‘Small crowd’ on street corner greets Bush in Florida, while block-long line of people camp out for Obama in LA.
‘Small crowd’ on street corner greets Bush in Florida, while block-long line of people camp out for Obama in LA.
Today, President Bush is attending a private fundraiser in Jacksonville, FL, to gin up support for his $300 million presidential library. At the luncheon, Bush also planned to speak about the economy and “thank local Republicans for their support.” Local CBS affiliate WTEV-TV broadcast from outside the venue for the event today, showing a few people standing on a street corner to greet the former president. The reporter called it a “small crowd.” Watch it:
Compare Bush’s reception to that of Obama, who will be on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno this evening. People hoping for tickets camped out all night — more than 10 hours — with the line stretching all the way down the block:
Even though Duval County GOP spokesperson Donna Barrow said that “Jacksonville is Bush Country,” Jacksonville’s mayor — who is a Republican — turned down Bush’s invite for today’s lunch.
(ThinkProgress has been keeping a close eye on developments with the Bush library, and we will continue to do so. Read our related posts here.)
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‘Small crowd’ on street corner greets Bush in Florida, while block-long line of people camp out for Obama in LA.
– - Shocking. No really, just shocking.
March 19th, 2009 at 3:11 pmBush is a National Pariah so it makes perfect sense.
And in Florida, they don’t have the excuse of it being too cold to come out either.
March 19th, 2009 at 3:12 pmI’ll stay up for The Tonight Show this evening — the first time in years.
I wouldn’t spit on George W. Bush if he were on fire.
March 19th, 2009 at 3:13 pmI can only hope that karma is gonna get ‘em.
Smoke him out (and his dirty little trolls too).
:]
March 19th, 2009 at 3:14 pmNo one knows which entry he’ll be at and neither does he or his handlers.
March 19th, 2009 at 3:17 pmThey will be picking the least populated entry in order to avoid the showering of shoes.
War criminals just aren’t treated like the used to be.
http://www.pufferfishblog.com/
March 19th, 2009 at 3:24 pm.
Seriously,
He should be lobbying money for a shoe store.
.
March 19th, 2009 at 3:28 pm“‘Small crowd’ on street corner greets Bush in Florida, while block-long line of people camp out for Obama in LA.”
lol
“Even though Duval County GOP spokesperson Donna Barrow said that ‘Jacksonville is Bush Country,’ Jacksonville’s mayor — who is a Republican — turned down Bush’s invite for today’s lunch.”
lol lol
March 19th, 2009 at 3:31 pmI don’t know, this post feels petty, ‘oooohhh–look who got a bigger crowd’. I would understand if the right were trying to say George Bush is a more popular figure than President Obama, but even they are not going that far. Who shows up to watch a motorcade for an ex-preident anyway?
March 19th, 2009 at 3:33 pmZooey says:
However, I’m willing to piss on chimpy, fire or not.
:-)
March 19th, 2009 at 3:36 pmNot only was the crowd small, but it appeared to be in a comatose condition.
March 19th, 2009 at 3:38 pmIsn’t Florida full of Zombies?
Maybe that’s who it is…
March 19th, 2009 at 3:43 pmSo that’s,/i> where all the wind is coming from; Shrub is blovating again.
Who’da thought you could feel it all the way down here in Sarasota.
March 19th, 2009 at 3:44 pmSo that’s where all the wind is coming from; Shrub is blovating again.
Who’da thought you could feel it all the way down here in Sarasota.
March 19th, 2009 at 3:44 pmThis event Bush went to must have been kept very quiet, because I did not see one sign asking for the arrest of a war criminal. I know if Bush came to my town, and I knew it, I would be carrying that sign myself.
March 19th, 2009 at 3:45 pmWhoops. Sorry for the double post.
March 19th, 2009 at 3:46 pmMust’ve been some of those 20%
March 19th, 2009 at 3:46 pmSounds like Florida hasn’t issued an arrest warrant for Bush… yet.
His options will continue to be more limiting, and he should relish his “crowd” today because, unless it’s an angry mob, he shouldn’t expect people to line up for him ever again.
Having his inaugural walk cancelled due to egg throwing should have been his first clue.
PEACE
March 19th, 2009 at 3:47 pmIf Bush wants to continue to serve his country, he could serve his sentence for war crimes in stocks, while Americans pay $100 a shot to throw their shoes at him. We could probably pay off the deficit given how many people want to punish him.
March 19th, 2009 at 3:49 pmThere was a larger crowd for the beard and mustache competition I went to on Saturday…
March 19th, 2009 at 3:50 pmLevi says;
I have something to throw at chimpy, and it’s not shoes. It’s something soft, smelly, and unpleasant to step in and nasty to clean off your shoes.
March 19th, 2009 at 3:56 pmThe Bush apologists will claim we’re comparing apples to oranges here, and they may have a point. After all, the people in the President Obama crowd are there with the hope they might get a ticket to actually see him, whereas the “small crowd” in Florida no doubt know Dubya is going to a private fundraiser and they won’t actually be seeing him.(implying that if there were tickets to see Bush, the line to get them would wrap around the block, I suppose?).
That said — I think Obama’s popularity would eclipse Bush’s even if their events were reversed and it was Dubya going on the Leno show. I don’t even think anybody would argue differently. And this may be why Bush limits himself to private invitation-only affairs.
March 19th, 2009 at 3:57 pmBush has to attend invitation only events. Everywhere he goes in public he will be hounded by Americans demanding he be punished for his crimes. Without a hand picked audience, Bush is just as helpless now as he was when he was president.
March 19th, 2009 at 3:59 pmWhat did anyone expect? For years, Bush has limited attendance at his “speaking” events to only those who supported him, no opposing views allowed.
On the other hand, Obama has made concerted efforts to include everyone, even those who disagree with him.
Night and Day differences. Black and white. Democrat and Republican.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:00 pmThat’s a crowd? We get more people lined up when the local soft serve joint opens every spring. It looks more like people are trying to figure out why the cops are out.
I did like the bit about how he’s having lunch with 14 people. Now there is a big hooptydoo.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:00 pm“Joe the Philosopher Says:
Not only was the crowd small, but it appeared to be in a comatose condition.”
Not only was the crowd small, but it was also limp.
Not only was the crowd small, but they all appeared to be shoeless.
Not only was the crowd small, they were all holding job applications for the nearby Baskin Robbins.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:01 pmI wonder how much money Bush is asking for to cover the security costs of his presidential library. I am going to guess that Bush’s presidential library will have to have to have the very best security available, because of the tremendous amount of vandalism that is going to occur.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:03 pmIf I were going to waste a perfectly good shoe on Chimpy, I’d make damn sure it had a big rock in it.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:20 pmJust out of curiosity,I wonder who’s reponsible for the annual
March 19th, 2009 at 4:21 pmexpenses for this so-called library. Although 300ml may cover
the construction, surely a trust fund would be needed to keep it operating in perpetuity. If SMU will be stuck with funding it, perhaps they might consider dumping this white elephant.
poor bush,
he can’t even get
a small crowd of troll here.
::
March 19th, 2009 at 4:24 pmUncle Ho Says:
I have something to throw at chimpy, and it’s not shoes.
It’s something soft, smelly, and unpleasant to step in and nasty to clean off your shoes.
You’re throwing trolls at him?
March 19th, 2009 at 4:32 pmdogshit = trolls?
Never thought of it that way B4.
heh, heh
March 19th, 2009 at 4:34 pmLuis M —
Can you come over and clean the coffee off of my computer screen? :)
March 19th, 2009 at 4:35 pmMaybe if Bush did a little soft shoe? Put a hat on the ground and play a violin? Mime?
Keep trying you pathetic POS, that library’s not going to fund itself.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:43 pmLuis M Says:
Uncle Ho Says:
I have something to throw at chimpy, and it’s not shoes.
It’s something soft, smelly, and unpleasant to step in and nasty to clean off your shoes.
You’re throwing trolls at him?
March 19th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
Best comment of the day! :-D
March 19th, 2009 at 4:50 pmThinkProgress has been keeping a close eye on developments with the Bush library…..
How can you keep an eye on something which not only doesn’t exist but whose entire designation (Bush + Library) is reminiscent of the world destruction if matter and anti-matter collided ?
:-)
March 19th, 2009 at 4:52 pmSeriously though, did you say a measly mayor refused a dinner invitation from the “most powerful man in the world” (by his own admission) ????????????????
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
March 19th, 2009 at 4:53 pmobama drew a nice size
crowd in jacksonville
back in sept. 08…
why can’t bush?
;;;
March 19th, 2009 at 5:09 pmDarn, I didn’t get an invitation, but I did notice a big stench when I drove back to Jacksonville this afternoon.
March 19th, 2009 at 5:19 pmGeorge seems to be having a difficult time convincing people that he needs $300 million to build a small bookshelf for his goat book.
March 19th, 2009 at 5:27 pm.
I saw that Bush drew a larger crowd in Canada than in the USA…
… What’s that all about?
.
March 19th, 2009 at 5:28 pmMax-1 Says:
I saw that Bush drew a larger crowd in Canada than in the USA…
… What’s that all about?
March 19th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
The Canadians have lots of extra shoes…?
March 19th, 2009 at 5:43 pmYea Zooey,
March 19th, 2009 at 5:50 pmJust willin’ to throw ‘em away…
.
I guess with the latest round of shoe recalls from China…
… Americans are holding on tight with the two pairs they have left.
.
March 19th, 2009 at 5:55 pmIf you were George Bush, would you want everyone to know where you were going to show up?
March 19th, 2009 at 5:56 pmIts a shame an old person didnt accidently run over everyone in the bush crowd.
March 19th, 2009 at 6:28 pmBush Country, can you think of a bigger insult?
March 19th, 2009 at 8:14 pmA simple man Says:
Its a shame an old person didnt accidently run over everyone in the bush crowd.
*
have you been drinking?
___
March 19th, 2009 at 10:52 pmHave the police released an official estimate of the size of the *AHEM* “crowd”.
From what I see, I doubt it is over 20. Of course, 2s company, 3s a crowd ????
March 19th, 2009 at 11:21 pmToo bad the small crowd waiting for Bush didn’t consist of Deputy US Marshals with an arrest warrant.
March 20th, 2009 at 12:27 amThe police in Florida should participate in seeking prosecution against Bush for murder.
For example, Bush murdered Mike Connell.
“The death of Republican ‘IT guru’ Mike Connell last Friday in a fiery plane crash has been the subject of intense speculation online about whether it might have been murder. . . . ‘Some say Connell was about to reveal embarrassing details involving senior members of the Bush Administration,’ Taylor explained, ‘including their involvement in destroying incriminating emails and rigging elections. . . . He was an experienced pilot. Was it an accident, or murder?’ . . . A tipster close to the McCain campaign disclosed to VR in July that Mr. Connell’s life was in jeopardy and that Karl Rove had threatened him and his wife” (David Edwards and Muriel Kane. (2008, December 23). Ohio TV station: Was Connell crash an accident or murder? rawstory.com. Retrieved December 26, 2008, from http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Local_TV_news_Connell_crash_accident_1223.html).
“I believe Mike Connell was murdered” (Barbtries. Retrieved December 26, 2008, from http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203×511097).
Submitted by Andrew Yu-Jen Wang
March 20th, 2009 at 2:54 amB.S., Summa Cum Laude, 1996
Messiah College, Grantham, PA
Lower Merion High School, Ardmore, PA, 1993