Just when I thought the man was working on recovering from the public relations disaster that was his presidency, George W. Bush goes and pulls what looks like another frat boy stunt.

A video of Dubya in Haiti with former President Bill Clinton to raise money and awareness shows Bush shaking hands and then seemingly patting Clinton on the shoulder before appearing to wipe his hand on Clinton's shirt.



I thought it was great that President Barack Obama called upon former President Bush to help lead humanitarian efforts in Haiti. One of the things Bush doesn't get much credit for is increasing HIV/AIDS funding in Africa. After the serial disasters of his eight years in office, I thought a humanitarian effort would help his public persona. It doesn't help to have the world thinking of one of our former presidents as an idiot.

I've looked at the video a few times, and it clearly looks like he's wiping his hands on Clinton's shirt after shaking hands with Haitians. I can't speak to the exact cause, and I hope I'm wrong. I hope that Bush was not wiping his hand and maybe was just touching Clinton.

Maybe he shook a person's sweaty palms and wanted to wipe his hands. That's understandable. I'm no huge fan of hand shaking. I'd rather give you a fist bump. But there were better ways of wiping his hands if Bush felt the need to do so. He could have placed his hands on his pants, for example, or just waited until he got someplace where he could have washed his hands.

As a politician, shouldn't he be used to personal contact, such as hugs and handshakes?

The last message Bush wants to convey is that he doesn't want to touch the very people he says he wants to help. The image of Bush wiping his hands brings so many different issues to mind. First, there's the idea of America parachuting in as a savior, but a savior that abhors the very people we say we are trying to help. The 1980s images of Haitians trying to escape the poverty of Haiti come to mind. The reaction of this country and our policy to send them back but accept Cubans added another level of stigma.

And then there was the idea that all Haitians carried the virus that causes AIDS. Bush's hand-wiping seems indicative of the idea that these are an unclean people, a people that you can't even shake hands with without aquiring something.

Finally, it brings to mind the idea of what Bush might think about others in the African diaspora, including African Americans. The callous response from the Bush Administration to the suffering that took place in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina was a national disgrace. Many asked if that would have happened if many of those in need weren't poor Blacks.

It's sad that something as silly as this could become another potential embarrassment to our country.

Look at the video and let me know what you think.