"I Can Hear You!"

Three days after the horrific attack on the World Trade Center Towers, President Bush visited the site to speak to the first responders, troops, and citizens of our country. It was a perilous time in our nation's history, no one was sure who had attacked the United States, and no one knew if there were more attacks coming. All domestic and international flights were still cancelled, the military was on high alert, and our entire nation was on edge. 

President Bush had already addressed the nation from the Barksdale Air Force Base on 9/11 as well as from the Oval Office later that same evening, but this time, standing on the heap of debri that was the World Trade Center Towers, he seemed to connect directly with the people in a way that his previous speeches had failed to accomplish. Standing on a pile of rubble, arm around one of New York City's finest, he started speaking to the crowd through a bullhorn. It quickly became apparent that the volume of the bullhorn was not loud enough for everyone to hear but that is where President Bush seized the moment to utter his timeless words that comforted, and rallied the nation. In my opinion, this is one of the top five speeches given by anyone in my lifetime. 

We can disagree about the merits of President Bush's policies and even his response to the 9/11 attacks, but I think we can all agree that on that day, September 14th, he communicated with the people of our country in a way that few modern leaders have ever done, assuring the citizens of the United States that their voices were being heard and that soon, the world would also hear from them.