George H.W. Bush surprised by flash mob at Texas A&M
Updated 1:25 p.m. ET
Former President George H.W. Bush got an off-syllabus lesson during a recent visit to the Texas A&M school named for him.
Finishing up what he thought was an orthodox photo op March 1 at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at the College Station, Texas, university, the 88-year-old Bush - joined by his wife, former first lady Barbara Bush, and his granddaughter, Bush 43's daughter Jenna Bush Hager - was besieged by several dozen students spontaneously bursting into a choreographed rendition of Brooks & Dunn's "Boot Scootin' Boogie."
"That's a flash mob, grandpa," Bush Hager could be seen explaining to a visibly bewildered Bush, whose mouth hung agape.
Organized by Flash Mob America, the three-minute performance was a classic nod to country: A spirited "yeehaw!" kicked off the ordeal, followed by knee-slapping and mime-lassoing. Students and the dean rewrote the lyrics for the chorus to say, "the Bushwhacker Boogie," a shout-out to the school body's nickname.
The idea to honor the 41st president with a flash mob was a request from Bush's team, according to Casi Buch, a Bush School student who last fall was an academic liaison for the international affairs program and took the lead in coordinating the effort.
"President Bush visits the school at least four times a year," Buch told CBS News. "He'd never seen a flash mob before, so his administration thought it would be a unique way to honor the president."
With the goal to make the dance exclusively students of the Bush School, an email went out to the student population two weeks before the big show asking for participants. Three rehearsals - and a week of work with a Nashville country music artist to re-record the tailored lyrics - later, the mob was ready to dance.
Afterward, Buch said, Bush met with the performers, as well as alumni and faculty in attendance.
"He said he loved it," she said. "He loved the lyrics. He wanted an encore. One of the Flash Mob America cameras was just on him the whole time, and it was so great to watch his reaction. He kept moving his scooter closer and closer."
Bush was on campus again last Thursday for lunch with his longtime friend, former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. His office released a photo of the sit-down - the first since being released in January from a two-month stay at a Houston hospital, where he underwent treatment for a bronchial chough and other health issues.
Popular in Politics
- Obama prom pictures surface 80 Comments
- Obama: America at a "crossroads" in fighting terrorism 87 Comments
- IRS official Lois Lerner placed on leave
- Drones, Gitmo part of broad Obama counterterrorism speech
- Protester heckles Obama during counterterrorism speech Play Video
- Lawmakers push to punish sexual offenders in the military
- Boehner calls out Obama administration's "arrogance of power" 88 Comments
- IRS' Lerner: "I have not done anything wrong"
Executive Orders are NOT limited only to "temporary emergency measures". EVERY President, from Washington on, has used them for VARIOUS purposes. NONE have been found unconstitutional.
And they are an invaluable tool for when Congress is recalcitrant, lax or behind the times: For example, Truman issued one to integrate the military, and Eisenhower used one to enforce school integration.
You may want to claim a lot of things but being truthful is not one of them. The President stands up every day in front of the camera and lies. He says the White House didn't shut down the White House tours, the Secret Service did. Jay Carney comes out a day later and says the White House shut down the tours. I would give my right arm to see someone in the White House with half the integrity of George Bush. There has never been a President who lies as much as this President. He makes Richard Nixon look like Mother Theresa
Too lazy to be creative?
He supplied terrorists with weapons to enforce Wall St. doctrine, in Cuba, central and south America, all from his front oil business Zapata.
It is some evidence that he had a hand in the Kennedy Assassination as he was known to be associated with E Howard Hunt, whom Nixon brought into his white house.
His family has a long history of real crime...
Marvin Bush- Head of security for the World Trade Center...a week before 9/11 he closed the buildings and turned off the cameras...all of them. Shortly after replacing cables, he had the bomb sniffing dogs removed from the premisses.
Neal Bush- Silverado Savings- voted to loan millions of dollars to his secret business partners knowing it would never be paid back as director.
Prescott Bush- in 1934 attempted an outright military coup on the white house, and in 1942 J. Edgar Hoover shut down his bank, N.Y.Union for being Hitlers' American Bank.
It seems the fascists of WW2 survive.
Liberated is the word.....I would have preferred they didn't happen, but that is fact. This great country may have hosted at least 3 Presidents who had their hands dirty with presidential assassination and political treason.
You can kill the messenger...
now, my comment: Wish they had worn cowboy hats and boots.