I tried it again now, and the link does NOT require a password sign-up.
I won't burden you with the effort to click on the link again :-) Here is the first couple of paragraphs from the article. You'll get the idea.
Bush Gave No Sign of Worry In August 2001
By Dana Milbank and Mike Allen
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, April 11, 2004; Page A01
CRAWFORD, Tex., April 10 -- President Bush was in an expansive mood on Aug. 7, 2001, when he ran into reporters while playing golf at the Ridgewood Country Club in Waco, Tex.
The day before, the president had received an intelligence briefing -- the contents of which were declassified by the White House Saturday night -- warning "Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US." But Bush seemed carefree as he spoke about the books he was reading, the work he was doing on his nearby ranch, his love of hot-weather jogging, his golf game and his 55th birthday.
"No mulligans, except on the first tee," he said to laughter. "That's just to loosen up. You see, most people get to hit practice balls, but as you know, I'm walking out here, I'm fixing to go hit. Tight back, older guy -- I hit the speed limit on July 6th."
... if top officials were at battle stations, there was no sign of it on the surface. Bush spent most of August 2001 on his ranch here. His staff said at the time that by far the biggest issue on his agenda was his decision on federal funding of stem cell research, followed by education, immigration and the Social Security "lockbox."
In retrospect, Bush's schedule for August 2001 seems quaint, the issues relatively small. On the first of the month, Bush announced a tentative agreement on an HMO patients' "Bill of Rights." The next day, he met with lawmakers about education. On Aug. 4, the issue was Medicaid; on Aug. 8, Bush helped to build a Habitat for Humanity home. Aug. 13 found him celebrating agricultural legislation, and the next day put him at a YMCA picnic. The rest of the month brought him to a fundraiser in New Mexico, a Harley-Davidson plant, a Target store, a Little League championship and a steelworkers' picnic. |
