MLK 50th. No Bush or Shrub?

[Pjen]

What to make of this?

“Mr Obama will be joined by former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, as well as prominent African Americans.”

Obama: Economic equality is our great unfinished business

[Marley23]

They were both invited and declined for health reasons, according to the Washington Post. George H. W. Bush is almost 90 and has a type of Parkinson’s disease, so it may be difficult for him to travel. George W. Bush recently had a stent procedure, so it might be related to that.

[BrainGlutton]

I guess that’s just how divided the parties are now. Dem and Pub ex-POTI sometimes will join forces for charitable fundraising, but they will not willingly appear on the same podium for anything with the slightest political implications.

ETA: Or health issues, as Marley23 posted. But it does seem strange that Carter is in better shape than Bush Sr., apparently.

[Revtim]

Eh, few people dislike W more than me, but I doubt even he would skip this because of politics. I tend to believe he really is ill.

[Bone]

Maybe Kanye was right.

[Marley23]

@BrainGlutton

ETA: Or health issues, as Marley23 posted. But it does seem strange that Carter is in better shape than Bush Sr., apparently.

Even though Carter was president eight years before Bush, he’s actually a couple of months younger.

[Pjen]

Are there any prominent Republicans there? Neither seems to have offered a replacement in the way that Nancy Reagan represented him in later years.

I find it unsettling that not only are they not there, but no effort has apparently been made by either- unless I have missed public letters or statements of appreciation for MLK.

[aNewLeaf]

@Pjen

Are there any prominent Republicans there? Neither seems to have offered a replacement in the way that Nancy Reagan represented him in later years.

I find it unsettling that not only are they not there, but no effort has apparently been made by either- unless I have missed public letters or statements of appreciation for MLK.

I don’t blame either man for not going (especially Bush the Elder) but a stand-in would be just that and seen as such.
If there were a popular and relevant figure from the right he or she would be there in in their own name.

Any prominent Latinos there? Prolly not, is my WAG.

[Marley23]

@aNewLeaf

Any prominent Latinos there? Prolly not, is my WAG.

I see Rep. Joaquin Castro on the list of speakers.

[lieu]

@aNewLeaf

Any prominent Latinos there? Prolly not, is my WAG.

I’m ruling out George Zimmerman.

@BrainGlutton

But it does seem strange that Carter is in better shape than Bush Sr., apparently.

Strange? You’ve seen Bush Sr. in the news the last couple of years, pretty much confined to a wheelchair and a lengthy stay in the hospital for chronic bronchitis.

[BrainGlutton]

@Marley23

Even though Carter was president eight years before Bush, he’s actually a couple of months younger.

Did not realize that but it makes sense.

[Marley23]

@BrainGlutton

Did not realize that but it makes sense.

I should’ve said Carter was elected president 12 years before Bush, actually. By the same token Clinton is six weeks younger than George W. Bush. But Bush 41 has been using a wheelchair for a year or so and he’s had other health problems, so it’s not a surprise he couldn’t go.

[BrainGlutton]

I recall reading recently – no cite, but it’s believable and puts certain things in perspective – that at the time of the March on Washington, twice as many Americans disapproved as approved of it.

[Pjen]

@BrainGlutton

I recall reading recently – no cite, but it’s believable and puts certain things in perspective – that at the time of the March on Washington, twice as many Americans disapproved as approved of it.

MLK was regularly characterised as a dangerous zealot, even when there was Malcolm X considerably to his left. It was common to blame him (!!!) for racial unrest!

[Captain_Amazing]

George W. Bush issued a public statement. A copy can be found here:

http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2013/08/george-w-bush-still-recovering-from-heart-procedure-will-not-attend-march-on-washington-ceremony.html/

I don’t think posting it will violate any copyright, so here it is:

Laura and I are proud to join our fellow Americans in commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington and Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech.

When Reverend King came to Washington, D.C., in the summer of 1963, his purpose was to hold our Nation to the standards spelled out in the Declaration of Independence. He called all of us to live up to that document’s fundamental promise and the underpinning of our founding – that all of us are created equal and endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights. From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, with thousands gathered around him, Dr. King looked out over the American capital and uttered simple, powerful words that changed the hearts of millions. The dream he had spread a message of hope, justice, and brotherhood that took hold in the hearts of men and women around the world.

Our country has come a long way since that bright afternoon 50 years ago; yet our journey to justice is not complete. Just to the East of the Lincoln Memorial, where President Obama will speak on Wednesday, stands the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. There on the National Mall our President, whose story reflects the promise of America, will help us honor the man who inspired millions to redeem that promise.

Dr. King was on this Earth just 39 years, but the ideals that guided his life of conscience and purpose are eternal. Honoring him requires the commitment of every one of us. There’s still a need for every American to help hasten the day when Dr. King’s vision is made real in every community – when what truly matters is not the color of a person’s skin, but the content of their character.

Laura and I thank the King family and all who work to carry on the legacy of a great man and the promise of a great Nation. May we continue to march toward the day when the dignity and humanity of every person is respected. And may God continue to bless America.

[John_Mace]

@Pjen

What to make of this?

Nothing.

What did you think? Well, we sort of know what you think since you poisoned the well in your thread title. Bush is a poopy-pants, right?

[Little_Nemo]

@Marley23

Even though Carter was president eight years before Bush, he’s actually a couple of months younger.

I’ve mentioned this before but it surprised me when I first learned it - Martin Luther King Jr was born right around the same time as Anne Frank (he was five month older). It’s surprising because they seem to belong in completely separate historical eras.

[Werekoala]

The only Black US Senator was not invited to speak.

Funny, that.

[BrainGlutton]

Remember that King was about a lot more than just racial equality. And perhaps that disturbs some Republicans.

The country’s acceptance of King came with its eventual consensus—won through mass marches, civil disobedience and grassroots activism—that codified segregation had to end. “America was like a dysfunctional drug addict or alcoholic that was addicted, dependent on racial segregation,” says Clarence Jones, who wrote the draft text of King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. “It had tried other treatments and failed. Then comes along Martin Luther King with his multistep program—recovery, nonviolence, civil disobedience and integration—and forces America to publicly confront its conscience. And that recovery program enabled America to embark on the greatest political transformation in history.”

By the time white Americans realized that their dislike of King was spent and futile, he had created a world in which admiring him was in their own self-interest. They embraced him because, in short, they had no choice.

The only question remaining was what version of King should be honored. To remember him now as a leader who sought greater government intervention to help the poor, or who branded the United States “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today,” as he did at Riverside Church in 1967, would sacrifice posterity for accuracy. He did stand for those things. But those issues, particularly at a time of war and economic crisis, remain live, divisive and urgent. To associate him with them would not raise him above the fray but insert him into it, leaving him as controversial in death as in life.

But remembering him as the man who spoke eloquently and forcefully against codified segregation presents him as an accordant figure whose principled stand rescued the nation in a moment of crisis.

“The speech is profoundly and willfully misunderstood,” says King’s longtime friend Vincent Harding, who drafted the Riverside Church speech. “People take the parts that require the least inquiry, the least change, the least work. Our country has chosen what they consider to be the easier way to work with King. They are aware that something very powerful was connected to him, and he was connected to it. But they are not ready to really take on the kind of issues he was raising even there.”

[Measure_for_Measure]

@Captain_Amazing

George W. Bush issued a public statement. A copy can be found here:

http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2013/08/george-w-bush-still-recovering-from-heart-procedure-will-not-attend-march-on-washington-ceremony.html/

That’s the sort of boilerplate that I would expect – and that I approve of. Now that the OP’s question has been answered (i.e. medical reasons were probably involved) let’s take a look at attendence by other Republican political leaders. Recall that modern conservatives love to quote MLK’s line about judging on the basis of content of character. Kevin Drum: From civil rights leader Julian Bond, on why there were no Republicans at yesterday’s 50th anniversary of the March on Washington:

"They asked a long list of Republicans to come, and to a man and woman they said no."....Bond did credit Cantor for trying hard to find a replacement speaker, but, ultimately, the leader was unable to find a single Republican to attend the event.  Not only did Republicans not bother attending, but they resisted arm-twisting to show up. Remember this the next time a modern conservative quotes Martin Luther King and consider the likelihood that they write or speak in bad faith.