Goat story

Gore Vidal is the only one, to my knowledge, to point out the irony in the fact that W was listening to a story about a goat while jets plowed into the World Trade Center. The word "tragic" originally meant "goat story."

According to this report by Roger Ebert, Michael Moore's new film Fahrenheit 911 includes full camera footage (originally posted to the net) of Bush in that second-grade classroom, looking as though he's out of his level, for a full seven minutes after the second tragedy, until an aide tells him to leave. Since his location was public knowledge, he placed those children at risk just by sharing a room with them while the country was under attack.

But there's one big problem with Ebert's report -- this paragraph:

The Moore version: He was informed of the first attack, went into the room anyway, was informed of the second attack, and remained with the students until a staff member suggested that he leave.

No no no no. Not "the Moore version." That phrasing implies that we must accept all the real and imaginary baggage Moore carries before we accept what the videotape and other evidence demonstrates. Such wording opens the way for a classic "attack the messenger" response. Moore has nothing to do with it: Bush really did go into the room after the first attack, and stayed there learning fun new goat facts while the second tower burned.