What Do You Mean ‘We’?

IN mid March, George W. Bush traveled to Long Island to help dedicate a new memorial to the 281 people from Nassau County who died in the September 11 terrorist attacks. The president took part in a ground-breaking ceremony, and while he didn’t address the crowd, he did speak privately with each of the victims’ family members who came to the event. But first, he had to direct a little traffic.

A man named Jimmy Boyle, a retired New York firefighter whose 37-year-old son Michael, also a firefighter, died in the North Tower of the World Trade Center, was trying to get to the event but found himself stuck in traffic and the web of security that surrounds presidential appearances. Boyle was with his wife, one of his sons, and a staffer for his friend and congressman, Peter King (R., N.Y.). He drove up to one checkpoint and was told by a guard to go to another point nearby. He tried that, and was sent to another checkpoint, and then to another. The runaround continued until King’s aide called his boss, who had flown to New York with Bush on Air Force One.

About the Author

Byron York

Byron York is a former White House correspondent for National Review.

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George W. Bush

IN mid March, George W. Bush traveled to Long Island to help dedicate a new memorial to the 281 people from Nassau County who died in the September 11 terrorist attacks. The president took part in a ground-breaking ceremony, and while he didn’t address the crowd, he did speak privately with each of the victims’ family members who came to the event. But first, he had to direct a little traffic.

A man named Jimmy Boyle, a retired New York firefighter whose 37-year-old son Michael, also a firefighter, died in the North Tower of the World Trade Center, was trying to get to the event but found himself stuck in traffic and the web of security that surrounds presidential appearances. Boyle was with his wife, one of his sons, and a staffer for his friend and congressman, Peter King (R., N.Y.). He drove up to one checkpoint and was told by a guard to go to another point nearby. He tried that, and was sent to another checkpoint, and then to another. The runaround continued until King’s aide called his boss, who had flown to New York with Bush on Air Force One.