Kerik added, “The only thing I can think of is more rescue dogs, you know, dogs specifically trained to search for people buried in avalanches and structure collapses. We simply don’t have very many. We’ve had offers of help but with the airports shut down…” He shrugged in helplessness.
“I intend to get them up as soon as possible. This is not something that can last. I will be talking to the FAA about that on my way back to Washington,” I told them.
“You really fired the heads of the FAA, the FBI, and the CIA?” asked an incredulous Giuliani.
It had been all over the news yesterday. All three organizations, as well as the White House, had issued press releases that were brief — ‘So-and-so resigned today at the request of Acting President Buckman. A-different-so-and-so was named temporary director.’ All three were immediately run down and had microphones and cameras stuck in their faces. Louis Freeh had nothing to say; Jane Garvey was loudly irate and had protested her innocence; Paul Wolfowitz informed the world that I was the worst thing that had happened to American democracy since the British burned Washington in the War of 1812.
I nodded at Giuliani. “Yes I did. They may not have been personally to blame, but their organizations dropped the ball, and heads need to roll. Congress has already told me that they intend major hearings on this disaster, and I told them I intend to cooperate. Here’s something else I want you two to think about, the both of you. What do we need to do to improve our response, not just here, but everywhere else, other cities? What can we learn from this? When this is at a point where you can sit down and think, put your smartest people on that. I can just about guarantee that is going to make national news, too.”
First stop was Ground Zero, towering piles of rubble where the tallest buildings in New York had been. I was basically speechless. It’s one thing to see it on television, but the reality was a smack in the face, and the smell, that I was never going to lose. There were television cameras around, and I know I said something appropriate, but I can’t remember for the life of me what it was. I needed to watch it on the news later to find out.
After that we went to the command center, which was a beehive of people, many of whom were filthy and tired, all of whom were talking into phones and trying to get something done. That was where I found John Boehner and Harry Reid, and they looked as drained as the others. I shook their hands and they followed me as I trailed after the Mayor and the Police Commissioner into a conference room. A few other people followed me in, including the Fire Commissioner and the head of the New York City Office of Emergency Management, their version of FEMA. Giuliani had things under control, but the problem was massive, and most of the people there had friends who were inside the buildings when they went down. Loss of life, especially among the Fire Department, was enormous.
I don’t know if it was worse than my first time or better. The total death toll was being estimated simply in the thousands. Impromptu memorials were sprouting up all over, as were walls with people hanging pictures of relatives and requests for information on them. It was incredibly chaotic. In some cases people were being reported as missing who never made it to work that day, or nobody had taken down the picture after they got home. They were beginning to get a handle on it, by setting up a clearinghouse for names, but it was slow going. Some of the financial firms which had been destroyed would need to consult emergency backup records in other locations.
I knew it would happen and that there had been nothing I could have done that would stop it, but it was just incredibly depressing regardless. John and Harry didn’t say anything during the meeting, but several others commented that they had been quite helpful in reassuring people that resources would be made available, and occasionally suggesting ideas for that. I thanked them both.
Eventually things ran down, and I asked everybody to leave the room but Harry and John. They both nodded, and after everybody else filed out, John closed the door behind them, and then sat down heavily. There were bags under his eyes and under Harry Reid’s eyes as well. “Gentlemen, you look like crap! Have you been able to get any sleep?” I asked.
“Not much, Carl. I dozed for a few hours last night in a chair in here,” admitted John.
“Same here, Mister President,” added Senator Reid.
“Harry, I think we can dispense with the titles. It’s just the three of us, and you’ve been calling me Carl for a while now, usually with some other stuff added on,” I said with a wry smile. He snorted and smiled at that, but nodded. “Listen, I have to ask the question. The President, is there any chance?”
Both men sighed and looked at each other wearily. Harry answered first. “Not really. Almost nobody got out of there after the buildings collapsed. There’s a few people trapped in the rubble in the subbasements, but they were down there to begin with. Up top? Nobody!”
“John?”
“Carl, I would like to argue, but I can’t. We are going to have to swear you in. We can delay it, but it’s a lost cause. We’ll be lucky to find anything in this mess. I heard one of the emergency managers talking about putting everything through table sifters to try and find anything but dust.” He lowered his voice and added, “We’re talking about bits of bone and wedding rings and pieces of wallets, that sort of thing!”
“Jesus!” They’d be sifting dust for years! “So, what do we do now? What do you two plan to do?”
Harry looked over at John and then turned back to me. “Carl, later today, John and I are going to call down and talk to Denny Hastert and Tom Daschle. You can’t be in on the phone call, I mean, you just can’t be. You can’t be seen to be influencing anything. They’ll probably talk to you later today.”
“And then what?” I pushed.
“They’ll talk to you later today. That’s all I will say for now.”
I nodded in tired acquiescence. I could see one of two things happening. Either they would decide to swear me in as President, or they could decide to wait until they had proof that George Bush was dead, something that might take years, if it was even possible. If they chose Option Two, I was the lamest of lame duck Presidents, doomed before I even started. There was even the possibility they could make me live in the Vice President’s mansion until I was sworn in, making me an international laughingstock. “Fair enough.” I stood up. “Guys, I am going to get out of your hair. I’ll go talk to Rudy for a bit and then I’m heading back to D.C. You do your thing, and then get a room and get some sleep. You’re not going to help if you collapse from exhaustion.”
They both nodded mutely and we shook hands, and I left the room. An hour later I was flying back to Washington, accompanied by the Three Amigos. On the way, we talked to the Deputy Director of the FAA and outlined plans to get things up and running by the weekend. The plan was to start slowly and concentrate on getting people back home first, and then ramp up. We would start flying again Saturday morning.
By the time we got back to Andrews and were preparing to take Marine Two back to the White House I had gotten a call that Denny Hastert and Tom Daschle wanted to see me. I told them they would be first on my list. We got to the White House about 4:00 and I sent the Three Amigos on their way, while I headed to my office. Denny and Tom were already there. I invited them into my office and closed the door. “How we doing?” I asked.
“What’s it like up there, Mister President?” asked Tom Daschle, the Senate Majority Leader.
“I don’t know what Harry and John told you guys, but words just can’t describe it. Bernie Kerik said that now he’s seen Hell. There’s nothing left but rubble and dust,” I told him.