Bush's 9/11 trifecta: a lucky bet, or was the fix in again?

While the White House continues to stonewall efforts by Congress to get at the facts behind the security breakdown that resulted in the September 11, 2001, destruction of New York's World Trade Center...it is perhaps fitting to look back at this article by Brad Carlton, originally published on June 12, 2002 in the Baltimore Chronicle.

Bush, in the weeks before September 11, pledged to honor the sanctity of the Social Security lockbox except in the event of recession, war, or a national emergency. But after "everything changed" on 9/11, he reportedly gloated to his budget director, Mitch Daniels, "Lucky me--I hit the trifecta!" At the time, this comment (a variation of which is being recycled for laughs at current GOP fundraisers) seemed merely offensive. But in light of revelations that Bush's August 6 briefing memo was titled "Bin Laden Determined to Strike U.S.," Bush's "luck" and weird prescience are worth more than passing scrutiny.