School Daze

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George W. Bush is told about the second plane
striking the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

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Those who are old enough to remember Sept. 11, 2001, undoubtedly recall the image of George W. Bush sitting in a Florida classroom while a group of first graders read "The Pet Goat."

I'm sure Bush will remember that day as long as he lives.

But it didn't seem to occur to him when he and his wife made a surprise visit to John J. Pershing Elementary School here in Dallas.

The Bushes recently moved in to their new home in an affluent section of Dallas and visited the school yesterday. According to WFAA, the local ABC affiliate, the ex-president spent more than an hour at the school and visited every classroom.

That image from 2001 was the first thing I thought of when I saw the picture of George and Laura Bush sitting in a Pershing classroom yesterday.

But it really got weird when I realized that today is the 16th anniversary of the first terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.

That first attack, back on Feb. 26, 1993, involved the detonation of a car bomb, which was intended to knock the North Tower into the South Tower, bringing both towers down and killing thousands of people. It failed to accomplish that goal, but half a dozen people were killed and more than a thousand were injured.

In 1993, Bill Clinton had been president for a little more than a month. Bush had not yet been elected governor of Texas. Eight years later, Bush was president and the terrorists tried again — and succeeded, perhaps beyond their wildest dreams.

Now, here we are, another eight years have gone by and another new president is in office. It makes me wonder what sort of unpleasant surprise the terrorists may have in store for Barack Obama.