In a further sign of how in times of major world crises Americans (with the exception of Rush Limbaugh) put down their partisanship and agendas to unite and serve a broader good and the larger constituency called “humanity,” President Barack Obama and former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton literally stood side by side this morning to announce a major fund raising drive to help the beset residents of earthquake-devastated Haiti.
Three presidents from opposing parties stood united outside the White House this morning to signal the launch of an aggressive private fundraising drive for the earthquake-stricken nation of Haiti.
“These two leaders send an unmistakable message to the people of Haiti and the world,” Obama said of the former presidents flanking him in the Rose Garden. “In a moment of need, the United States stands united.
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Bush’s comments were at odds with mega-millionaire talk show host Rush Limbuagh who urged his listeners not to donate to Haiti. Unlike Limbaugh, who told his listeners not to donate, Bush called for donations.
Bush said the most effective way to help is to make a donation. “I know a lot of people want to send blankets or water,” Bush said. “Just send your cash.”
Clinton said their work in Haiti will mirror his work with former President George H.W. Bush after the 2005 Asian tsunami. “We want to be a place where people can know their money will be well spent,” he said. “We want to stay with this over the long run.”
Donations can be sent through the website set up by the former presidents, www.clintonbushhaitifund.org.
After the magnitude 7.0 earthquake ravaged Haiti, Obama called both former presidents.
“They both asked the same simple question: How can I help?” Obama said.
The president had realized rebuilding would require a “substantial private component,” according to White House spokesman Tommy Vietor.
“As donations and offers to help immediately began to pour in, it became clear that a point of coordination was necessary to facilitate the contributions of individuals and other non-governmental organizations,” Vietor wrote in an e-mail.
Here’s the video showing Obama with the two former Presidents:
In fact, it is in the American character to come together in major times of national crises or in responding to a catastrophe elsewhere in the world. There are few exceptions — and two were on display recently.
In case you were on Mars earlier this week and missed it, here’s a recap on the comments of Limbaugh — which got him a lot of attention, ink, broadcast snippets, blog posts and most assuredly set him apart from Fox News, conservative sites such as Town Hall, and conservative talkers such as Sean Hannity and Michael Reagan.
The reason: all of the above conservative infooutlets and commentators showed compassion for the people in Haiti and put aside partisan agendas to urge listeners, viewers and readers to come together to help — and to donate.
Limbaugh used it to further illustrate the trait that has made him mega rich: he didn’t miss a single beat before he used played political polarization card and used the Haiti crisis to try to whip up political resentments.
The guy who owns a private jet and paid for his health care with cash and then proclaimed that the American health care system was just fine, and working like a charm, had been eclipsed by the Rev. Pat Robertson’s Twlight Zone like comments suggesting that Haiti’s fate is due to it having made a pact long time ago with the devil. Limbaugh’s comments were almost predictable — if someone didn’t give him the benefit of the doubt and assumed that he would use any news story he could to whip up partisan bile and go on the attack against those who belong to a different party or who aren’t fortunate to be as rich as he is.
RUSH LIMBAUGH: I want you to remember it took [Obama] three days — three days — to respond to the Christmas Day Fruit of Kaboom bomber. Three days. And when he came out after those three days, he was clearly irritated that he had to do it. He didn’t want to do it. He comes out here in less than 24 hours to speak about Haiti….Oh, this is what he lives for. He lives for serving those in misery. … This will play right into Obama’s hands — humanitarian, compassionate. They’ll use this to burnish their — shall we say — credibility with the black community, in the both light-skinned and dark-skinned black community, in this country. It’s made-to-order for ’em. That’s why he couldn’t wait to get out there. Could not wait to get out there.
And then he even urged his listeners not to contribute to relief efforts:
Rush Limbaugh doesn’t see why you should donate to the Haiti earthquake relief effort. “We’ve already donated to Haiti!” he declared. “It’s called the US income tax!” He then goes on to point out that lots of churches and other groups are already trying to help. “There are people who do charitable work every day in Haiti. It’s not as though… it’s our fault.”
“There are people that have been trying to save Haiti, just as we’re trying to save Africa. You just can’t keep throwing money at it, because the dictatorships there just take it all,” he continues, apparently having drifted onto the topic of Haitian poverty.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs had his comments about Limbaugh’s comments:
Spokesman Robert Gibbs says there are always people who say “really stupid things” during a crisis. He says it’s sad that Limbaugh would use the power of his pulpit to convince people not to assist those in need.
Can I use the word “ditto”?
Niall O’Dowd on Irish Central was not impressed with Limbaugh:
The heartrending scenes from Haiti, where up to 100,000 may be dead, have failed to move the flinty heart of right wing radio host Rush Limbaugh.
He told his listeners today not to donate to Haiti because the crisis was being used by President Obama.
Sure, in the same way the Holocaust was used by Jews so they could get a sympathetic hearing ever after.
Limbaugh has crossed a line of fundamental decency here, one that I’m sure will haunt him for ever more.
Haiti is suffering its own version of a Holocaust, with 3 million of its people touched by the tragedy of the worst earthquake in over 200 years.
Limbaugh used the dreadful aftermath to score a cheap political point against the President.
He has disgraced himself and the conservative movement that looks to him as their champion.
But the vast majority of thinking conservatives were not on the same self-absorbed wavelength as Limbaugh whose real agenda and values clearly are: to promote Rush Limbaugh’s show and solidify his partisan, polarizing brand name identity.
Limbaugh’s reaction is the exception, rather than the rule. Humanity has usually trumped politics during major tragedies.
In all fairness, when Limbaugh is on his private jet flying to a city for a multi-course dinner he probably thinks about the heartbreak in Haiti. Of course, if Haitians had been enterprising enough to have gotten off their butts and signed multi-million dollar talk radio contracts for shows where they constantly demonize one political party like he did, they could be in better shape to deal with the crisis.
But as he jets from one city to the next, puffing on an expensive cigar, Limbaugh probably does start to shed a tear.
Until he remembers:
I already shed at a tear at church.
Why do it now?
UPDATE: Limbaugh’s comments are being blasted in Great Britain as well.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.