Obama and Bush lead 9/11 observance

Obama and Bush lead 9/11 observance


From left: Laura Bush, George W. Bush, Michelle Obama and President Obama observe a moment of silence at the National September 11 Memorial. | AP Photo
President Obama and former President George W. Bush pay tribute to the victims of Sept. 11. | AP Photo Close
By JENNIFER EPSTEIN | 9/11/11 9:57 AM EDT Updated: 9/11/11 2:04 PM EDT

Under a sky as clear as the one that filled with flames, smoke and ash the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, tens of thousands of people gathered at the World Trade Center site in lower Manhattan Sunday morning to remember those who died in the terrorist attacks that day and to reflect on the tumultuous decade that followed.

Ten years after two airplanes flying low over New York struck the twin towers, killing 2,753 people, President Barack Obama was joined by his predecessor, former President George W. Bush, in paying tribute to the victims, their loved ones and a nation changed by force, and by will. Counting the casualties from a third plane that crashed into the Pentagon and a fourth plane crashed by hijackers into a field in Shanksville, Pa., 2,977 people died on 9/11.



It was the first time Obama and Bush have appeared together at Ground Zero, site of the most deadly of the attacks that defined Bush’s presidency while greatly shaping Obama’s - and it was their first meeting since January, 2010.

The last decade has brought with it two wars and continuing concerns about future attacks, underscored by the meeting of Obama’s counterterrorism team that took place in Washington this morning to discuss potential threats as the anniversary is marked today in the United States and abroad.

Obama left the White House at 6:15 a.m. and arrived in New York a little over an hour later. By noon he was in Shanksville, where he and First Lady Michelle Obama laid a wreath at the memorial wall there, and as they walked to greet family members and dignitaries at the site, the crowd chanted “U.S.A, U.S.A., U.S.A.”

Obama will visit the Pentagon this afternoon, and at 7:30 p.m., he will go to the Kennedy Center for the “Concert for Hope,” where the president will make his only public remarks of the day.

At 8:46 a.m., the precise time the first plane struck, bells tolled and the crowd paused in silence. Obama read Psalm 46 — “the Lord of hosts is with us” — before family members of those who died took the stage in pairs to read the names of the departed. The scripture he chose to read was “particularly appropriate” because it talks about persevering through hardships and emerging stronger, deputy White House press secretary Josh Earnest said afterwards during a briefing aboard Air Force One.

At 9:03, there was more silence, marking the moment when a plane hit the South Tower. Bush read a letter that Abraham Lincoln wrote in 1864 to Lydia Bixby, a woman who lost her five sons in the Civil War.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, his predecessor Rudy Giuliani and Govs. Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.) and Chris Christie (R-N.J.) all spoke at the ceremony, as did the family members of several people who died in the attacks.

Paul Simon, James Taylor and Yo-Yo Ma were among the performers.

Before the ceremony, Obama, Bush and their wives ran their hands over the names of the dead etched on bronze panels that are part of the memorial that has been built where the World Trade Center once stood. For the first time, tens of thousands of gallons of water flowed into the memorial, two reflecting pools built in the footprints of the towers.

Family and friends of the dead streamed in to place flowers and small American flags at the names of those who were lost. Some traced their loved ones’ names on sheets of white paper, stark against the dark surface.

The president and former president then stood silently as New York first responders unfurled an American flag damaged in the attacks. A youth chorus sang “The Star Spangled Banner.” The flag was folded as bagpipers played. Former First Lady Laura Bush appeared the most affected, wiping her nose and eyes with tissues throughout the her visit to the World Trade Center site.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0911/63177.html#ixzz1XfgURggp