was brutalized by a barbaric regime called the Taliban. Because we acted,
Afghanistan is an ally in the war on terror. Because we acted, many young
girls go to school for the first time. Because we acted, America and the
world are safer. (G. W. Bush, Farmington, New Mexico Rally, August 26,
2004)
But the 2004 election saw more than strength in Bush. It is one thing to fulminate
and quite another to have something to fulminate about. 9/11 not only changed geo-
political realities for the American people but it gave George Bush his own unique story.
With three years of practice under his belt, the 2004 campaign found him pushing his
narrative to its limits:
I stood in the ruins of the Twin Towers on September the 14th, 2001. It's a
day I'll never forget. There were workers in hard hats yelling at me at the
top of their lungs, "Whatever it takes." I remember seeing a man who had
been in the rubble, looking for his buddy. He grabbed me by the arm, and
he said, "Do not let me down." Ever since that day, I wake up trying to do
my best to protect this country. I will never relent in defending America,
whatever it takes. (G. W. Bush, Rally in Chanhassen, Minnesota, October
10, 2004)
The September 11
th
Narrative possessed all the qualities a useful story should
have–good vs. evil, yesterday vs. tomorrow, might vs. fecklessness–and it lent itself to
the starkly simple motifs Mr. Bush prefers. Not surprisingly, then, he told his story
19
Convention