15 Years After the Oklahoma City Bombing

Today marks the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. I was working in a branch office that day when I got a call telling me to check the TV. I watched for hours as dead and wounded were brought out of the building, and as we checked with our many relatives in the area to make sure nobody had been nearby (thankfully, everybody was safe).

I've done a couple of previous posts on my visits to the memorial. You can find them here and here, plus other information on the memorial here.

Gabriel at Ace of Spades was a high school junior in Stillwater, OK, and writes about his experience that day here.

UPDATE:  I saw a piece somewhere (I can't find it now) that says the Oklahoma bombing basically saved Bill Clinton's presidency...at least long enough to get him to a second term.  I think there's a lot of truth in that.  Think about it, in April of 1995 Clinton was at a very low point.  Congress had rejected Hillarycare, and just 5 months before the voters had rejected Democrats, turning the House over to GOP control for the first time in 40 years and the Senate to the GOP for the first time since the mid-80's.  He was pretty politically dead.

The bombing gave him the opportunity to look presidential as he spoke at the memorial service, and demonize his harshest critics by trying to blame talk radio for the bombing.  His presidency managed to stumble back to life after that event.