George W. Bush sneaking a piece of candy to Michelle Obama at McCain funeral goes viral

[iluvtennis]

Roland Scahill@rolandscahill, 3 hours ago

George W. Bush sneaking a piece of candy to Michelle Obama is warming my heart .

Link to tweet

[Lucinda]

1. ...

[LAS14]

2. Cough drop? nt

[lame54]

8. Brandy beans

[hlthe2b]

3. At least when he does something (post Presidency) to go viral, it is usually funny

Like the episode where he was trying to put on a rain poncho at a'hole's inauguration--LOL

[llmart]

24. My all time favorite...

of his goofiness. Who couldn't laugh at this episode?

[BeyondGeography]

4. I'm pretty sure W. the person cracks her up

And that he doesn’t mind that at all.

[The Wielding Truth]

5. Really a sweet moment.

[iluvtennis]

6. Agree. We all know GWB had his issues as president, but at least he was/is a decent human being. nt

[D23MIURG23]

11. He might even have been OK as a president if he had picked better people for his admin.

I think Cheney was a big part of why the W administration was such a shitshow. Ditto with Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz. I don't think W was a particularly good leader or particularly intelligent, and his administration probably pushed him toward most of the policies. He's still culpable for that stuff, but at least he hasn't continued digging after his terms have come up.

[BobTheSubgenius]

25. About W's intelligence...

One of my VERY favourite quotes from political journalism was, not that surprisingly, by Molly Ivins, who described George Bush as likeable, but....

..."not exactly bent double with intellect."

[brush]

36. That's a good one. Ann Richards' crack on W is the all-time classic. "W was born on third base...

and thinks he hit a triple."

[iluvtennis]

47. I like that one. And I guess Trump was born at home plate thinking he hit a grand slam. But

not realizing he hasn't even been at bat yet.

[japple]

40. Thanks for the mention of my 2nd favorite Texan. Dad is 1st!

eom

[jmowreader]

44. Stop right there

George W. Bush would NEVER have been a good president. He spent the first nine months of his administration doing things that are normally done by First Ladies, like the school visit on 9/11. When he had to become presidential, he handed the reins to the gang of warmongers Cheney had brought in.

What he COULD have done is to bring in a fairly benign vice president, like Idaho's Butch Otter or New Mexico's Susana Martinez, then appoint Bill Clinton as chief of staff and carry forward the Clinton Cabinet. The right wingers may not want to admit it, but Clinton was a good administrator. He wouldn't have been able to maintain the dotcom boom, but the country would have been in about as good a shape when Obama took office in 2009 as it was when Clinton left.

[TexasTowelie]

51. I agree.

I was a state employee while Bush was governor and his administration was filled with corruption at the various agencies (even the Texas Funeral Services Commission). He received several campaign contributions where there was a quid quo pro between his administration and various corporations. The thing that kept Bush in check was that the lieutenant governor was Bob Bullock who was a long-serving Democrat that pulled a lot of strings in Austin.

As a state employee I will say that he never did anything to help us during the six years he was governor. The pay raises were few and far between each other and it eventually reached the point that as a single person I couldn't afford to live in Austin which prodded me into finding another job.

[jmowreader]

52. You do know...

you have to work at it to put corrupt people in the Funeral Services Commission, which is one of those agencies no one's supposed to ever notice.

Texas' saving grace is their ultra-weak governor system.

[shadowmayor]

15. Nope

Not now, not ever. He's a goddamned war criminal. We must never forget the deaths of so many innocent people he caused. He is not a decent person, he's a murderous asshole who should be on trial.

[retread]

17. Agree! n/t

[Mr.Bill]

18. Agree also.

[suegeo]

34. Bush stole elections

Sept 11 happened on his watch. The fascists took pictures of him flying around the country that day (hiding), and then sold the photos as fund raising materials.

He's a war criminal.
He tanked the economy.
He left Katrina victims to drown.
He invaded the wrong country to steal their oil.

[Neema]

50. Another: he fucking joked about looking for WMDs

under his desk. I’m sure the thousands and thousands of people who died in the Iraq war would have found that hilarious if they weren’t, you know, dead.

[mokawanis]

35. Exactly

Decent human beings don't start unnecessary wars that cause the deaths of so many innocent civilians.

[melman]

38. Issues?

He had his issues? I guess that's one way of putting it.



I honestly can't believe the shit I read here anymore.

[forgotmylogin]

45. You can overlook a lot when people don't make decisions for America.

Trump would have been just fine and probably still flying under the radar if he hadn't indulged masturbatory political ambitions.

It's one thing if your neighbor is a bigot and a misogynist personally - live and let live - but once they become the mayor who makes housing and hiring decisions for you and potentially everyone else, those problems and opinions are no longer personal.

[TomSlick]

7. A human moment.

Only noteworthy because the current occupant of the WH is incapable of such.

[Funtatlaguy]

9. I've seen them sitting together before at events and they are always joking and smiling.

[Bleacher Creature]

10. They are genuinely close.

[blaze]

14. I didn't know the story of either of those photos, so I googled

The first is from the opening of The National African American History and Culture Museum.

"Tender moment between the pair comes days before the first US election debate and at a time of heightened political tension in America. Michelle Obama wrapped her arms around the former president at the opening of the National African American History and Culture Museum. Work to obtain items for the museum’s collection and fund raising began in 2003, when a law signed by George W Bush authorized the creation of the museum." (emphasis mine)

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/picture/2016/sep/26/hug-it-out-michelle-obama-embraces-george-w-bush

The second is from a memorial service for 5 police officers who were killed during a July 2016 shooting in Dallas.

https://newsok.com/gallery/6034736/presidents-bush-obama-speak-at-memorial-service-for-slain-dallas-officers

[Bleacher Creature]

16. Thanks!!!

I remember seeing both photos before, but I didn't know where they were taken. Those backstories make the photos even more interesting!

[blaze]

19. And this quote from Obama

adds this perspective.

“We’ve been called ‘the world’s most exclusive club,’ and we do have a pretty nice clubhouse,” Obama said at the April 2013 dedication of Bush’s presidential library. “But the truth is, our club is more like a support group.”

[Aristus]

32. Oh, to be enfolded in those beautiful arms...

[uponit7771]

12. Good hearted people spread love and change folk

[demsocialist]

13. Hope it wasn't a breath mint nt

[jalan48]

22. Bad!

[marble falls]

20. Dubya's from Texas, it was a Nutty Brown.

[shanny]

21. Personally I think there is something "off" about W,

more than what we already knew about, of course. I didn't see the speech so maybe I'm off base but in these last years there is something childlike in his affect.... It could certainly help explain Michelle's comforting him, on numerous occasions.

[Siwsan]

29. I've thought the same thing about his behavior at solemn events, in the past

His whole demeanor would come across as inappropriate/childish. But today he actually seemed to be appropriately connected.

I also think he gets a little giddy when he's around Michelle Obama and that's totally understandable.

[LiberalArkie]

31. I would figure Aspergers. Us seniors with Aspergers do tend to act childish at times.

Look up seniors with Aspergers,

[shanny]

46. Thanks, I will.

[trueblue2007]

23. nice moment

[Bayard]

26. Sweet

I always forget how TALL Michelle is until I see her standing next to someone other than Barack.

[liberal N proud]

27. Class clown

But a generous clown

[oberliner]

28. George W Bush love fest?

What website is this?

[Xolodno]

42. That just tells you how bad the current President is.

W at least believed he was doing the right thing.

The asshole we have now is knowingly harming the country and populace for his own enrichment.

[xor]

53. lol... Blame Trump for that. He makes everyone seem more palatable.

It's the same reason why we have long-time conservatives who never had anything nice to say about the Clintons, coming out and saying they voted for her or at least thought she'd be the better president.


Maybe someday we'll come out of this mess with a better way of approaching politics in this country.

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

30. Say what you want..

Grandpa or Grandma always have hard candy in thier pocket. I know I do it.

[John Fante]

33. I'm no fan of GWB and his decision to invade Iraq, but if the Obamas and Clintons

can see good qualities in the man, I'll refrain from shitting on him during light-hearted moments like this.

He certainly isn't the monster Donald Trump is. Not by a damn sight.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

37. Q cult stating it was a secret message, and treating the claim as a fact. . . . nt

[Stellar]

39. Cute!!!

No dancing this time?

[Historic NY]

41. Laura, gimme one of them candies for Michelle..

[Hortensis]

43. Do we know it's candy? He peers down at it in

Michelle's hand after, as if he's curious to see what he passed her from Laura.

[cynatnite]

48. That's about the best damn thing I've seen in a long time. n/t

[Cha]

49. lol@bemused look on President Obama's face. :)

[Cracklin Charlie]

54. Appears George has attended some southern funerals.

That’s pretty much a staple.