George Bush under fire over handshake 'wipe'

[Still Waters]

George W Bush has been accused of insensitivity during a visit to Haiti after apparently shaking a man's hand then quickly wiping it on the shirt of the man next to him.

The gesture, whether intentional or accidental, was criticised as insulting to the disaster-stricken country. Then, as the shirt belonged to Bill Clinton, it was suggested that Bush was demeaning him.

However, the truth is not easy to judge. As has been pointed out, one version of the BBC footage which is circulating on the internet appeared to have been speeded up or edited to make the "wipe" seem more obvious.

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[danielost]

so bush shook hands with a man and then patted clinton on the back and then rubbed his shoulder. that was more along the lines of good job, atta boy, way to go, kind o thing.

[shaka5]

so bush shook hands with a man and then patted clinton on the back and then rubbed his shoulder. that was more along the lines of good job, atta boy, way to go, kind o thing.

This is possibly the only time i've agreed with you Daniel...i saw nothing wrong in the video...honestly, i'd probably wipe my hands too, i'm pretty much a Germaphobe, but i don't think thats what he was doing.

[conspiracybeliever]

Did you read this part?

"Mr Clinton has a reputation for lingering in crowds while Mr Bush is thought to be rather more businesslike"

I wonder why he always acted like an idiot when he was president.

[danielost]

Did you read this part?

"Mr Clinton has a reputation for lingering in crowds while Mr Bush is thought to be rather more businesslike"

I wonder why he always acted like an idiot when he was president.

that is because clinton is an idiot.

[Siara]

I'm not a Bush fan but he is way to classy to do something like this.

[AROCES]

This is like a video footage of a sea serpent, is that really a serpent or just wave of water.

It all depends now on what you want to believe.

[Hugh]

It looks like they are moving along a line of people towards the top/right of the picture, in a direction away from the camera.

Clinton looks like he is moving too slow for Bush, towards where they need to go.

Bush looks towards the direction that they need to be moving in and gives Clinton a few pats to urge him to keep moving forward.

The supposed "wipe" is just a bit of a friendly slight pushing motion after the taps, to coax him to keep moving.

I don't think it has anything to do with Bush "wiping off" his hand on Clinton at all.

Edited March 26, 2010 by Hugh

[acidhead]

The real message is that it doesn't matter who is in control in the land of the slavery - both Pepsi™ and Coke™ are scratching each others backs.

[Astute One]

I'm not a Bush fan but he is way to classy to do something like this.

Maybe the guy hand dirty hands.

[supervike]

It's sickening when conservatives try to push their agenda with crap like this, just as much as it is when Liberals try.

The insinuation here, of course, is that Bush is a racist.

If he was 'wiping his hand off', big deal. I'm really weird about touching other people as well, regardless of the color...Everybody should be with Swine flu epidemics all around us.

[acidhead]

It's sickening when conservatives try to push their agenda with crap like this, just as much as it is when Liberals try.

The insinuation here, of course, is that Bush is a racist.

If he was 'wiping his hand off', big deal. I'm really weird about touching other people as well, regardless of the color...Everybody should be with Swine flu epidemics all around us.

Regarless what Bush or Clinton was doing... I don't care if he was wiping sperm off of Miss Lewinski's blouse...

But what I am curious about is:

How wiping a hand on somebody rids germs from the surface of the skin?

-its beyond me.... in fact it doesn't make any sense at all.

[supervike]

Regarless what Bush or Clinton was doing... I don't care if he was wiping sperm off of Miss Lewinski's blouse...

But what I am curious about is:

How wiping a hand on somebody rids germs from the surface of the skin?

-its beyond me.... in fact it doesn't make any sense at all.

It doesn't, really. But have you ever shaken hands with someone who had sweaty palms? It takes a MONUMENTAL effort for me not to wipe my hands on my slacks as soon as it happens, but that would be incredibly rude. I think we can cut Georgie some slack on this one.

[Hugh]

I've been watching several youtube copies of this footage and it's interesting that most of them take out the couple of seconds before the wipe, and this is crucial to understanding what was taking place.

The link supplied in the original post of this thread gives those extra couple of seconds that show Bush and Clinton moving, then Clinton stopping moving forward.

This is where Bush gives Clinton the gentle tapping and wipe/push while looking at where they are supposed to be moving towards... likely George is thinking "keep moving there Bill".

[Siara]

It seems like an absent minded nervous gesture to me.