(10-04-2006) Bono to Entertain as Clinton, Bush Honored -- Baltimore Sun*

[dsmith2904]

Bono to Entertain as Clinton, Bush Honored for Fundraising

Liz Smith

SURPRISE! Surprise! When George H.W. Bush, No. 41, and William Jefferson Clinton, No. 42, appear at Philadelphia's National Constitution Center tomorrow night, they'll find their friend Bono performing. They'll read it here first if they are fans of this column! The Liberty Medal Award going to these two former presidents because of their fundraising on behalf of the Indonesian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina comes with a $100,000 cash award. Bush the Elder and Clinton the Younger will divert this money to their world help foundation.

Bono tells friends he is devoted to Clinton, while at the same time he has worked on improving the world with the 43rd president, George W. Bush. This show-biz philanthropist knows how to go along and get along.

Now here's a cute presidents story you may enjoy. Clinton was recently at another dinner with his fundraising partner, Bush 41. Barbara Bush making introductions: "You all know my husband, George. And you know I have a son, George, who lives in Washington. But probably none of you know I have another son who was president and his name is Bill. You can tell he's my son because we have the same color hair!"

The audience loved this and gave Mrs. Bush a big round of applause. Then when President Clinton got up to speak, he graciously thanked Barbara Bush and quipped, "Well, you all know that every family has a prodigal son!"

The audience collapsed with laughter again and there you have it--that unusual thing these days: People with great ideological differences and political agendas who manage to be civilized, gracious and charming with one another.

--Baltimore Sun

 

[TheFirstBigW]

...there you have it--that unusual thing these days: People with great ideological differences and political agendas who manage to be civilized, gracious and charming with one another.

We could sure use some of that civility and graciousness around here.
Some of the people with political opinions on these forums are as bad as rabid evangelicals when it comes to judging and demonizing people on the other side of the political spectrum.

 

[Harry Vest]

You're right...but this kind of stuff still worries me.

 

[FEELINNUMB]

"Why Frau von Ribbentrop, where DID you get that exquisite necklace?"

"Dr. Mengele got if for me, isn't he thoughtful? He's always coming up with some little goody or another, especially gold teeth. Where DOES he get them?"

"Why Herr Goering, is it martini time already?"

Yes, let's DO be civilized...let's also act like we have some measurable brain function, and can differentiate between intelligent and civilized discussion of differing opinions, and the greatest country in the world being taken over by Nazis.

How Clinton can stomach these conniving rat bastards is completely beyond me...these people are sick, vicious and dangerous. And these idiots in the audience applauding this nauseating scene are about as close as we are going to get to Nero fiddling without actually smelling the smoke...

 

[TheFirstBigW]

If there's anything we can learn from the behavior of evangelical extremists, it's that it's a lot easier to judge people and call them evil than it is to take the time and effort to get to know them and see things from their point of view.

Here's an excerpt from an interview that Bono did with Bill O'Reilly in 2004 where he explained how it came about that he is now friends with a number of conservatives in Washington:

O'REILLY: Let me ask you a couple of questions. I understand the late Jesse Helms, the arch conservative, the late Jesse Helms of North Carolina was a very big booster of your cause, is that correct?

BONO: Yes. It's been amazing. I've been really surprised. You know, I came at this from -- you know, I grew up in a Labour household, you can imagine in the north side of Dublin. I have all my opinions. I have my opinions of conservatives, and they weren't all good. And then I met some conservatives that really turned me around on that. They were really just conservatives. They were people that had their convictions that were different to mine, but they held them, you know, from a true place.

Then I met Jesse Helms, who you know, who people in (UNINTELLIGIBLE) wouldn't speak to me because I was meeting Jesse Helms. And he did an extraordinary thing. He did something no politician does. He publicly apologized for the way he had thought about the AIDS virus. He says, 'I've got it wrong.' And he got emotional about it, and he turned it around. And he made a lot of other people who were very judgmental about AIDS...

O'REILLY: Look at it in a different way.

BONO: ... look at it in a different way.

 

[Ft. Worth Frog]

"Why Frau von Ribbentrop, where DID you get that exquisite necklace?"

"Dr. Mengele got if for me, isn't he thoughtful? He's always coming up with some little goody or another, especially gold teeth. Where DOES he get them?"

"Why Herr Goering, is it martini time already?"

Yes, let's DO be civilized...let's also act like we have some measurable brain function, and can differentiate between intelligent and civilized discussion of differing opinions, and the greatest country in the world being taken over by Nazis.

How Clinton can stomach these conniving rat bastards is completely beyond me...these people are sick, vicious and dangerous. And these idiots in the audience applauding this nauseating scene are about as close as we are going to get to Nero fiddling without actually smelling the smoke...

And the point of the article just went over someone's head...