One of the events that seems to be getting a lot of mentions at the RNC is Bush’s visit to Ground Zero. I’ll admit that Bush’s “I can hear you” ad-lib was pretty damn good, but as William Saletan points out in Slate, it’s hardly heroic :

Now the Republican National Convention is showcasing Bush’s own heroic moment. As John McCain put it last night: “I knew my confidence was well placed when I watched him stand on the rubble of the World Trade Center with his arm around a hero of September 11 and, in our moment of mourning and anger, strengthen our unity and our resolve by promising to right this terrible wrong and to stand up and fight for the values we hold dear.”

Pardon me for asking, but where exactly is the heroism in this story?
. . .
Bush partisans point out that he did do things in the 9/11 aftermath. In his convention address last night, former New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik recalled Bush’s famous visit to New York, “inspiring a nation as he stood on hallowed ground, supporting the first responders.”

OK, so Bush stood there. He “supported,” in a Clintonesque sense, the people who were doing something.

The Clinton reference is funny, since in all the effort to rewrite history and make it seem as if Bush rushed to New York to help out, everyone has forgotten that Bill got there first :

Over now familiar refrains of “that’s unreal,” and “I can’t believe it,” and pregnant moans of “wow,” a spectacle of a different kind captured unblinking New Yorkers yesterday afternoon. Out of Manhattan’s Union Square came a welcome and commanding sight: former President Bill Clinton, surrounded by a growing mass of people.
. . .
“We need to just bolster people’s spirits right now, and support the president and the government,” he said between handshakes. “They’re going to need some time with this.”

Clinton, who was in Australia when New York and Washington, D.C., were attacked, said he had spent the previous 24 hours flying to New York on an Air Force plane. He was kept informed of developments by his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.).
. . .
Many said Clinton’s short appearance both magnified and made up for what they called President George W. Bush’s shortcomings during this crisis. The White House announced that the president would visit New York, for the first time, today.

“So far he has not been a comforting presence,” said Emily Vacchiano, 26, who lives in SoHo. “He has not conveyed compassion or strength. Just the sight of him [Clinton] cheered everyone up today.”

Michael Siller, 38, also of Manhattan said, “I didn’t vote for Clinton but at least I always felt he was in charge. That feeling has been missing here.”

Not that I’m trying to make the point that Clinton’s rushing to New York was an act of heroism or anything, but I think it’s important to point out that it was pretty common to hear “Where the hell is the President?” in the days immediately following 9/11.

Hell, the only reason 90% of Americans have even heard of Rudy Giuliani is because he was showing the leadership that the President lacked on that day. While Bush flying all over the country from one undisclosed location to another, Rudy was the one in front of the cameras trying to calm a frightened nation. Contrasted with the tough and somber statements that Guiliani made periodically, Bush’s brief remarks were barely memorable.

One could make the argument that Bush was too busy behind the scenes trying to figure out what happened and how to coordinate a response, but that doesn’t excuse the mythmaking that has accompanied his visit to Ground Zero. Based on the way people have been slobbering over this, you’d think the bullhorn he spoke through was the holy grail. Just because he made a photo-op at a mass grave and wooed the crowd doesn’t make up for the weakness of Bush’s efforts to soothe an emotionally wounded nation immediately after the attacks.