I have been one of the most vociferous critics of George W. Bush.
Of course, the Iraq war was right at the top of my reasons for criticizing the former president.
There were many other reasons.
Take for example the former president’s proposal in March 2006 to bend the non-proliferation rules by proposing to allow a nuclear-armed India to import nuclear fuel and technology.
His proposal came after a visit to India during which he said, “the United States is looking forward to eating Indian mangoes. Part of liberalizing trade is to open up markets.”
Naturally, these remarks resulted in a flood of criticism, including the sarcastic kind, such as this one from yours truly in The Economist (The Economist was urging Congress to veto Mr. Bush’s nuclear agreement with India.):
SIR – Methinks you protest too much when criticising Mr Bush’s latest initiative. So what if it violates international accords and several decades of bipartisan American policy on nuclear proliferation? And so what if the deal allows “India in future to produce scores of weapons a year, not just a handful”, which will accelerate the nuclear arms race in Asia and elsewhere? The clincher, the one truly ingenious aspect of this transaction, and one which Mr Bush expressed so eloquently during his press conference with India’s prime minister, is this: “…the United States is looking forward to eating Indian mangoes. Part of liberalising trade is to open up markets.”
Fast forward to 2010.
As we well remember, on January 12, a massive 7.0 earthquake devastated Haiti, killing at least 230,000 people.
In the wake of the tragedy, former U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush established the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund to help raise money and aid for the earthquake victims and soon afterwards both traveled to Haiti.
On Tuesday, Mr. Bush traveled to Haiti once more to check on the progress of projects financed by the Fund.
One of the projects visited by Mr. Bush was—you guessed it—a mango warehouse in Port-au-Prince.
I could write some satire about Bush’s “sweet tooth” for mangoes, but I won’t, for several reasons:
Sarcasm and satire have no place when tragedy strikes.
Mr. Bush’s efforts in helping out the victims of the Haiti earthquake have been truly commendable.
The former president has, since leaving office, displayed admirable decorum, non-partisanship and respect for both the office of the President of the United States and the person serving in that capacity–unlike his vice-president.
Mangoes or no mangoes, give credit where credit is due.
Thank you, Mr. President!
Image: Former President George W. Bush and daughter Jenna visiting an exporter of Haitian mangoes in Port-au-Prince. Courtesy, Xinhuanet.com
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.