George W. Bush And Bill Clinton Hand Wipe Viral Video After Handshake On Haiti Earthquake Visit

Quake Shake Bugs Germophobe George Bush
6:13pm UK, Thursday March 25, 2010

Robert Nisbet, US correspondent

It’s the viral video, born of a former President’s apparent fear of bacteria.

George W. Bush and Bill Clinton were on walkabout in Haiti when the 43rd President of the United States appeared to wipe his hand on the 42nd’s shirt sleeve after shaking the hand of an earthquake victim.

As with most things political here in the US, there’s a clear division between left and right on how to interpret the gesture.

Liberal blogs like the Huffington Post have been inundated with comments, accusing President Bush of everything from overt racism to contempt for the needy.

Not wanting to seem unhygienic, I took a squirt

Barack Obama, on meeting George W.Bush

Right-leaning websites have, unsurprisingly, been more supportive, suggesting the camera angle exaggerates the wipe and that it may merely have been a signal for Clinton to stop chatting and get a move on.

But President Bush has previous form as a germophobe, as described by none other than Barack Obama.

After Bush showed the newcomer around the White House following the Democratic candidate’s victory in 2008, the two men shook hands in the Oval Office.

According to Obama, Bush turned to an aide, “who squirted a big dollop of hand sanitiser in the president’s hand.”

Bush then offered some to Obama, who recalled: “Not wanting to seem unhygienic, I took a squirt.”

Duration : 0:0:28

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