Bush, Clinton: It's Not About Politics

Former prezes underscore 'common humanity' in talk-show blitz

By the Associated Press

Posted Jan 17, 2010 12:14 PM CST

(AP) – Former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton continued their push for private fundraising for Haiti today, appearing side by side on five Sunday talk shows to emphasize the humanitarian crisis over partisanship. "I'd say now is not the time to focus on politics," Bush told Face the Nation. "You've got children who've lost parents. People wondering where they're going to be able to drink water," Bush said. "There's a great sense of desperation. And so my attention is on trying to help people deal with the desperation."

Both presidents poo-poohed critics, Rush Limbaugh chief among them, who say President Obama's response is politically motivated. "I don't know what those people are talking about," said Bush. "I just think it doesn't do us any good to waste any time in what is in my opinion a fruitless and pointless conversation," Clinton said, adding that, "In a disaster of this magnitude, you just can't deal with this just with government money." Clinton said a disaster like the earthquake in Haiti "reminds us of our common humanity. It reminds us of needs that go beyond fleeting disagreements."

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Former presidents Bush and Clinton are interviewed on 'Meet the Press' about Haiti relief efforts. (Hulu.com)

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Former presidents Bill Clinton and George W Bush appear on 'Meet the Press.' (hulu.com)

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Everybody who's seriously followed Haiti over a long period believed that Haiti had the best chance it has had in our lifetimes to break the chains of its past, to build a truly modern state, to have a more thriving economy. - Former president Bill Clinton

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COMMENTS

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Showing 3 of 22 comments

Bullseye

Jan 19, 2010 10:46 AM CST

I've been saying this since 1993 - from a Nam Vet

thezenhaitian

Jan 19, 2010 10:02 AM CST

"The rescue efforts in Haiti are held hostage by a US national security establishment that is completely impervious to popular sympathy for the victims of the earthquake, and unanswerable to the masses—of Haiti or any other country, including the US itself. Instead, as the death toll mounts, there is an unspoken but unanimous agreement in the international media that it is legitimate for the US military to dictate how operations will proceed." http://www.countercurrents.org...

thezenhaitian

Jan 19, 2010 9:50 AM CST

I laughed out loud, when Clinton said that the US had "negotiated" with the Haitian gov't to let the US military control the airport! My question, why turn away CARICOM? http://bit.ly/5hZqCh and why keep Haitian doctors from NY and Miami waiting on tarmac? Why deny entry to Doctors without Borders? http://tiny.cc/79i5k

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Clinton and Bush's fundraising website
http://www.clintonbushhaitifund.org

Politics • World

Bill Clinton • Haiti • George W. Bush • Haiti earthquake • bill clinton haiti relief • Haiti disaster

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Bush, Clinton: It's Not About Politics