Cal Thomas - Why Truth Matters

Washington Times : "Last week, Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry returned to September 11, 2001. He criticized President Bush for remaining in an elementary school classroom 7 minutes after the president had been told a plane had struck the second World Trade Center tower. Mr. Kerry said, had he been president at the time, 'I would have told those kids very politely and nicely that the president of the United States had something that he needed to attend to.'

Mr. Kerry's actual decisionmaking ability, however, was exposed by Mr. Kerry himself July 8 during an appearance on CNN's 'Larry King Live.' Asked where he was that fateful morning, he said he was in a meeting with Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle and Sens. Barbara Boxer and Harry Reid. 'We watched the second plane come in to the building,' Mr. Kerry said. 'And we shortly thereafter sat down at the table and then we just realized nobody could think, and then boom, right behind us, we saw the cloud of explosion at the Pentagon.'

The second plane hit the World Trade Center at 9:03 a.m., and American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m. According to Kerry, he and his fellow senators sat frozen and indecisive for 34 minutes. Mr. Kerry is dismissive of the president's explanation he did not wish to seem panicked and so remained seated for 7 minutes (while aides were busily trying to acquire more information), yet Mr. Kerry admits to not knowing what to do for 34 minutes.

Why does this matter? It wouldn't if Mr. Kerry had not brought it up and had he not made a recent statement about his own actions (or in this case inaction) on that terrible day. If one preaches a certain line, one should be expected to practice it."