Bush declines Obama invitation to Ground Zero
This is relatively small news in the scheme of things but it is worth considering since President Bush complained feverishly of Jimmy Carter attempting to make his life “miserable” during his administration. The idea of an American presidency as a respectable boys club sounds great and would certainly help to fever down the fever swamp of American politics, but that code should apply to everyone:
WASHINGTON – A spokesman for George W. Bush says the former president has declined an invitation from President Barack Obama to attend an observance at New York’s ground zero.
Obama plans to visit the site of the destroyed World Trade Center towers Thursday in the aftermath of a Navy SEALs raid that killed Osama bin Laden. The al-Qaida attack, which killed about 3,000 people, occurred in the early months of Bush’s presidency in 2001.
The spokesman, David Sherzer, says the former president appreciated the offer to attend but has chosen to remain out of the spotlight during his post-presidency.
Sherzer says Bush celebrates bin Laden’s death as an “important victory in the war on terror.”
Not to mention, also, that an event as monumentally symbolic as 9/11 really does deserve to be bookended by something as symbolic as the two presidents - George W. Bush and Barack Obama - visiting Ground Zero, paying their respects and helping America move on.