老布什坐輪椅白宮頒獎(jiǎng) 腳穿紅白條紋襪
At an afternoon ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Obama and Bush honored a retired couple from an Iowa farming town who have helped deliver free meals to hungry children around the world.
The couple received the 5,000th Points of Light award. The awards were established by Bush in 1989 to celebrate the power of individuals to spark change and improve the world. In his remarks, Obama paid a special and personal tribute to Bush — his oldest living predecessor — and said he and other presidents have striven to follow Bush’s lead in encouraging national service.
“Mr. President, I’m one of millions of people who’ve been inspired by your passion and commitment,” Obama said. He added, “You’re such a gentleman, such a good and kind person, and we are surely a kinder and gentler nation because of you.”
Bush, who at 89 has been battling health problems, appeared frail but in good spirits as he was pushed onstage in a wheelchair by a Marine. Returning to the White House, he said, was “like coming home for Barbara and me.”
Obama spoke warmly about Bush’s longevity, noting that he jumped out of an airplane on his 85th birthday. “After he left the White House, he kept going and going and going,” the 44th president said of the 41st. “In between skydiving and other activities, he kept going. . . . This is somebody who’s not going to slow down anytime soon.”
Bush and Obama honored Floyd Hammer and Kathy Hamilton of Union, Iowa, who a decade ago were set to retire until they took a trip to Tanzania and saw children dying of malnutrition. They founded a nonprofit group, Outreach, that delivers food to the world’s hungry.
The award’s name, like the Points of Light charitable foundation begun during Bush’s presidency, is a reference to Bush’s 1989 inaugural address, in which he likened the nation’s community groups to “a thousand points of light.”
Neil Bush, chairman of the Points of Light foundation, choked up as he spoke about his father’s legacy of volunteerism.
“He may not be parachuting anymore, but he’s taken on a new hobby — he’s trying to be a style setter. ‘GQ man,’ we’re calling him, instead of ‘41,’?” Bush said of his father, who sported red-and-white striped socks.
Obama has been a proponent of volunteerism as well, launching a National Day of Service connected to both of his inaugurations. On Monday, he announced a federal task force to identify ways that the government and the private sector can work together on national service projects.
First ladies Michelle Obama and Barbara Bush were present for the ceremony. Beforehand, the two families shared a private lunch in the Red Room, a grand parlor on the first floor of the White House.
Monday’s events mark a continued thawing of relations between Obama and the Bushes.
In 2011, Obama warmly welcomed the Bush family to the White House as he awarded the Medal of Freedom — the nation’s highest civilian honor — to the elder Bush, patriarch of a political dynasty. Obama and George W. Bush also met last month in Tanzania, where Obama praised his predecessor’s AIDS relief program.
Then last week, the younger Bush delivered a rare public address on policy matters and called on fellow Republicans to support comprehensive immigration reform, which is the centerpiece of Obama’s second-term domestic agenda.
他們屬于不同的時(shí)代，他們來自美國(guó)不同的族群，人生觀和社會(huì)環(huán)境的差異導(dǎo)致他們的政治生涯不盡相同。然而當(dāng)?shù)貢r(shí)間7月15日，美國(guó)現(xiàn)任總統(tǒng)奧巴馬、前總統(tǒng)老布什以及他們的家人卻因共同的志愿服務(wù)精神在白宮聚首。
據(jù)美國(guó)媒體報(bào)道，15日下午，奧巴馬和老布什在白宮東廳頒發(fā)第五千座“每日光點(diǎn)獎(jiǎng)”，表彰一對(duì)來自艾奧瓦州的退休夫婦在公共服務(wù)領(lǐng)域和志愿者工作中取得的杰出成績(jī)。獲獎(jiǎng)?wù)吒ヂ逡恋?bull;哈默爾和凱西•漢密爾頓來自艾奧瓦州猶尼昂鎮(zhèn)。十年前，一次前往坦桑尼亞的旅行改變了這對(duì)夫婦的生活。在那里，他們親眼看到了兒童因營(yíng)養(yǎng)不良而死去。于是，這對(duì)原本打算退休后享受生活的夫婦成立了一個(gè)名為“延伸”的非營(yíng)利性組織，向世界各地的饑餓兒童提供免費(fèi)的食物。
據(jù)悉，“每日光點(diǎn)獎(jiǎng)”由老布什于1989年設(shè)立，以表彰改變、推動(dòng)世界發(fā)展的杰出個(gè)人。該獎(jiǎng)項(xiàng)與老布什擔(dān)任美國(guó)總統(tǒng)期間成立的“每日一點(diǎn)燈光”慈善基金會(huì)一樣，均取名于老布什1989年發(fā)表的就職演說。當(dāng)時(shí)，老布什在演說中把美國(guó)的社區(qū)組織比喻成“千萬點(diǎn)光芒”。
頒獎(jiǎng)典禮上，奧巴馬發(fā)表了簡(jiǎn)短的講話，他借此機(jī)會(huì)向老布什致敬。“總統(tǒng)先生，您的熱情和承諾鼓舞了數(shù)百萬人民，我就是其中一員。您是一位真正的紳士、一個(gè)心地善良的好人，因?yàn)橛心?，美?guó)成為了一個(gè)更加友善、更加溫和的國(guó)家。”奧巴馬稱，他和其他幾位美國(guó)總統(tǒng)都努力追隨老布什的腳步、鼓勵(lì)國(guó)家服務(wù)事業(yè)的發(fā)展。
89歲高齡的老布什近年來一直與病魔抗?fàn)帯?5日出席頒獎(jiǎng)儀式時(shí)，老布什坐在輪椅上，由一名海軍陸戰(zhàn)隊(duì)士兵將其推上舞臺(tái)。老布什看上去身體有些虛弱但精神抖擻，他還說重返白宮“感覺就像回到了我和芭芭拉(老布什妻子)的家”。
奧巴馬對(duì)老布什的長(zhǎng)壽感到高興，他還提到老布什以高空跳傘來慶祝85歲生日的壯舉。“老布什離開白宮后，他一直在努力前進(jìn)。借由跳傘和其他活動(dòng)，他在前行……這是一個(gè)永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)放慢腳步的人。”作為美國(guó)第44任總統(tǒng)，奧巴馬對(duì)他的前輩美國(guó)第41任總統(tǒng)老布什予以高度評(píng)價(jià)。
尼爾•布什現(xiàn)為“每日光點(diǎn)獎(jiǎng)”慈善基金會(huì)的主席，當(dāng)他談到父親老布什留下的寶貴遺產(chǎn)“志愿服務(wù)精神”時(shí)，情緒有些激動(dòng)。隨后，尼爾調(diào)侃起老布什腳上的紅白條紋運(yùn)動(dòng)長(zhǎng)襪，“他可能不會(huì)再嘗試高空跳傘了，不過他培養(yǎng)了一個(gè)新愛好——當(dāng)一名型男。現(xiàn)在，我們不再稱呼他為第41任總統(tǒng)了，而是‘GQ型男’。”
與老布什類似，奧巴馬也在積極推動(dòng)美國(guó)志愿服務(wù)事業(yè)的發(fā)展，兩次就職典禮期間，他都帶頭參加了“全國(guó)服務(wù)日”的義工活動(dòng)。15日，奧巴馬宣布設(shè)立聯(lián)邦專責(zé)小組，負(fù)責(zé)探索政府與私人機(jī)構(gòu)如何在國(guó)家服務(wù)項(xiàng)目中展開通力協(xié)作的方法。
頒獎(jiǎng)儀式當(dāng)天，奧巴馬的妻子米歇爾和老布什的太太芭芭拉也出席了。此前，兩家人在白宮共進(jìn)私人午餐。
分析人士認(rèn)為，15日的活動(dòng)標(biāo)志奧巴馬與布什家族的關(guān)系持續(xù)緩和。2011年，奧巴馬在白宮向包括老布什在內(nèi)的15人頒發(fā)2010年度的總統(tǒng)自由勛章，當(dāng)時(shí)他盛情邀請(qǐng)老布什一家親臨白宮。上月，奧巴馬與小布什在坦桑尼亞會(huì)面，他高度評(píng)價(jià)了小布什開展的防治艾滋病項(xiàng)目。而在上周，小布什罕見地就公共事務(wù)發(fā)表公開講話，呼吁共和黨人支持奧巴馬推進(jìn)的移民改革方案。
