It would probably be unfair to imply that the entire family is rotten to the core and heartless. Laura Bush is a spokesperson for Heart Truth and the way things were going in this nation one of the daughters may have made a fine president someday. Perhaps Chelsea Clinton would be around to clean up after that mess.
First Ladies always seem to keep their husband’s stink off them? Nancy had her anti-drug campaign "Just Say No," when her husband was the ultimate drug runner. Barbara Bush followed with a literacy program "Just Spell No" and most Americans did not understand the mother of GWB until they heard her take on Katrina.
Too bad the spokesperson for Heart Truth can’t talk her husband into developing either. This week when Bush was telling America "The State of the Union is Strong," he didn’t get around to the fact that he lost a city on his watch or how little he did to help New Orleans.
Since this is football day it maybe a good time to take a look at a Bush who did do something to help New Orleans.
Before I go on I should explain Outstanding in the Field. This is the third in a weekly series that is a reminder to myself and anyone who is interested that Americans are not made out of the same stuff as those people inside the beltway. It is not meant as an affront against elected officials but a weekly reminder of the moral backbone of the average American.
Of course this week’s diary is about an American who was already way above average, the 2005 Heisman Trophy Winner, Reggie Bush. A man who is literally getting his brains knocked out by the media lately. An American who, if the allegations are true, may have made a minor mistake in wanting a better life for his mother and accepting some money "under the table."
But hey, it’s not like he has been accepting corporate campaign donations and selling the American public down the drain in the process. Another comparison that sizes up the state of this nation would be Good Bush vs. Bad Bush. While "Baby Matrix" Bush is made out to be just another money grubbing pro football player by the press and may be striped of that Heisman, "Heck of a job, Brownie" Bush is rarely called for his crimes against humanity in the media and the opposition party refuses to hold him accountable.
So on Super Bowl Sunday here’s what Reggie Bush is really about, a son of San Diego who came to New Orleans with giving and sharing in his heart.
Unlike George W. who will always represent pain and suffering to the people of New Orleans, Reggie Bush would have meant hope and inspiration to the people of that destroyed city if all he did was go there to play football but he had a few other things in mind too.
It seemed heartless that corporate FEMA was working for the Superdome as the residents of the city continued to suffer and got so little help but as the Saints marched home to a new Superdome, they threw a party and the people were somewhat relieved.
In spite of the federal government's efforts, acquiring Reggie Bush in the NFL Draft offered even more hope. The sort of hope that Reggie Bush represented was reported in the Washington Post;
They rushed to buy tickets that weekend, even those with ruined houses and lives strewn across the front lawn found $200 to go in with a friend on season seats in the upper deck. Some 15,000 Reggie Bush T-shirts sold out on the day they were printed, and a few weeks later as Mayor C. Ray Nagin, in his inaugural address, began to list the reasons for hope, he gushed, "We have Reggie Bush!" then was drowned in applause.
That piece was headed with a quote from Reggie Bush;
"This is my calling, this is why I was put on this earth -- to make a difference in people's lives."
A rather wacky quote in The Brushback sort of gives a feel for this much needed encouragement;
"OK, now we have a little motivation to get this work done," said Sal Fullman of the US Army Corps of Engineers. "Reggie Bush is in town. Reggie Bush! He’s the best player in the country. That definitely puts things in a different light. Before it was like ‘OK, we need to get this done as soon as possible, but let’s not kill ourselves,’ and now we’re just going for broke. We will not let New Orleans be destroyed all over again – not with all this buzz surrounding the 2006 Saints."
When Reggie Bush arrived in New Orleans he hit the ground running. His efforts were not the most impressive in the nation that George Bush transformed from government service to private sponsors of disaster relief but he put in an effort. From September 1,2006 in the Seattle Times' Reggie Bush is putting down roots in New Orleans;
Even before he signed his contract, which includes a reported $26 million in guarantees, Bush — often with the help of his sponsors — was signing checks for charitable causes. Through Adidas, his shoe and apparel sponsor, he donated $56,000 to Holy Rosary School, ensuring 105 special-needs students wouldn't be forced to attend schools that don't specialize in educating teens with learning issues such as dyslexia and attention-deficit disorder. As part of his endorsement deal with Hummer, the Slidell, La., police department was given 12 of the vehicles on loan for a year.
Soon, Pepsi will announce a "Yard by Yard, Neighborhood by Neighborhood" program to build 25 homes in the New Orleans area based on a donation system calibrated by the number of yards Bush gains this season. And Bush personally pledged $86,000 to resurface the field at Tad Gormley Stadium, which was damaged in the flooding and where six high schools play their football games.
"Some guys just play in a place and then head home when the season's over," said Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning, who grew up in New Orleans. "Reggie's a kid from California who's dived right in to help the community. I commend him for that."
Reggie Bush became a regional spokesman for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and his corporate sponsorships all include charitable components for programs in the New Orleans region. He also designated a percentage of royalties for hurricane relief from the cologne he introduced, named 619 for his hometown San Diego area code. Reggie Bush and other players helped distribute four tons of food in the New Orleans area on September 5 of the same year and he helped put together an eBay auction for disaster relief.
It all seems so long ago and so forgotten by many Americans now but New Orleans represented one of our darkest hours because of our government. Not because of our people. Our people are great in the most trying times and the best of times too.
There is an interactive article in USA Today this week that claims optimism as "The people of this city are working very hard on their own to come back..." It gives some hope that this sad era can finally be put behind us but many still wait for some support. Or to get really disgusted just work backwards through The Katrina Watch from The Center for Public Integrity and then the only real hope can be found in January 20, 2009.
Reggie Bush may not be the person who did the most to offer relief to Katrina victims but you would have to search pretty far to find someone who did less than George W. Bush.
Reggie Bush represents the American public and what we stand for. The Prez is somebody that nobody should ever have to think of when considering American character.
Reggie Bush is the sort of American who makes us feel good about being Americans.