Noted without comment, because I’m too disgusted to rant.
President Bush on Friday wished Bill Clinton “best wishes for a swift and speedy recovery.”
“He’s is in our thoughts and prayers,” Bush said at a campaign rally.
Bush’s audience of thousands in West Allis, Wis., booed. Bush did nothing to stop them.
Update: I’ve changed my mind; I’m too disgusted not to rant.
Republicans hate Bill Clinton. Fine; I get that. But human decency requires a certain level of decorum. Republicans are the ones, ironically, who complain about civility in our culture, and yet their true colors show on occasions like this.
A Republican president starts off with a gracious gesture, offering well wishes to a former president who is having heart trouble that will require extensive and life-threatening surgery. The carefully-screened animals in the audience boo? Are they literally monsters? Have their hearts grown so cold that polite applause escapes them when a former president’s life is at risk?
And while I give Bush credit for extending well wishes to Clinton in the first place, he clearly missed the opportunity to do the honorable thing and stop that audience. By just standing there, Bush suggested he was satisfied with their disgusting behavior. This is unacceptable.
A decent man, with any sense of leadership, would have stopped this nonsense immediately. Bush could have said, “Republicans have had their differences with Bill Clinton, but booing at a time like this is just wrong. I ask you to keep the former president in your hearts and prayers.” But Bush didn’t say that; he didn’t say anything. This hardly makes him better than the bastards who started booing in the first place.
Second Update: The AP appears to have retracted the story about the boos. Here is how the article now describes the reaction to Bush’s comments:
The crowd reacted with applause and with some “ooohs,” apparently surprised by the news that Clinton was ill.
Well, that’s quite a difference, isn’t it? Ideally the AP would offer some kind of explanation for such an incredible mistake.