Bush cites Sept. 11, 2001 frequently. I try not to be too cynical, but this seems to be all too true to me:

Democrats argue that Bush uses terrorism as a refuge when he is uncertain about an answer or in trouble on an issue.

9/11 is Bush's safety net, the prism through which he views all issues. Whether that's purely political manipulation or truly the way he sees things, remains to be seen. Personally, I think someone told him, "If you can't think of an answer, throw 9/11 and terrorism in there." And I get the feeling that President Bush quite frequently can't think of an answer.