Who won Bush vs. Trump

[Reaganfan]

I was 13 years old when 9/11 and the aftermath occurred. Anybody who was there knows that the country was so shocked, so rallied to the President, that nothing Donald Trump said makes any sense. Bush was a new President faced with the biggest crisis since Pearl Harbor and he delivered. You saw it in his historic making approval ratings which held above 70% into late 2003. You saw it with the country rallying to his side.

Never...never did anyone come out on 9/12/2001 and say "It's Bush's fault". In fact, while neither President was really blamed, it became more of an off-color discussion about the foreign policy failures of Bill Clinton than George W. Bush. Remember the distasteful humor "Clinton was busy with Monica while OBL was planning 9/11". The attacks were planned for 5 1/2 years. Bush was only President seven months of them. The hijackers were in his country flight training before Election 2000.

So when Trump uses that 9/11 happened on Bush's watch thing, he's stepping into territory even liberals didn't go into.

[Reaganfan]

Trump's response is right when you take into account that Jeb's argument is "my brother kept us safe." Sorry, but when the biggest attack on the US mainland occurs under the watch of your brother, it's pretty difficult to claim that he kept anyone safe. Doesn't mean Dubya is (primarily) responsible for 9/11 just that he didn't exactly do a particularly good job on that front.

It was always an after-9/11 safeness. During the 2004 campaign it was that Bush is "keeping us safe". To be honest, no attacks happened on Bush's watch following 9/11.

[Reaganfan]

Conventional wisdom would have Bush as a winner but once you take into account past debates and body language, I would give this one narrowly to Trump.

I do have to admit I laughed when Bush said, "This is the same guy who gets his foreign policy experience from 'the shows'". That was a good line.

[Reaganfan]

I was 13 years old when 9/11 and the aftermath occurred. Anybody who was there knows that the country was so shocked, so rallied to the President, that nothing Donald Trump said makes any sense. Bush was a new President faced with the biggest crisis since Pearl Harbor and he delivered. You saw it in his historic making approval ratings which held above 70% into late 2003. You saw it with the country rallying to his side.

Never...never did anyone come out on 9/12/2001 and say "It's Bush's fault". In fact, while neither President was really blamed, it became more of an off-color discussion about the foreign policy failures of Bill Clinton than George W. Bush. Remember the distasteful humor "Clinton was busy with Monica while OBL was planning 9/11". The attacks were planned for 5 1/2 years. Bush was only President seven months of them. The hijackers were in his country flight training before Election 2000.

So when Trump uses that 9/11 happened on Bush's watch thing, he's stepping into territory even liberals didn't go into.

Most of this is correct, however OBL only got his 9/11 masterplan idea in late 1999, after the Egypt Air pilot had crashed a civilian airplane into the Atlantic Ocean. Apparently, Bin Laden's closest allies have told others that in the aftermath of the crash he said "Why didn't he crash the plane into a building instead?" So the attack was probably planned for about 22 months, not for almost 6 years.

That wasn't the conclusion of the 9/11 commission report. The official beginnings of the plot began in 1996 and was given the go-ahead in late 1998.

The point is, the reaction in America was very favorable politically speaking to Bush and Republicans, and quite negative for Clinton.

See Hillary Clinton get booed just days after the attacks as an example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xa6BZXnGOQ&feature=youtu.be&t=10

Giuliani and audience applauding Bush on Letterman two months after 9/11
https://youtu.be/ZTDyIKSeVT4?t=278

Bush's enormous reception at 2002 Salt Lake Olympics
https://youtu.be/id_OHVExHHA?t=235

[Reaganfan]

Trump's response is right when you take into account that Jeb's argument is "my brother kept us safe." Sorry, but when the biggest attack on the US mainland occurs under the watch of your brother, it's pretty difficult to claim that he kept anyone safe. Doesn't mean Dubya is (primarily) responsible for 9/11 just that he didn't exactly do a particularly good job on that front.

He's obviously referring to his post-9/11 actions, and it's perfectly reasonable to suggest Bush's response prevented other terrorist attacks on our soil.  To blame Bush for 9/11 or to suggest his ability to keep us safe should be judged more negatively because 9/11 happened while he had very recently taken office is crazy.

It's not just a crazy assumption but it contradicts actual recent U.S. History.