close.

He got very close.

But I leaned over and whispered to him, a second plane hit the second tower.

America is under attack.

So there were two facts.

A second plane hit the second tower.

The editorial comment is, America is under attack.

So as you're heading to Air Force One, you heard about the

The

principal of the school, the president, and I were standing together when that news was delivered to all of us by Deb Lauer from the National Security staff.

The president then spoke to the principal of the school and said he was ready to go into the classroom.

When Deb Lauer came up and said, it appears that it wasn't a commercial, it wasn't a small twin-engine plane, it was a commercial jetliner.

And that caused me to reflect on what really was happening.

I remember the president saying, that he would be surprised if that's what was happening, but he was ready to go into the classroom.

They went into the classroom, and he knew the following.

Base

It must have been moments of fear, but also resolve.

I focused on servicing the president and making sure that he had what he needed to make tough decisions.

When we left Sarasota, first of all, there was still kind of a fog around with other planes in the air, what's going on.

And the president wanted to go back to Washington, D.C.

I got with the pilot of Air Force One, Mark Tillman, and...

He did not want to go back to Washington D.C. until he knew that Andrews Air Force Base would be safe to land in.

So the president kept saying, we're going back to Washington, D.C., and I kept saying, I don't think you want to make that decision right now.

And then this crucible for him and for the country unfolds.

Tell us what you remember that morning.

First of all, the morning dawned.

It was a perfect day.

There was not a cloud in the sky in the lower 48.

And it was a perfect day.

Chiefs of staff get up early in the morning.

The president was a pretty good early bird.

remember your exact

As you think back on that moment and what that image means today, what do you think? I wanted to be the chief of

staff to the president that nobody knew his name.

I really do feel obligated to make sure that we don't forget what happened.

Because it was so tragic.

It was so tragic beyond comprehension to think.

The most haunting thing for me is people jumping out of the towers.

And my hometown of Holbrook, Massachusetts, had a fellow that was working at the World Trade Center.

Capture what you had hoped for and what was actual, what actually happened.

What are your reflections today of, of that moment?

That moment, we, we're, had gone to Sarasota the evening before, and I woke up early in the morning.

The chief s- I was chief of staff to the president.

I have an early day every day, getting ready for the day, and the president got up.

He was excited.

It was a perfect day in America.

There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and he had invited a reporter, Stretch Kyle, to go for a run with him on the golf course at the Sarasota Country Club.

Mm.

What was your reaction when you got the news that America was under attack?

It was traumatic that I anticipated when I heard about the first plane going into the World Trade Center.

Actually, when I heard about planes being hijacked, I wondered whether or not this was going to be the real deal for the whole day.

So I paid attention to the information that was coming into the world.

We were in a school in Sarasota, Florida, and the intelligence community was not there, but the National Security Council had staff that was there.

And she came up to me and said, at first, it appears a small twin-engine prop plane crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center.

Then it became, oh, my God, it was a commercial jetliner.

event that's going to take place in New York City this week, but rather going to the Pentagon in order to deliver a speech?

In light of the controversy surrounding the Supreme Court and its decision and suggestions that may have been, quote, partisan, will President Bush consult in advance with the Democratic congressional leadership before making any new appointments to the Supreme Court?

I can't speak to the specifics on the consultation, but if you look at how President Bush, President-elect Bush has been conducting his business so far, he's been reaching out to the Democrats in Congress to talk to them about how he plans to put together an administration and the agenda that he looks to bring to Congress to consider.

First of all, education reform.

the needs for tax cuts social security reform medicare reform with prescription drug benefits so he's been talking to democratic leaders about those issues i think that he will talk to about all of the issues that are important to america but he will be the president of the united states and he will exercise all of the responsibility of that office He will not share that responsibility in any inappropriate way with Congress.

He will meet his constitutional responsibility while respecting the constitutional responsibility that Congress has, and the Senate in particular, with regard to confirming nominees to Cabinet positions or to the Supreme

Will you go along with that strategy? Do marriage penalty, do the estate tax, and then hold off doing an across-the-board tax cut until later in the year?

We are concerned that our economy is fragile, and we want to make sure that if we turn into a negative situation in our economy, that it's not a very low trough, that we can get to the bottom quickly and come back up, and that the bottom isn't very deep.

We think that a tax cut across the board, tax cuts are the best way to help bridge problems between a healthy economy and a healthy economy, and we want to make sure that bridge works.