he showed
a certain visceral understanding
1543
01:13:36,333 --> 01:13:39,333
of the American spirit.
1544
01:13:39,366 --> 01:13:43,400
I watched him that day
turn from a president
1545
01:13:43,433 --> 01:13:45,933
whose presidency
was drifting a little bit
1546
01:13:45,966 --> 01:13:49,600
to a man with a purpose.
1547
01:13:49,633 --> 01:13:55,433
I saw him become
the commander-in-chief that day.
1548
01:13:55,466 --> 01:13:58,833
On the trip back to Washington,
word reached Bush
1549
01:13:58,866 --> 01:14:00,700
that Congress had voted
overwhelmingly
1550
01:14:00,733 --> 01:14:02,466
to authorize the use of force
1551
01:14:02,500 --> 01:14:06,500
against those responsible
for 9/11.
1552
01:14:06,533 --> 01:14:08,700
The next day,
he convened a meeting
1553
01:14:08,733 --> 01:14:10,933
of his national security team
1554
01:14:10,966 --> 01:14:13,600
at Camp David in rural Maryland.
1555
01:14:15,600 --> 01:14:17,033
By now, U.S. intelligence
1556
01:14:17,066 --> 01:14:20,500
had confirmed that Al Qaeda had
been responsible for the attack,
1557
01:14:20,533 --> 01:14:22,600
and were being sheltered
and supported
1558
01:14:22,633 --> 01:14:25,733
by the Taliban government
in Afghanistan.
1559
01:14:29,933 --> 01:14:32,200
We're going to meet
and deliberate and discuss,
1560
01:14:32,233 --> 01:14:34,633
but there's no question
about it.
1561
01:14:34,666 --> 01:14:37,700
This act will not stand.
1562
01:14:37,733 --> 01:14:40,533
We will find those who did it.
1563
01:14:40,566 --> 01:14:43,200
We will smoke 'em
out of their holes.
1564
01:14:43,233 --> 01:14:45,066
We will get 'em running.
1565
01:14:45,100 --> 01:14:46,340
And we'll bring 'em to justice.
1566
01:14:47,633 --> 01:14:51,833
Some advisers urged Bush
to exercise diplomacy,
1567
01:14:51,866 --> 01:14:54,200
but the president
was having none of it.
1568
01:14:55,700 --> 01:14:58,100
There was breakfast before
the policy meeting started,
1569
01:14:58,133 --> 01:15:01,766
and I was standing
with the president,
1570
01:15:01,800 --> 01:15:04,533
and a State Department official
came over
1571
01:15:04,566 --> 01:15:06,233
and essentially
lobbied the president
1572
01:15:06,266 --> 01:15:09,966
that we should put pressure
on the Taliban
1573
01:15:10,000 --> 01:15:13,500
to give Bin Laden over
to the United States
1574
01:15:13,533 --> 01:15:16,033
and to kick Al Qaeda
out of their country.
1575
01:15:16,066 --> 01:15:19,066
And the president looked at us
1576
01:15:19,100 --> 01:15:22,433
and he said, " it,
we're going to war."
1577
01:15:24,366 --> 01:15:29,233
The president's mindset was,
"They did this,
1578
01:15:29,266 --> 01:15:31,300
"they have the capability
to do this,
1579
01:15:31,333 --> 01:15:33,700
"and I have to make sure
they don't do it again,
1580
01:15:33,733 --> 01:15:35,733
and the only way to do that
is militarily."
1581
01:15:37,666 --> 01:15:39,666
Some members
of the administration
1582
01:15:39,700 --> 01:15:43,166
believed that Afghanistan
was the wrong target.
1583
01:15:43,200 --> 01:15:46,166
Paul Wolfowitz, one of
the leading neo-conservatives
1584
01:15:46,200 --> 01:15:47,733
at the Pentagon,
1585
01:15:47,766 --> 01:15:49,533
urged Bush to focus
military action
1586
01:15:49,566 --> 01:15:52,766
on what he regarded
as the greater threat:
1587
01:15:52,800 --> 01:15:56,600
Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
1588
01:15:56,633 --> 01:15:59,700
They thought that the solution
to all problems in the Mideast
1589
01:15:59,733 --> 01:16:01,766
ran through Baghdad.
1590
01:16:01,800 --> 01:16:05,266
If we could just
get rid of Saddam Hussein,
1591
01:16:05,300 --> 01:16:08,900
you know,
it would all fall into place.
1592
01:16:08,933 --> 01:16:10,476
DeYOUNG:
Wolfowitz and other people,
I think,
1593
01:16:10,500 --> 01:16:14,600
saw this finally
as an opportunity to say,
1594
01:16:14,633 --> 01:16:16,600
"We're going to get Iraq."
1595
01:16:16,633 --> 01:16:17,766
Bush,
1596
01:16:17,800 --> 01:16:19,233
I think wisely,
1597
01:16:19,266 --> 01:16:22,033
and with the advice of
others around the table, said,
1598
01:16:22,066 --> 01:16:23,800
you know, "Maybe someday
we'll get to that,
1599
01:16:23,833 --> 01:16:25,700
"but right now,
people want to know
1600
01:16:25,733 --> 01:16:29,000
who did it and what are you
going to do about it?"
1601
01:16:36,500 --> 01:16:38,666
On my orders,
1602
01:16:38,700 --> 01:16:40,409
the United States military
has begun strikes
1603
01:16:40,433 --> 01:16:43,766
against Al Qaeda
terrorist training camps
1604
01:16:43,800 --> 01:16:45,966
and military installations
1605
01:16:46,000 --> 01:16:48,233
of the Taliban regime
in Afghanistan.
1606
01:16:50,466 --> 01:16:52,500
On October 7,
1607
01:16:52,533 --> 01:16:55,533
military operations
began in Afghanistan.
1608
01:16:58,266 --> 01:17:00,300
Together with
an Afghan rebel force
1609
01:17:00,333 --> 01:17:01,476
called the Northern Alliance,
1610
01:17:01,500 --> 01:17:04,133
C.I.A. paramilitary units
1611
01:17:04,166 --> 01:17:06,900
planned to drive the Taliban
out of the capital
1612
01:17:06,933 --> 01:17:09,766
and capture Osama Bin Laden.
1613
01:17:09,800 --> 01:17:12,366
Though confident of victory,
1614
01:17:12,400 --> 01:17:14,133
Bush's team understood
1615
01:17:14,166 --> 01:17:19,866
that Afghanistan posed
unique challenges.
1616
01:17:19,900 --> 01:17:21,333
Condi Rice recalls
1617
01:17:21,366 --> 01:17:23,866
that they, they put out
a big map of Afghanistan.
1618
01:17:23,900 --> 01:17:27,400
It was very rough terrain,
very rough territory.
1619
01:17:27,433 --> 01:17:29,033
She recalls looking at it
and saying,
1620
01:17:29,066 --> 01:17:33,000
"Oh, my God, isn't that
where empires go to die?"
1621
01:17:33,033 --> 01:17:36,733
At first, progress was slow.
1622
01:17:36,766 --> 01:17:38,600
As newspapers and pundits
wondered
1623
01:17:38,633 --> 01:17:41,466
whether the U.S. had waded
into a quagmire,
1624
01:17:41,500 --> 01:17:43,233
Bush pressed his aides
for answers
1625
01:17:43,266 --> 01:17:48,433
on why military victories
were so hard to come by.
1626
01:17:48,466 --> 01:17:50,366
I began to almost avoid him,
1627
01:17:50,400 --> 01:17:52,500
because I knew his
first question was going to be,
1628
01:17:52,533 --> 01:17:54,833
"How's this going?
How's this going?"
1629
01:17:54,866 --> 01:17:57,766
And he was
demonstrably, palpably,
1630
01:17:57,800 --> 01:18:01,300
visibly frustrated.
1631
01:18:01,333 --> 01:18:03,566
I was pretty confident
that as soon as they had
1632
01:18:03,600 --> 01:18:05,733
one big military victory,
1633
01:18:05,766 --> 01:18:07,300
that it would be,
1634
01:18:07,333 --> 01:18:08,900
to use an expression
from Vietnam,
1635
01:18:08,933 --> 01:18:11,600
something of a domino
phenomenon.
1636
01:18:11,633 --> 01:18:14,466
It was just getting
that first big military victory.
1637
01:18:15,800 --> 01:18:17,266
On November 9,
1638
01:18:17,300 --> 01:18:19,700
U.S. and Northern Alliance
forces
1639
01:18:19,733 --> 01:18:22,200
broke through in Mazar-i-Sharif,
1640
01:18:22,233 --> 01:18:24,366
a northern city
held by the Taliban
1641
01:18:24,400 --> 01:18:27,066
for several years.
1642
01:18:27,100 --> 01:18:31,233
Other Taliban strongholds
quickly succumbed, as well.
1643
01:18:31,266 --> 01:18:33,200
But the military victories
created a new problem
1644
01:18:33,233 --> 01:18:36,733
for which the administration
was unprepared:
1645
01:18:36,766 --> 01:18:39,300
what to do
with suspected terrorists
1646
01:18:39,333 --> 01:18:41,033
captured on the battlefield.
1647
01:18:44,133 --> 01:18:48,133
As they started to gather
more detainees in Afghanistan,
1648
01:18:48,166 --> 01:18:49,466
the question arose,
1649
01:18:49,500 --> 01:18:50,542
"Well, what are you going to do
with these people?"
1650
01:18:50,566 --> 01:18:52,800
And there was enormous, uh, urge
1651
01:18:52,833 --> 01:18:55,900
to get intelligence from them.
1652
01:18:55,933 --> 01:18:58,200
That was the goal.
1653
01:18:58,233 --> 01:19:00,566
Remember, there was
a tremendous expectation
1654
01:19:00,600 --> 01:19:03,666
that there were
other attacks pending,
1655
01:19:03,700 --> 01:19:05,633
real-time.
1656
01:19:05,666 --> 01:19:07,966
And that causes the president
1657
01:19:08,000 --> 01:19:09,700
to face
some pretty difficult decisions.
1658
01:19:09,733 --> 01:19:10,933
How do you detain people?
1659
01:19:10,966 --> 01:19:12,266
Where do you detain people?
1660
01:19:12,300 --> 01:19:13,342
How do you get information?
1661
01:19:13,366 --> 01:19:16,833
And what do you do
with what you learn?
1662
01:19:16,866 --> 01:19:19,300
For more than half a century,
1663
01:19:19,333 --> 01:19:23,466
the United States had abided
by the Geneva Conventions,
1664
01:19:23,500 --> 01:19:25,566
rules protecting
prisoners of war
1665
01:19:25,600 --> 01:19:27,933
from abusive treatment.
1666
01:19:27,966 --> 01:19:29,900
But Vice President Dick Cheney
and others
1667
01:19:29,933 --> 01:19:32,400
believed those rules
were too restrictive
1668
01:19:32,433 --> 01:19:37,533
when dealing with possible
terrorists in a post-9/11 world.
1669
01:19:37,566 --> 01:19:42,233
If you gave them
the status of prisoners of war,
1670
01:19:42,266 --> 01:19:44,866
they would be subject
to the Geneva Conventions,
1671
01:19:44,900 --> 01:19:47,966
and very strict limits
1672
01:19:48,000 --> 01:19:50,300
on how you could
interrogate them.
1673
01:19:50,333 --> 01:19:53,866
All you have to tell
the interrogator is
1674
01:19:53,900 --> 01:19:55,333
your name, rank,
and serial number.
1675
01:19:55,366 --> 01:19:59,966
Cheney and his allies believed
they could remove these people
1676
01:20:00,000 --> 01:20:02,166
from the protections of Geneva.
1677
01:20:02,200 --> 01:20:04,900
You were going to have to ask
very tough questions
1678
01:20:04,933 --> 01:20:08,333
with very tough consequences
and compulsion
1679
01:20:08,366 --> 01:20:10,166
in order to get answers
1680
01:20:10,200 --> 01:20:13,900
from Taliban
and Al Qaeda prisoners,
1681
01:20:13,933 --> 01:20:15,500
and that in order to do so,
1682
01:20:15,533 --> 01:20:18,266
you had to deny them
the legal status
1683
01:20:18,300 --> 01:20:19,400
of prisoners of war.
1684
01:20:19,433 --> 01:20:21,000
We also have to work the,
1685
01:20:21,033 --> 01:20:23,366
sort of the dark side,
if you will.
1686
01:20:23,400 --> 01:20:25,266
We're going to spend time
in the shadows
1687
01:20:25,300 --> 01:20:27,466
in the intelligence world.
1688
01:20:27,500 --> 01:20:28,809
A lot of what needs
to be done here
1689
01:20:28,833 --> 01:20:32,233
will have to be done quietly,
without any discussion,
1690
01:20:32,266 --> 01:20:33,566
using sources and methods
1691
01:20:33,600 --> 01:20:36,000
that are available
to our intelligence agencies
1692
01:20:36,033 --> 01:20:38,200
if we're going to be successful.
1693
01:20:38,233 --> 01:20:40,366
That's the world
these folks operate in.
1694
01:20:42,333 --> 01:20:45,466
There was very much
a macho quality to this.
1695
01:20:45,500 --> 01:20:50,200
These were people of action,
people who didn't get hung up
1696
01:20:50,233 --> 01:20:54,166
in endless meetings and debates
and, you know,
1697
01:20:54,200 --> 01:20:56,400
"We have to worry
about what Congress might think,
1698
01:20:56,433 --> 01:20:58,533
how the media might react."
1699
01:20:58,566 --> 01:20:59,766
No.
1700
01:20:59,800 --> 01:21:02,533
They were going to do
what needed to be done,
1701
01:21:02,566 --> 01:21:07,100
and consequences be damned.
1702
01:21:09,900 --> 01:21:12,400
To justify
"working the dark side"
1703
01:21:12,433 --> 01:21:14,533
without congressional approval,
1704
01:21:14,566 --> 01:21:17,133
Cheney relied
on a theory of executive power
1705
01:21:17,166 --> 01:21:18,200
that placed the president
1706
01:21:18,233 --> 01:21:21,033
beyond the oversight
of Congress.
1707
01:21:21,066 --> 01:21:22,900
As Cheney saw it,
1708
01:21:22,933 --> 01:21:26,100
this was a mortal threat
to the country.
1709
01:21:26,133 --> 01:21:29,366
You know, this was none
of Congress's business
1710
01:21:29,400 --> 01:21:31,600
to tell the president
of the United States
1711
01:21:31,633 --> 01:21:34,366
how to conduct foreign policy.
1712
01:21:34,400 --> 01:21:36,900
For years, Cheney
had been preoccupied
1713
01:21:36,933 --> 01:21:40,366
by so-called
weapons of mass destruction,
1714
01:21:40,400 --> 01:21:42,609
particularly biological agents
that could easily and rapidly
1715
01:21:42,633 --> 01:21:46,600
spread through
a defenseless population.
1716
01:21:48,300 --> 01:21:50,233
Cheney's worst fears
1717
01:21:50,266 --> 01:21:54,066
seemed realized
just three weeks after 9/11,
1718
01:21:54,100 --> 01:21:57,966
when another attack began
to unfold on American soil.
1719
01:21:58,000 --> 01:21:59,300
A Florida man has contracted
1720
01:21:59,333 --> 01:22:03,933
a very rare and potentially
deadly form of anthrax.
1721
01:22:03,966 --> 01:22:05,900
In early October,
1722
01:22:05,933 --> 01:22:08,933
envelopes containing a powdered
deadly form of anthrax
1723
01:22:08,966 --> 01:22:12,100
were received in the mail
by news anchors and politicians
1724
01:22:12,133 --> 01:22:15,400
around the country.
1725
01:22:15,433 --> 01:22:17,166
The envelopes also contained
1726
01:22:17,200 --> 01:22:19,533
crudely written letters
with the words:
1727
01:22:19,566 --> 01:22:22,700
"Death to America.
Death to Israel.
1728
01:22:22,733 --> 01:22:24,366
Allah is great."
1729
01:22:24,400 --> 01:22:26,466
The anthrax attacks...
1730
01:22:26,500 --> 01:22:28,800
That is one of
the most underappreciated events
1731
01:22:28,833 --> 01:22:29,966
of the period,
1732
01:22:30,000 --> 01:22:31,433
because I think
that was the thing
1733
01:22:31,466 --> 01:22:34,266
that really locked in
a lot of the mood of dread
1734
01:22:34,300 --> 01:22:37,900
that was such a feature of
those first months after 9/11.
1735
01:22:37,933 --> 01:22:42,200
In all, 17 people were stricken
with anthrax.
1736
01:22:42,233 --> 01:22:44,400
Five would die.
1737
01:22:44,433 --> 01:22:47,100
A massive investigation
would eventually
1738
01:22:47,133 --> 01:22:49,100
point to domestic origins,
1739
01:22:49,133 --> 01:22:52,066
but at the time,
the anthrax attacks
1740
01:22:52,100 --> 01:22:54,700
only strengthened
Cheney's argument
1741
01:22:54,733 --> 01:22:57,800
that there could be no limits
to the war on terror.
1742
01:23:00,900 --> 01:23:01,833
Cheney says,
1743
01:23:01,866 --> 01:23:03,900
"We need to think in a new way
1744
01:23:03,933 --> 01:23:06,733
about these
high-impact threats."
1745
01:23:06,766 --> 01:23:09,766
He says, "If there's
a one-percent chance
1746
01:23:09,800 --> 01:23:12,600
"that terrorists
have gotten their hands
1747
01:23:12,633 --> 01:23:14,833
"on weapons of mass destruction,
1748
01:23:14,866 --> 01:23:18,300
"we need to treat it
as a certainty.
1749
01:23:18,333 --> 01:23:20,800
"It's not about our analysis,
1750
01:23:20,833 --> 01:23:22,633
it's about our response."
1751
01:23:24,566 --> 01:23:28,333
Cheney urged Bush to suspend
the Geneva Conventions
1752
01:23:28,366 --> 01:23:30,766
for captured fighters
in Afghanistan,
1753
01:23:30,800 --> 01:23:34,433
so that an array of more extreme
interrogation techniques,
1754
01:23:34,466 --> 01:23:36,466
including
harsh physical punishment,
1755
01:23:36,500 --> 01:23:39,366
could be used against them.
1756
01:23:39,400 --> 01:23:43,566
But other key advisers
disagreed.
1757
01:23:43,600 --> 01:23:46,100
Colin Powell was uncomfortable
with this.
1758
01:23:46,133 --> 01:23:50,033
He was a military guy
who operated
1759
01:23:50,066 --> 01:23:52,800
under military rules,
1760
01:23:52,833 --> 01:23:56,366
in which, you know, there were
very clear prohibitions
1761
01:23:56,400 --> 01:24:00,433
on using tactics
like were being proposed
1762
01:24:00,466 --> 01:24:03,433
by his colleagues
in the Bush administration.
1763
01:24:03,466 --> 01:24:06,366
The decision over what to do
1764
01:24:06,400 --> 01:24:08,466
with suspected
Al Qaeda prisoners
1765
01:24:08,500 --> 01:24:11,966
would be one of the most
momentous of Bush's presidency.
1766
01:24:13,966 --> 01:24:16,200
As the president
weighed how to proceed,
1767
01:24:16,233 --> 01:24:21,766
Cheney was a persistent
and persuasive presence.
1768
01:24:21,800 --> 01:24:23,800
It became the narrative
1769
01:24:23,833 --> 01:24:29,533
that Cheney was really the,
the brains of the operation,
1770
01:24:29,566 --> 01:24:35,433
that he was leading Bush
wherever he wanted him to go.
1771
01:24:35,466 --> 01:24:38,633
And I have really come
to doubt that.
1772
01:24:38,666 --> 01:24:43,000
George W. Bush
is not a stupid person.
1773
01:24:43,033 --> 01:24:44,766
He is a very bright man.
1774
01:24:44,800 --> 01:24:47,533
He certainly delegated
a lot of tasks to Cheney,
1775
01:24:47,566 --> 01:24:50,666
but I don't for a minute believe
1776
01:24:50,700 --> 01:24:53,566
that wool was comprehensively
pulled over his eyes
1777
01:24:53,600 --> 01:24:56,533
by this sort of scheming
vice president.
1778
01:24:56,566 --> 01:24:59,933
On the issues
that Bush cared about,
1779
01:24:59,966 --> 01:25:04,366
when a decision was before him,
he was the decider, as he said.
1780
01:25:04,400 --> 01:25:06,966
The caricature that Cheney
would tell him what to do
1781
01:25:07,000 --> 01:25:09,066
is just false.
1782
01:25:09,100 --> 01:25:11,000
Bush would not have
put up with that.
1783
01:25:11,033 --> 01:25:15,633
But Cheney was very good
at setting the table
1784
01:25:15,666 --> 01:25:16,833
and lining up the shot
1785
01:25:16,866 --> 01:25:19,800
so that Bush was likely
to take it.
1786
01:25:19,833 --> 01:25:23,066
It was kind of remarkable
to watch him work.
1787
01:25:23,100 --> 01:25:26,966
Powell put it this way to me,
in a metaphor I'll never forget.
1788
01:25:27,000 --> 01:25:29,333
He came back from a meeting
with the president,
1789
01:25:29,366 --> 01:25:30,300
and he said, "Larry,
1790
01:25:30,333 --> 01:25:33,466
"the vice president knows
1791
01:25:33,500 --> 01:25:36,433
"how to get the cowboy in Bush
to pull his .45
1792
01:25:36,466 --> 01:25:37,966
"and start shooting,
1793
01:25:38,000 --> 01:25:41,333
and I don't know how to get him
to put it back in the holster."
1794
01:25:42,566 --> 01:25:44,233
In a series of decisions
1795
01:25:44,266 --> 01:25:47,000
beginning in January of 2002,
1796
01:25:47,033 --> 01:25:48,666
Bush suspended
Geneva's protections
1797
01:25:48,700 --> 01:25:52,266
for captured enemy combatants
in Afghanistan,
1798
01:25:52,300 --> 01:25:54,166
and approved a menu of so-called
1799
01:25:54,200 --> 01:25:57,100
"enhanced
interrogation tactics."
1800
01:25:57,133 --> 01:26:01,433
Administration lawyers
provided legal cover.
1801
01:26:01,466 --> 01:26:03,100
At the time,
1802
01:26:03,133 --> 01:26:06,600
the Department of Justice
attorneys said
1803
01:26:06,633 --> 01:26:08,800
that these enhanced
interrogation techniques
1804
01:26:08,833 --> 01:26:11,366
were not torture,
1805
01:26:11,400 --> 01:26:14,533
they did not violate
any anti-torture treaties,
1806
01:26:14,566 --> 01:26:18,066
they did not rise to that level,
that they were indeed legal.
1807
01:26:18,100 --> 01:26:20,233
President Bush was told that.
1808
01:26:23,933 --> 01:26:26,800
Already, the first wave
of captured enemy combatants
1809
01:26:26,833 --> 01:26:28,300
were being transferred
1810
01:26:28,333 --> 01:26:30,633
from the battlefields
of Afghanistan
1811
01:26:30,666 --> 01:26:32,066
and neighboring Pakistan
1812
01:26:32,100 --> 01:26:37,666
to Guantánamo Bay,
a U.S. military base in Cuba
1813
01:26:37,700 --> 01:26:41,266
converted
into a makeshift prison.
1814
01:26:41,300 --> 01:26:44,033
You're talking about cells they
prefer to call outdoor cells.
1815
01:26:44,066 --> 01:26:45,466
Many will call them cages.
1816
01:26:45,500 --> 01:26:49,666
They are simply roofed cubicles
surrounded by wire mesh fence.
1817
01:26:49,700 --> 01:26:50,900
Exposure to the elements.
1818
01:26:50,933 --> 01:26:52,833
There will be a concrete floor,
a mat,
1819
01:26:52,866 --> 01:26:56,300
a bucket to be used for
personal hygiene... that's it.
1820
01:26:56,333 --> 01:26:58,833
Very, very tight security.
1821
01:27:04,066 --> 01:27:07,800
C.I.A. specialists descended
on Guantánamo,
1822
01:27:07,833 --> 01:27:09,600
where they put into practice
1823
01:27:09,633 --> 01:27:13,033
the newly approved
interrogation techniques.
1824
01:27:13,066 --> 01:27:15,233
The tactics included everything
1825
01:27:15,266 --> 01:27:18,700
from slapping somebody
in the face,
1826
01:27:18,733 --> 01:27:22,766
pushing them up against a wall,
denying them food,
1827
01:27:22,800 --> 01:27:25,500
denying them liquids,
1828
01:27:25,533 --> 01:27:29,666
putting someone in a confined
space for a long period of time,
1829
01:27:29,700 --> 01:27:35,466
rectal feeding,
continuous sleep deprivation.
1830
01:27:35,500 --> 01:27:38,033
And then the worst of them
that we've heard about
1831
01:27:38,066 --> 01:27:39,333
is waterboarding,
1832
01:27:39,366 --> 01:27:42,833
where you simulate
drowning somebody.
1833
01:27:46,300 --> 01:27:48,400
Bush believed the C.I.A.'s use
1834
01:27:48,433 --> 01:27:51,733
of violence against captured
prisoners in Guantánamo
1835
01:27:51,766 --> 01:27:54,200
and at secret "black sites"
around the world,
1836
01:27:54,233 --> 01:27:57,866
was justified
if it saved American lives.
1837
01:27:57,900 --> 01:28:01,933
If you really believe
that Al Qaeda
1838
01:28:01,966 --> 01:28:04,500
is about ready
to attack you again,
1839
01:28:04,533 --> 01:28:07,500
and if you really believe
that these individuals,
1840
01:28:07,533 --> 01:28:08,700
who you have captured,
1841
01:28:08,733 --> 01:28:10,633
know what those attack plans
are,
1842
01:28:10,666 --> 01:28:15,066
and you couldn't get
the information any other way,
1843
01:28:15,100 --> 01:28:18,766
and if those attacks happened,
1844
01:28:18,800 --> 01:28:22,233
many, many, many
more Americans could die,
1845
01:28:22,266 --> 01:28:24,833
how could you not do it?
1846
01:28:27,500 --> 01:28:29,566
Bush's critics argued
1847
01:28:29,600 --> 01:28:32,333
that his approval of the
enhanced interrogation program
1848
01:28:32,366 --> 01:28:36,600
created a ripple effect,
a culture of cruelty
1849
01:28:36,633 --> 01:28:38,566
that trickled down
to all those charged
1850
01:28:38,600 --> 01:28:43,166
with carrying out
the war on terror.
1851
01:28:43,200 --> 01:28:45,766
The president said,
"Torture people."
1852
01:28:45,800 --> 01:28:48,000
That's the message
that went down
1853
01:28:48,033 --> 01:28:51,600
from the highest power
in America.
1854
01:28:51,633 --> 01:28:55,166
That's what it got interpreted
in the field.
1855
01:28:55,200 --> 01:28:58,766
I don't think anyone
at that moment realized
1856
01:28:58,800 --> 01:29:03,133
the effects that that decision
would have
1857
01:29:03,166 --> 01:29:07,433
down where the rubber
meets the road.
1858
01:29:07,466 --> 01:29:09,500
All presidents
who are in wartime
1859
01:29:09,533 --> 01:29:12,866
are having to try to balance
national security
1860
01:29:12,900 --> 01:29:14,766
with civil rights and liberties.
1861
01:29:14,800 --> 01:29:17,733
All presidents.
1862
01:29:17,766 --> 01:29:20,333
Every day, they lived
with the thought
1863
01:29:20,366 --> 01:29:22,700
that another terrorist attack
could occur,
1864
01:29:22,733 --> 01:29:24,573
and they were going to do
everything they could
1865
01:29:24,600 --> 01:29:25,833
to try to stop that.
1866
01:29:25,866 --> 01:29:31,100
And sometimes that meant skating
right up to the line
1867
01:29:31,133 --> 01:29:32,433
of civil rights and liberties,
1868
01:29:32,466 --> 01:29:37,533
and sometimes it meant
crossing it.
1869
01:29:37,566 --> 01:29:39,176
But many worried
that these tactics
1870
01:29:39,200 --> 01:29:45,066
would exact a heavy toll,
both morally and practically.
1871
01:29:45,100 --> 01:29:46,866
It's these bigger issues:
1872
01:29:46,900 --> 01:29:48,366
Who are we as a country?
1873
01:29:48,400 --> 01:29:51,366
Are we a leader in
humanitarian issues or not?
1874
01:29:51,400 --> 01:29:54,766
You know, do we care
about human rights or not?
1875
01:29:54,800 --> 01:29:58,933
All of these things
were up for grabs.
1876
01:29:58,966 --> 01:30:02,800
The days after 9/11,
the entire world was with us.
1877
01:30:02,833 --> 01:30:04,500
There were tens of thousands
of people
1878
01:30:04,533 --> 01:30:08,600
in the streets of Tehran
not yelling "death to America,"
1879
01:30:08,633 --> 01:30:14,333
but expressing their sympathy
with America.
1880
01:30:14,366 --> 01:30:17,400
The world was with us,
and we squandered it.
1881
01:30:17,433 --> 01:30:19,933
And the reputation
of the United States
1882
01:30:19,966 --> 01:30:23,900
was tarnished
for generations to come
1883
01:30:23,933 --> 01:30:25,000
in the Middle East
1884
01:30:25,033 --> 01:30:26,700
by the things that we did.
1885
01:30:34,733 --> 01:30:36,566
By mid-November 2001,
1886
01:30:36,600 --> 01:30:40,700
the war in Afghanistan
seemed to be nearing its end
1887
01:30:40,733 --> 01:30:44,200
as U.S.-led forces stormed
the capital, Kabul.
1888
01:30:44,233 --> 01:30:47,566
A few weeks later,
they took Kandahar,
1889
01:30:47,600 --> 01:30:49,500
the Taliban's last stronghold.
1890
01:30:49,533 --> 01:30:52,200
But the sweetness of victory
was tempered
1891
01:30:52,233 --> 01:30:55,166
when Osama Bin Laden
slipped away from allied forces
1892
01:30:55,200 --> 01:30:56,833
during a ferocious battle
1893
01:30:56,866 --> 01:30:59,233
in the mountainous region
of Tora Bora.
1894
01:30:59,266 --> 01:31:01,533
The president said,
1895
01:31:01,566 --> 01:31:05,866
"Michael, is there anything new
this morning?"
1896
01:31:05,900 --> 01:31:06,909
And I said, "Mr. President,
1897
01:31:06,933 --> 01:31:08,666
"I have some really bad news
for you.
1898
01:31:08,700 --> 01:31:11,133
Bin Laden has escaped
from Tora Bora."
1899
01:31:11,166 --> 01:31:14,966
And I had never seen
the president lose his temper
1900
01:31:15,000 --> 01:31:16,866
in my entire year
of briefing him.
1901
01:31:16,900 --> 01:31:18,866
I had never seen him get mad.
1902
01:31:18,900 --> 01:31:20,333
He did in this case.
1903
01:31:22,966 --> 01:31:24,233
Bin Laden's escape
1904
01:31:24,266 --> 01:31:27,100
and the swift collapse
of the Taliban government
1905
01:31:27,133 --> 01:31:31,133
left Bush and much
of the country unsatisfied.
1906
01:31:31,166 --> 01:31:34,366
Afghanistan's not big enough.
1907
01:31:34,400 --> 01:31:35,966
It's not proportional.
1908
01:31:36,000 --> 01:31:39,166
It needs to be bigger.
1909
01:31:39,200 --> 01:31:42,100
The towers are burning,
the Pentagon's burning,
1910
01:31:42,133 --> 01:31:43,176
they attacked
the United States...
1911
01:31:43,200 --> 01:31:47,400
The response
has to be proportional
1912
01:31:47,433 --> 01:31:50,733
to what occurred to us.
1913
01:31:50,766 --> 01:31:53,566
Afghanistan really didn't do it.
1914
01:31:53,600 --> 01:31:56,533
Afghanistan did not
send the signal to the world,
1915
01:31:56,566 --> 01:31:58,433
"Don't mess
with the United States."
1916
01:31:58,466 --> 01:31:59,600
We need a state actor.
1917
01:31:59,633 --> 01:32:02,833
Saddam Hussein,
let's go after him.
1918
01:32:02,866 --> 01:32:04,176
That'll send
the signal to the world
1919
01:32:04,200 --> 01:32:07,733
that you don't mess
with the United States.
1920
01:32:07,766 --> 01:32:10,400
Initially resistant
to the neo-cons' argument
1921
01:32:10,433 --> 01:32:12,033
to invade Iraq right away,
1922
01:32:12,066 --> 01:32:16,766
Bush felt himself
increasingly drawn to the idea.
1923
01:32:16,800 --> 01:32:19,500
The reasons
were not only political;
1924
01:32:19,533 --> 01:32:20,900
they were personal.
1925
01:32:25,133 --> 01:32:29,233
In 1991, Bush's father had
waged the first Gulf War
1926
01:32:29,266 --> 01:32:32,233
against Saddam's forces
in Kuwait.
1927
01:32:32,266 --> 01:32:35,700
The war was over quickly,
1928
01:32:35,733 --> 01:32:37,333
but to avoid
a bloody occupation,
1929
01:32:37,366 --> 01:32:39,100
George H.W. Bush
had halted the U.S. advance
1930
01:32:39,133 --> 01:32:42,900
before reaching Baghdad,
1931
01:32:42,933 --> 01:32:46,466
allowing Saddam to survive.
1932
01:32:46,500 --> 01:32:47,509
Bush developed a sense
1933
01:32:47,533 --> 01:32:49,566
that there was unfinished
business
1934
01:32:49,600 --> 01:32:53,400
from the first Persian Gulf War
in the early 1990s;
1935
01:32:53,433 --> 01:32:56,666
that leaving Saddam in power
had been a mistake.
1936
01:32:56,700 --> 01:32:59,733
Bush was attracted to the idea
1937
01:32:59,766 --> 01:33:05,166
of finishing something
his father had left undone.
1938
01:33:05,200 --> 01:33:07,200
There was also a strong sense
1939
01:33:07,233 --> 01:33:11,700
that Iraq was a growing threat
to U.S. interests,
1940
01:33:11,733 --> 01:33:15,200
and that was because the regime
1941
01:33:15,233 --> 01:33:19,100
of arms control restrictions
and sanctions
1942
01:33:19,133 --> 01:33:23,966
that was keeping Iraq bottled up
after that first Gulf War
1943
01:33:24,000 --> 01:33:26,833
were beginning to erode.
1944
01:33:26,866 --> 01:33:30,200
There was this powerful
determination
1945
01:33:30,233 --> 01:33:32,733
within the administration
1946
01:33:32,766 --> 01:33:36,633
that nothing like 9/11
would ever happen again.
1947
01:33:36,666 --> 01:33:38,200
I mean, they racked
their brains,
1948
01:33:38,233 --> 01:33:40,200
like,
"How did we not see this?"
1949
01:33:40,233 --> 01:33:43,833
"How can we make sure
we never ever miss
1950
01:33:43,866 --> 01:33:45,133
something like this again?"
1951
01:33:45,166 --> 01:33:50,066
In that sense, what you get is
a classic overreaction,
1952
01:33:50,100 --> 01:33:53,266
and you go not just
into Afghanistan,
1953
01:33:53,300 --> 01:33:55,266
but you go into Iraq.
1954
01:33:55,300 --> 01:33:57,433
For President Bush,
1955
01:33:57,466 --> 01:34:00,633
removing Saddam also presented
an opportunity:
1956
01:34:00,666 --> 01:34:04,000
to spread American values
throughout the Middle East,
1957
01:34:04,033 --> 01:34:08,433
and to put his personal stamp
on history.
1958
01:34:08,466 --> 01:34:11,700
W's opinion of the role
of America in the world
1959
01:34:11,733 --> 01:34:14,666
was very much formed
1960
01:34:14,700 --> 01:34:16,666
by his father's experience
in World War II.
1961
01:34:16,700 --> 01:34:19,766
So many sons of fathers
like that,
1962
01:34:19,800 --> 01:34:22,000
uh, they, they looked back
1963
01:34:22,033 --> 01:34:24,966
at how America saved
civilization,
1964
01:34:25,000 --> 01:34:28,133
as, as they saw it.
1965
01:34:28,166 --> 01:34:30,166
That image of a powerful America
1966
01:34:30,200 --> 01:34:32,866
sheltering the rest of the world
under its arm
1967
01:34:32,900 --> 01:34:36,066
was very much
in, in Bush's mind.
1968
01:34:39,200 --> 01:34:40,900
All of us need to understand
it is now time
1969
01:34:40,933 --> 01:34:43,900
to plant the flag of freedom
1970
01:34:43,933 --> 01:34:47,200
firmly in our nation
and around the world.
1971
01:34:47,233 --> 01:34:50,800
Because what we do today
will determine whether or not
1972
01:34:50,833 --> 01:34:54,233
our children and
our grandchildren can grow up
1973
01:34:54,266 --> 01:34:55,900
in a life that we knew.
1974
01:34:59,300 --> 01:35:00,933
He truly believed
1975
01:35:00,966 --> 01:35:02,900
that there were things
he was destined to do.
1976
01:35:02,933 --> 01:35:07,166
And one of those things
was to spread the American way
1977
01:35:07,200 --> 01:35:11,533
in opportune moments.
1978
01:35:11,566 --> 01:35:15,400
An almost evangelical sense
of rectitude and righteousness
1979
01:35:15,433 --> 01:35:18,266
did motivate Bush.
1980
01:35:18,300 --> 01:35:21,933
Throughout late 2001
and early 2002,
1981
01:35:21,966 --> 01:35:27,200
Bush moved closer
to a decision to invade Iraq.
1982
01:35:27,233 --> 01:35:30,300
He ordered the Pentagon
to revise its war plans,
1983
01:35:30,333 --> 01:35:33,100
and tasked Cheney
with turning up proof
1984
01:35:33,133 --> 01:35:36,733
of Saddam's weapons program.
1985
01:35:36,766 --> 01:35:38,266
Cheney threw himself
into the effort,
1986
01:35:38,300 --> 01:35:41,900
making frequent trips
to C.I.A. headquarters,
1987
01:35:41,933 --> 01:35:44,200
where he met directly
with C.I.A. analysts.
1988
01:35:48,100 --> 01:35:50,766
And he's saying in briefings,
1989
01:35:50,800 --> 01:35:54,000
"I want to hear everything,
even the rawest intelligence,"
1990
01:35:54,033 --> 01:35:55,633
and there's a pushback.
1991
01:35:55,666 --> 01:35:56,842
"You don't want to hear
the raw stuff.
1992
01:35:56,866 --> 01:35:59,066
Some of it's meaningless."
1993
01:35:59,100 --> 01:36:01,466
You know, it hasn't...
It's not vetted intelligence.
1994
01:36:01,500 --> 01:36:03,366
But Cheney
wants to hear everything.
1995
01:36:03,400 --> 01:36:07,766
So Cheney's getting
a feed of, of fear.
1996
01:36:09,166 --> 01:36:11,833
Cheney's hands-on approach
1997
01:36:11,866 --> 01:36:13,900
reflected a deep skepticism
1998
01:36:13,933 --> 01:36:15,766
of the C.I.A.'s ability
1999
01:36:15,800 --> 01:36:18,700
to interpret
its own intelligence.
2000
01:36:18,733 --> 01:36:20,733
He was suspicious
2001
01:36:20,766 --> 01:36:24,300
that the C.I.A.
as an institution
2002
01:36:24,333 --> 01:36:27,466
was too conservative
about threats,
2003
01:36:27,500 --> 01:36:29,866
was willing
to gloss things over,
2004
01:36:29,900 --> 01:36:32,866
or required a higher
standard of proof
2005
01:36:32,900 --> 01:36:35,066
than Cheney believed
was necessary
2006
01:36:35,100 --> 01:36:38,066
in order to respond
to a potential threat.
2007
01:36:38,100 --> 01:36:41,266
Cheney had seen for himself
2008
01:36:41,300 --> 01:36:44,433
how the C.I.A. had missed
Saddam's nuclear weapons program
2009
01:36:44,466 --> 01:36:48,033
during the first Gulf War.
2010
01:36:48,066 --> 01:36:51,300
When they accounted
for non-conventional weapons
2011
01:36:51,333 --> 01:36:52,666
at the end of that war,
2012
01:36:52,700 --> 01:36:56,800
they found a nuclear program
by Saddam Hussein and his regime
2013
01:36:56,833 --> 01:37:00,333
that was far more advanced
2014
01:37:00,366 --> 01:37:03,366
than the intel
that they had at the time.
2015
01:37:03,400 --> 01:37:04,733
There was this feeling
2016
01:37:04,766 --> 01:37:08,533
that we were underestimating
the risk in this case.
2017
01:37:10,000 --> 01:37:12,900
To repeat the same mistake
this time, Cheney believed,
2018
01:37:12,933 --> 01:37:15,000
would be catastrophic.
2019
01:37:15,033 --> 01:37:17,733
He and his allies weren't
going to let that happen.
2020
01:37:17,766 --> 01:37:20,966
Cheney had an agenda.
2021
01:37:21,000 --> 01:37:23,800
He knew what he wanted
the answer to be,
2022
01:37:23,833 --> 01:37:26,500
he knew what he wanted
the end result to be.
2023
01:37:26,533 --> 01:37:29,366
And they begin pressuring
the intelligence community
2024
01:37:29,400 --> 01:37:31,266
to find the evidence
2025
01:37:31,300 --> 01:37:34,533
that supports
their preconceived notions
2026
01:37:34,566 --> 01:37:38,766
about the threat that
Saddam posed to the world.
2027
01:37:38,800 --> 01:37:41,800
Under Cheney's prodding,
2028
01:37:41,833 --> 01:37:43,766
the C.I.A.
began to generate reports
2029
01:37:43,800 --> 01:37:49,033
that Iraq was harboring
weapons of mass destruction.
2030
01:37:49,066 --> 01:37:52,066
In terms of biological
and chemical weapons,
2031
01:37:52,100 --> 01:37:55,833
it was not
an outlandish position at all
2032
01:37:55,866 --> 01:37:58,733
to believe that
Saddam Hussein still had them.
2033
01:37:58,766 --> 01:38:01,533
He had had them,
he had built them,
2034
01:38:01,566 --> 01:38:03,266
he had used them,
2035
01:38:03,300 --> 01:38:06,366
he had lied many, many times
2036
01:38:06,400 --> 01:38:08,242
before, during, and after
U.N. weapons inspections.
2037
01:38:08,266 --> 01:38:12,800
The nuclear case
was always much, much weaker.
2038
01:38:12,833 --> 01:38:16,200
But the idea that there was
a threat of an atomic attack
2039
01:38:16,233 --> 01:38:19,300
by a man like Saddam Hussein
2040
01:38:19,333 --> 01:38:22,233
was much more likely to
capture the public imagination.
2041
01:38:24,233 --> 01:38:26,633
Cheney briefed Bush
on intelligence
2042
01:38:26,666 --> 01:38:30,300
that Iraq was attempting
to acquire uranium from Africa,
2043
01:38:30,333 --> 01:38:32,866
and the centrifuges necessary
to enrich it
2044
01:38:32,900 --> 01:38:34,633
into a nuclear bomb.
2045
01:38:34,666 --> 01:38:38,600
These reports, and many others,
2046
01:38:38,633 --> 01:38:40,566
were poorly sourced,
uncorroborated,
2047
01:38:40,600 --> 01:38:43,266
and doubted
by experts in the field.
2048
01:38:43,300 --> 01:38:45,666
But, under pressure,
2049
01:38:45,700 --> 01:38:49,433
the C.I.A. presented them
as proof.
2050
01:38:49,466 --> 01:38:55,100
They took raw intelligence,
they picked through it.
2051
01:38:55,133 --> 01:38:56,809
It didn't matter
what its credibility was...
2052
01:38:56,833 --> 01:38:59,266
Its credibility
could be assessed as poor,
2053
01:38:59,300 --> 01:39:00,833
it didn't matter.
2054
01:39:00,866 --> 01:39:02,933
As long as it fit
what they wanted to do,
2055
01:39:02,966 --> 01:39:05,066
they plucked it out
and put it on the board.
2056
01:39:05,100 --> 01:39:07,800
And then they packaged it,
once they got enough pieces,
2057
01:39:07,833 --> 01:39:10,900
and they sent it
to the White House.
2058
01:39:10,933 --> 01:39:17,466
Yes, the agency pushed a story
beyond the facts,
2059
01:39:17,500 --> 01:39:20,433
beyond the truth.
2060
01:39:20,466 --> 01:39:21,833
That was our failure,
2061
01:39:21,866 --> 01:39:27,600
but we were fully aware
of the consequences,
2062
01:39:27,633 --> 01:39:29,000
that the noose
was around our neck.
2063
01:39:29,033 --> 01:39:35,166
We can't afford to fail
one time, and we got it wrong.
2064
01:39:35,200 --> 01:39:37,800
Woefully uneducated
in foreign affairs,
2065
01:39:37,833 --> 01:39:41,733
inclined to believe
the worst about Saddam,
2066
01:39:41,766 --> 01:39:45,033
Bush did nothing
to probe the reliability
2067
01:39:45,066 --> 01:39:47,333
of the C.I.A.'s reporting.
2068
01:39:47,366 --> 01:39:50,700
Instead, he accepted as fact
2069
01:39:50,733 --> 01:39:53,533
what Cheney and others
had long argued:
2070
01:39:53,566 --> 01:39:54,833
that Iraq had a viable
2071
01:39:54,866 --> 01:39:59,633
chemical, biological,
and nuclear weapons program.
2072
01:39:59,666 --> 01:40:03,200
DeYOUNG:
Bush thought of himself
as a big-picture kinda guy.
2073
01:40:03,233 --> 01:40:07,866
But I think in many cases,
he didn't recognize
2074
01:40:07,900 --> 01:40:11,600
how he was gradually being moved
to those positions.
2075
01:40:11,633 --> 01:40:17,233
George Bush was surrounded
by people who had an agenda.
2076
01:40:17,266 --> 01:40:21,933
And they had a president
who, in every other respect,
2077
01:40:21,966 --> 01:40:23,800
was a very self-confident
person,
2078
01:40:23,833 --> 01:40:26,166
but in terms of foreign affairs,
he was uncertain.
2079
01:40:26,200 --> 01:40:28,666
And, and so they used that.
2080
01:40:28,700 --> 01:40:34,166
Bush is presented
with one idea after another
2081
01:40:34,200 --> 01:40:35,633
that Saddam is actually seeking
2082
01:40:35,666 --> 01:40:37,633
these weapons
of mass destruction.
2083
01:40:37,666 --> 01:40:41,466
Had that been true,
it would have been justified,
2084
01:40:41,500 --> 01:40:43,300
but it wasn't true...
It was cooked up.
2085
01:40:43,333 --> 01:40:48,533
I hold his cabinet
and his advisers responsible.
2086
01:40:48,566 --> 01:40:50,009
But ultimately,
the president is the one
2087
01:40:50,033 --> 01:40:52,333
who has to take the blame.
2088
01:40:52,366 --> 01:40:56,000
By the summer of 2002,
2089
01:40:56,033 --> 01:40:57,900
Bush and his team
had transitioned
2090
01:40:57,933 --> 01:40:59,066
from contemplating invasion
2091
01:40:59,100 --> 01:41:03,833
to selling the idea
to the American people.
2092
01:41:03,866 --> 01:41:06,700
You needed
to bring the country along,
2093
01:41:06,733 --> 01:41:10,066
because you were going to send
some Americans to their deaths.
2094
01:41:10,100 --> 01:41:13,766
And so there was
this torturous effort
2095
01:41:13,800 --> 01:41:18,766
to give the impression
that Saddam was on the verge
2096
01:41:18,800 --> 01:41:21,933
of having
a full-fledged WMD program,
2097
01:41:21,966 --> 01:41:23,942
which meant he could use
nuclear weapons against us.
2098
01:41:23,966 --> 01:41:27,800
And that's where
they misled the American people.
2099
01:41:27,833 --> 01:41:29,733
Senior members
of the administration
2100
01:41:29,766 --> 01:41:33,966
fanned out across the airwaves
to make the case for war,
2101
01:41:34,000 --> 01:41:36,733
sometimes repeating
unfounded or incorrect
2102
01:41:36,766 --> 01:41:38,600
intelligence claims.
2103
01:41:38,633 --> 01:41:41,766
There will always be
some uncertainty
2104
01:41:41,800 --> 01:41:45,266
about how quickly
he can acquire a nuclear weapon.
2105
01:41:45,300 --> 01:41:46,600
But we don't want
the smoking gun
2106
01:41:46,633 --> 01:41:47,866
to be a mushroom cloud.
2107
01:41:47,900 --> 01:41:52,066
He now is trying through
his illicit procurement network
2108
01:41:52,100 --> 01:41:55,733
to acquire the equipment
he needs
2109
01:41:55,766 --> 01:41:57,442
to be able to enrich uranium
to make a bomb.
2110
01:41:57,466 --> 01:41:58,566
Aluminum tubes.
2111
01:41:58,600 --> 01:42:00,166
Specifically aluminum tubes.
2112
01:42:00,200 --> 01:42:01,742
There is a story in "The New
York Times" this morning...
2113
01:42:01,766 --> 01:42:04,166
this morning that
he is still trying to acquire,
2114
01:42:04,200 --> 01:42:07,000
for example, some of
the specialized aluminum tubing
2115
01:42:07,033 --> 01:42:09,033
one needs to develop centrifuges
2116
01:42:09,066 --> 01:42:11,333
that would give you
an enrichment capability.
2117
01:42:12,900 --> 01:42:14,242
Though he would participate
2118
01:42:14,266 --> 01:42:17,233
in the administration's
public relations offensive,
2119
01:42:17,266 --> 01:42:23,000
Colin Powell was uncomfortable
with the unilateral rush to war.
2120
01:42:23,033 --> 01:42:25,266
On August 5,
he'd sat down with Bush
2121
01:42:25,300 --> 01:42:26,833
in the White House Treaty Room,
2122
01:42:26,866 --> 01:42:28,100
warning the president
2123
01:42:28,133 --> 01:42:31,366
that he could not simply
win a quick military victory
2124
01:42:31,400 --> 01:42:33,066
and walk away.
2125
01:42:33,100 --> 01:42:35,366
"If you break it,"
he said, "you own it."
2126
01:42:35,400 --> 01:42:38,166
Instead, Powell advised,
2127
01:42:38,200 --> 01:42:40,866
Bush should build
an international coalition
2128
01:42:40,900 --> 01:42:44,533
before heading into war.
2129
01:42:44,566 --> 01:42:46,800
DeYOUNG:
Certainly, Colin Powell was
saying, "Slow down."
2130
01:42:46,833 --> 01:42:50,833
He was not arguing with the,
with the intelligence.
2131
01:42:50,866 --> 01:42:52,666
What Powell was saying is,
2132
01:42:52,700 --> 01:42:56,166
"If you're going to do this,
don't do it without allies.
2133
01:42:56,200 --> 01:42:57,600
"Don't just rush in.
2134
01:42:57,633 --> 01:42:59,400
"You have to convince
the rest of the world
2135
01:42:59,433 --> 01:43:03,666
"that this has to be the next
step in the war on terror.
2136
01:43:03,700 --> 01:43:08,266
It's not the kind of thing
you go out and do by yourself."
2137
01:43:08,300 --> 01:43:10,366
But Powell's advice
was drowned out
2138
01:43:10,400 --> 01:43:12,433
by a chorus of hawks
and hardliners
2139
01:43:12,466 --> 01:43:13,800
who were certain
2140
01:43:13,833 --> 01:43:16,700
that Saddam's army
could be easily vanquished,
2141
01:43:16,733 --> 01:43:19,000
and the country
quickly turned over
2142
01:43:19,033 --> 01:43:22,433
to an elected Iraqi government.
2143
01:43:22,466 --> 01:43:25,433
My belief is, we will in fact
be greeted as liberators.
2144
01:43:25,466 --> 01:43:27,866
The read we get
on the people of Iraq
2145
01:43:27,900 --> 01:43:29,200
is, there's no question
2146
01:43:29,233 --> 01:43:31,142
but what, they want to get rid
of Saddam Hussein,
2147
01:43:31,166 --> 01:43:33,900
and they will welcome
as liberators the United States
2148
01:43:33,933 --> 01:43:34,866
when we come to do that.
2149
01:43:34,900 --> 01:43:36,933
So many people
around George Bush
2150
01:43:36,966 --> 01:43:39,133
were telling him,
"This is a cakewalk.
2151
01:43:39,166 --> 01:43:40,666
"We're going to go in,
2152
01:43:40,700 --> 01:43:42,740
"the people are going
to be happy we liberated them,
2153
01:43:42,766 --> 01:43:44,333
"democracy will flourish,
2154
01:43:44,366 --> 01:43:45,833
we'll be thanked."
2155
01:43:45,866 --> 01:43:49,266
So, I do think
that President Bush thought
2156
01:43:49,300 --> 01:43:53,600
he would be seen as a hero
and be out of there quickly.
2157
01:43:53,633 --> 01:43:55,766
Though Colin Powell
2158
01:43:55,800 --> 01:43:58,666
was isolated
inside the administration,
2159
01:43:58,700 --> 01:44:02,600
he did have some
powerful friends on the outside.
2160
01:44:02,633 --> 01:44:05,266
Ten days
after his meeting with Bush,
2161
01:44:05,300 --> 01:44:07,300
an op-ed appeared
in "The Wall Street Journal"
2162
01:44:07,333 --> 01:44:09,200
written by Brent Scowcroft,
2163
01:44:09,233 --> 01:44:11,433
former national security adviser
2164
01:44:11,466 --> 01:44:12,833
under George H.W. Bush
2165
01:44:12,866 --> 01:44:16,733
and a close family friend.
2166
01:44:16,766 --> 01:44:19,433
The editorial
was immediately interpreted
2167
01:44:19,466 --> 01:44:24,966
as a message from Bush's father:
"Don't attack Iraq."
2168
01:44:25,000 --> 01:44:28,566
There was a lot of discussion
when Bush became president
2169
01:44:28,600 --> 01:44:31,633
that his father would be
this sort of shadow figure,
2170
01:44:31,666 --> 01:44:32,733
and he never was.
2171
01:44:32,766 --> 01:44:35,766
According
to Bush's own recollections,
2172
01:44:35,800 --> 01:44:38,800
he really didn't ask his father
for that much advice.
2173
01:44:38,833 --> 01:44:40,800
Few people in the world
could have been
2174
01:44:40,833 --> 01:44:43,200
more beneficial than his father.
2175
01:44:43,233 --> 01:44:47,366
It must have caused some agony
on his father's part
2176
01:44:47,400 --> 01:44:50,633
when he saw his son
taking advice
2177
01:44:50,666 --> 01:44:54,833
that was leading him
in the wrong direction.
2178
01:44:54,866 --> 01:44:56,400
Bush had always been caught
2179
01:44:56,433 --> 01:44:58,533
between wanting
to please his father
2180
01:44:58,566 --> 01:45:01,333
and wanting to prove
his independence.
2181
01:45:01,366 --> 01:45:03,933
Now, he ignored
his father's advice,
2182
01:45:03,966 --> 01:45:07,566
and plowed ahead towards war.
2183
01:45:08,466 --> 01:45:09,900
If we know Saddam Hussein
2184
01:45:09,933 --> 01:45:12,933
has dangerous weapons today...
2185
01:45:12,966 --> 01:45:15,366
And we do...
2186
01:45:15,400 --> 01:45:17,333
does it make any sense
for the world to wait
2187
01:45:17,366 --> 01:45:19,900
to confront him
as he grows even stronger,
2188
01:45:19,933 --> 01:45:22,100
and develops
even more dangerous weapons?
2189
01:45:22,133 --> 01:45:26,733
He was showing
that he was his own man,
2190
01:45:26,766 --> 01:45:31,366
and any obstacle
was a test of resolve,
2191
01:45:31,400 --> 01:45:35,333
and to walk around it,
or to back off and reconsider,
2192
01:45:35,366 --> 01:45:38,166
would be a sign of weakness.
2193
01:45:39,566 --> 01:45:42,433
In October, Bush sought
congressional authorization
2194
01:45:42,466 --> 01:45:45,800
for military action
against Iraq.
2195
01:45:45,833 --> 01:45:50,033
Bush pushed a war resolution
on Congress
2196
01:45:50,066 --> 01:45:53,433
just before the mid-terms
in 2002,
2197
01:45:53,466 --> 01:45:57,700
in order to corner Democrats
and force them to say
2198
01:45:57,733 --> 01:46:01,266
either, you know, "I'm not
prepared to defend the country
2199
01:46:01,300 --> 01:46:05,333
"from chemical, biological,
and nuclear weapons from Iraq,
2200
01:46:05,366 --> 01:46:06,400
and I will lose,"
2201
01:46:06,433 --> 01:46:09,400
or "I am,"
and Bush will get his vote.
2202
01:46:09,433 --> 01:46:14,200
Rather than trying to really
create bipartisan support,
2203
01:46:14,233 --> 01:46:16,833
it was more like blackmail.
2204
01:46:16,866 --> 01:46:19,800
Congress overwhelmingly
voted in favor
2205
01:46:19,833 --> 01:46:24,133
of authorizing military action
against Iraq.
2206
01:46:24,166 --> 01:46:26,300
A month later, Republicans,
2207
01:46:26,333 --> 01:46:28,766
who had campaigned
on the need to invade Iraq,
2208
01:46:28,800 --> 01:46:30,533
swept to a convincing victory
2209
01:46:30,566 --> 01:46:33,233
in the mid-term
congressional elections.
2210
01:46:33,266 --> 01:46:37,033
Is the path now cleared for
a possible U.S. war with Iraq?
2211
01:46:37,066 --> 01:46:38,866
Today, many believe
that possibility for war
2212
01:46:38,900 --> 01:46:41,266
is significantly greater
2213
01:46:41,300 --> 01:46:43,866
than it was at this time
only yesterday.
2214
01:46:43,900 --> 01:46:45,166
The reason?
2215
01:46:45,200 --> 01:46:47,966
An American president
with new political momentum.
2216
01:46:49,266 --> 01:46:52,866
Clearly, Bush now had
the country behind him.
2217
01:46:52,900 --> 01:46:54,900
But the rest of the world
remained skeptical
2218
01:46:54,933 --> 01:46:58,933
that all options short of war
had been exhausted.
2219
01:46:58,966 --> 01:47:02,200
In November, the United Nations
2220
01:47:02,233 --> 01:47:05,866
passed Resolution 1441,
2221
01:47:05,900 --> 01:47:08,333
giving Saddam more time
2222
01:47:08,366 --> 01:47:10,766
by allowing weapons inspectors
back into the country.
2223
01:47:10,800 --> 01:47:12,800
A few months later,
2224
01:47:12,833 --> 01:47:15,566
Tony Blair,
the British prime minister,
2225
01:47:15,600 --> 01:47:19,733
begged the president to return
to the U.N. Security Council
2226
01:47:19,766 --> 01:47:21,600
to seek a resolution
2227
01:47:21,633 --> 01:47:25,166
explicitly authorizing
the invasion.
2228
01:47:25,200 --> 01:47:28,300
Powell strongly agreed
with Blair.
2229
01:47:28,333 --> 01:47:29,742
There were those
in the administration
2230
01:47:29,766 --> 01:47:31,509
who did not believe
in international institutions
2231
01:47:31,533 --> 01:47:32,566
to begin with,
2232
01:47:32,600 --> 01:47:34,000
so there was skepticism
2233
01:47:34,033 --> 01:47:36,466
about, about whether
it was even worth trying it,
2234
01:47:36,500 --> 01:47:39,566
but Powell made the case,
"You have to go to the U.N.
2235
01:47:39,600 --> 01:47:42,233
to be seen
to have at least tried."
2236
01:47:42,266 --> 01:47:44,300
And if they succeeded,
2237
01:47:44,333 --> 01:47:46,133
then the world
would come back and say,
2238
01:47:46,166 --> 01:47:48,666
"Oh, you were right."
2239
01:47:48,700 --> 01:47:49,900
Reluctantly,
2240
01:47:49,933 --> 01:47:53,033
Bush accepted
Blair and Powell's advice,
2241
01:47:53,066 --> 01:47:57,333
and ordered Powell himself
to make the case to the U.N.
2242
01:47:57,366 --> 01:48:00,600
Here was not Dick Cheney,
2243
01:48:00,633 --> 01:48:01,900
here was not President Bush.
2244
01:48:01,933 --> 01:48:04,366
Here was probably
the most respected member
2245
01:48:04,400 --> 01:48:07,366
of the foreign policy
establishment.
2246
01:48:10,700 --> 01:48:12,733
The speech before
the Security Council
2247
01:48:12,766 --> 01:48:14,866
would be one
of the most scrutinized
2248
01:48:14,900 --> 01:48:17,566
in the history of the body.
2249
01:48:17,600 --> 01:48:21,200
Powell wanted it to be airtight,
all but discarding
2250
01:48:21,233 --> 01:48:24,266
an early draft provided
by the vice president's office.
2251
01:48:24,300 --> 01:48:26,333
We argued over lots of things
in it.
2252
01:48:26,366 --> 01:48:28,766
We took out a lot,
2253
01:48:28,800 --> 01:48:30,209
almost everything
that we'd been given.
2254
01:48:30,233 --> 01:48:32,600
We went through it
from the ground up,
2255
01:48:32,633 --> 01:48:34,500
and painstakingly
put together a script
2256
01:48:34,533 --> 01:48:37,400
that Colin Powell
felt, felt comfortable with.
2257
01:48:39,000 --> 01:48:42,433
On February 5, President Bush
watched from the White House
2258
01:48:42,466 --> 01:48:45,633
as Colin Powell
made one final appeal
2259
01:48:45,666 --> 01:48:48,600
for international support.
2260
01:48:48,633 --> 01:48:50,933
Despite his extensive vetting,
2261
01:48:50,966 --> 01:48:54,566
Powell repeated several claims
that were exaggerated or untrue.
2262
01:48:54,600 --> 01:48:56,366
We know that Iraq has
2263
01:48:56,400 --> 01:49:00,833
at least seven of these mobile
biological agent factories.
2264
01:49:00,866 --> 01:49:05,266
Saddam Hussein is determined to
get his hands on a nuclear bomb.
2265
01:49:05,300 --> 01:49:07,133
He is so determined
2266
01:49:07,166 --> 01:49:09,500
that he has made repeated
covert attempts
2267
01:49:09,533 --> 01:49:13,600
to acquire high-specification
aluminum tubes.
2268
01:49:13,633 --> 01:49:15,566
In the end, Powell failed
2269
01:49:15,600 --> 01:49:18,100
to persuade the holdouts
on the Security Council:
2270
01:49:18,133 --> 01:49:20,700
China, Russia, and France.
2271
01:49:20,733 --> 01:49:25,266
A week later,
large-scale protests broke out
2272
01:49:25,300 --> 01:49:26,866
in cities around the world,
2273
01:49:26,900 --> 01:49:29,433
calling for the United States
to stand down.
2274
01:49:29,466 --> 01:49:31,800
But for Bush,
2275
01:49:31,833 --> 01:49:34,366
the die had been cast.
2276
01:49:36,533 --> 01:49:40,866
He had been influenced by
Cheney and others to believe
2277
01:49:40,900 --> 01:49:45,666
that Iraq was the primary threat
facing the country.
2278
01:49:45,700 --> 01:49:46,933
He was wrong,
2279
01:49:46,966 --> 01:49:51,366
but it's what he believed.
2280
01:49:51,400 --> 01:49:54,533
Most of the case
for the Iraq War
2281
01:49:54,566 --> 01:49:57,333
rested on the assumption
that Saddam Hussein
2282
01:49:57,366 --> 01:49:58,666
had weapons of mass destruction.
2283
01:49:58,700 --> 01:50:01,300
If we had known otherwise,
2284
01:50:01,333 --> 01:50:03,966
it would've been insane
to go to war.
2285
01:50:04,000 --> 01:50:08,700
You don't go to war
based on a lie.
2286
01:50:11,333 --> 01:50:12,733
I said to him, you know,
2287
01:50:12,766 --> 01:50:15,166
"You must be nervous
about what follows."
2288
01:50:15,200 --> 01:50:18,166
And he said, "Actually,
I'm very comfortable.
2289
01:50:18,200 --> 01:50:19,766
"You know,
I'm, I'm not a regretter.
2290
01:50:19,800 --> 01:50:21,300
"You know,
I've made that decision.
2291
01:50:21,333 --> 01:50:23,900
"You know, we'll let
the chips fall where they may,
2292
01:50:23,933 --> 01:50:25,133
and on to the next thing."
2293
01:50:33,533 --> 01:50:35,266
My fellow citizens.
2294
01:50:35,300 --> 01:50:38,633
At this hour,
American and coalition forces
2295
01:50:38,666 --> 01:50:40,276
are in the early stages
of military operations
2296
01:50:40,300 --> 01:50:44,400
to disarm Iraq,
to free its people,
2297
01:50:44,433 --> 01:50:46,200
and to defend the world
from grave danger.
2298
01:50:46,233 --> 01:50:50,066
On my orders,
coalition forces have begun
2299
01:50:50,100 --> 01:50:53,966
striking selected targets
of military importance
2300
01:50:54,000 --> 01:50:56,833
to undermine Saddam Hussein's
ability to wage war.
2301
01:50:56,866 --> 01:51:03,500
May God bless our country,
and all who defend her.
2302
01:51:06,200 --> 01:51:10,633
♪ ♪
2303
01:51:19,466 --> 01:51:26,633
♪ ♪
2304
01:51:26,666 --> 01:51:29,333
"American Experience:
George W. Bush"
2305
01:51:29,366 --> 01:51:31,233
is available on DVD.
2306
01:51:31,266 --> 01:51:36,066
To order, visit ShopPBS
or call 1-800-PLAY-PBS.
2307
01:51:36,100 --> 01:51:38,166
"American Experience"
is also available
2308
01:51:38,200 --> 01:51:42,500
with PBS Passport
and on Amazon Prime Video.
2309
01:51:42,533 --> 01:51:47,700
♪ ♪
2310
01:51:55,233 --> 01:51:57,166
♪ ♪
168910
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