Jennings anchored ABC 's coverage of the September 11 attacks for 17 straight hours , an effort described as " Herculean " by television critics . Like other network news anchors , he was widely praised for guiding Americans through the disaster . At one point , Jennings broke his composure after receiving phone calls from his children . " We do not very often make recommendations for people 's behavior from this chair , " he said , " but ... if you 're a parent , you 've got a kid in some other part of the country , call them up . Exchange observations . " His coverage was not without controversy . Jennings was criticized by Rush Limbaugh among others for commenting about President George W. Bush on-air : " Where is the president of the United States ? ... I know we do n't know where he is , but pretty soon the country needs to know where he is . " ABC was flooded with more than 10,000 angry phone calls and e-mails . On September 13 , Jennings received more criticism — this time for hosting a forum for Middle East experts that included Palestinian Authority negotiator Hanan Ashrawi . In the summer of 2002 , Jennings and ABC refused to allow Toby Keith to open their coverage of July 4 celebrations with " Courtesy of the Red , White and Blue ( The Angry American ) " , prompting criticism from Keith and country music fans , who highlighted the anchor 's Canadian citizenship
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Peter Jennings