One has to wonder what’s up with former President George Herbert Walker Bush hanging out with all those undesirable Democratic types. First it was bill Clinton and now it is a real liberal, actor George Clooney.
Actually, Bush 41 was never that much of a right-winger when he was president. His presidency was a big dud as far as I was concerned especially considering his background as war hero, oilman, congressman, UN ambassador, CIA director, RNC chairman and vice president. Not many people had more of the right experience to become president that G.H.W. brought to the job. And also not many men could have such a background and have such a crappy presidential tenure. But, I always kind of liked him in his own goofy sort of way.
On the other hand, I’ve never been much of a George Clooney fan. I never liked “ER” or had any particular affinity for his movies. I was especially put out with him when, in the wake of Princess Diana’s death, he was calling publicly for a buffer zone between photographers and their subjects. That was just totally ridiculous. It likewise was irritating then and is now when others such as Paris Hilton complain about the paparazzi when it is those photographers themselves who should be thanked for boosting the stars’ careers.
But I was happy to see G.H.W. and Clooney teaming up as part of the effort between Bush 41 and former President Bill Clinton to raise funds for Katrina relief. I especially was gratified to see that the two traveled to Cameron, La., which had been wiped off the map by Hurricane Rita, to deliver $2 million in disaster relief.
Nothing but demolition and relief workers were in Cameron when I traveled there late last year to do some stories. And since I also experienced Rita and saw plenty of its aftermath, it was refreshing that some attention was being paid to victims of that storm because Katrina’s destruction sucked the air out of media hurricane coverage.
So kudos to G.H.W. and Clooney. But it really is kind of weird to see the two hanging together, even more so than Bush 41 and Clinton. The next thing you know G.H.W. will be Michael Moore’s new best friend.