President George W. Bush stood atop the ruins of the World Trade Center on Sept. 14, 2001, and addressed the rescue workers through a bullhorn.
“I can hear you!” he said, in what later would be known as a defining moment of his presidency. “The rest of the world hears you! And the people—and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon!”
That bullhorn is among the items on exhibit at the new George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in Dallas, which has welcomed more than 80,000 visitors since opening to the public May 1 on the Southern Methodist University campus. The library director, Alan Lowe, offered an overview of the items Friday during a keynote speech at the Bench Bar Breakfast, part of the State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas.
Other objects on display include Florida ballots with “hanging chads” from the disputed 2000 presidential election and steel beams from the remains of New York’s Twin Towers after the 9/11 terrorist attacks—a jarring and emotional sight for many visitors, Lowe said.
Texas now has three presidential libraries, including the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin and the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum in College Station. That’s more than any other U.S. state.
“I’ve lived here long enough to know you wouldn’t have it any other way,” Lowe said.
Visit the official website for more information on the Bush library.
Above: Lowe speaks during the Bench Bar Breakfast on Friday in Dallas.