Letter: Movie reveals president to be dazed, confused

Monday, July 19, 2004 | 9:09 a.m.

I felt I should see the documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11." I was prepared for the one-sided, anti-Bush theme of the film and went into the theater expecting an over-the-top attack on the president. What I didn't expect was to see George Bush as a weak, self-serving individual whose disrespect for ordinary Americans knows no bounds.

Anyone who sees the tape of President Bush's reaction to the news of the attacks on the World Trade Center will have no trouble distinguishing him from Rudolph Giuliani. The sight of him sitting in a classroom dazed and confused, using a reading of the children's book, "My Pet Goat," as a diversion from a terrorist attack is something I will not forget.

No one would want to be in a foxhole with the man on that tape. The recent television commercials questioning the ability of John Kerry to lead courageously in a similar situation are ludicrous in the face of the president's behavior during the attacks. How can George Bush allow the honor of men who have fought, as did Kerry, to be questioned when his own military record is dubious at best?

If Americans can blindly ignore the less-than-honorable attributes displayed by the president in this film, then we should all be prepared for him to read to us from his imminent book, "My Pet Sheep."

PHIL VENTURA