Bush Video, Trump Response Shine Light on Hyperpartisanship

Former President George W. Bush says Americans should come together as one to confront the coronavirus pandemic that has claimed the lives of over 66,000 in the country so far.

In a video released on Saturday, the 43rd U.S. president said, “We are not partisan combatants. We’re human beings, equally vulnerable and equally wonderful in the sight of God.”

Bush’s presidential center posted the message on Twitter, tagging @TheCallToUnite, a livestream for celebrities and public figures to post encouraging videos during the pandemic.

It got the Republican, who left office...

This past Saturday, former President George W. Bush released a brief video whose subtweeted message was unmistakable. It recognized the suffering of those who had lost family members, or economic prospects, or hope itself; it emphasized the all of us rather than the us and them response to national crisis; and it appealed to the generous rather than the resentful in human nature.

In short, it was the kind of message that leaders of any nation have been expected to transmit, as part of their duty, in time of national...