Bush, Clinton: It's Not About Politics

Former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton continued their push for private fundraising for Haiti today, appearing side by side on five Sunday talk shows to emphasize the humanitarian crisis over partisanship. "I'd say now is not the time to focus on politics," Bush told Face the Nation. "You've got children who've lost parents. People wondering where they're going to be able to drink water," Bush said. "There's a great sense of desperation. And so my attention is on trying to help people deal with the desperation."

Both presidents poo-poohed critics, Rush Limbaugh chief among them, who say President Obama's response is politically motivated. "I don't know what those people are talking about," said Bush. "I just think it doesn't do us any good to waste any time in what is in my opinion a fruitless and pointless conversation," Clinton said, adding that, "In a disaster of this magnitude, you just can't deal with this just with government money." Clinton said a disaster like the earthquake in Haiti "reminds us of our common humanity. It reminds us of needs that go beyond fleeting disagreements." (More Bill Clinton stories.)