Michelle Obama gives George W. Bush the bear hug we all need

2025-04-28 04:32:05admin

Times are hard and confusing, but Michelle Obama gives a hug that could cure all ills.

At the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C. Saturday, the First Lady enveloped President George W. Bush in an embrace for the ages. He seemed to enjoy it, and the whole affair did not escape the internet's notice.

Decide for yourself whether Bush deserves that great hug, but it looks like America appreciated it nevertheless.

SEE ALSO: The cast of 'The West Wing' will campaign for Hillary Clinton

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

The across-the-political-aisle gesture was not even the most heartwarming moment from the event -- not by a long shot.

Mashable Top Stories Stay connected with the hottest stories of the day and the latest entertainment news. Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

Ruth Bonner, 99, the daughter of a man born a slave in Mississippi who ran to freedom, helped ring the bell to officially open the museum, with several generations of her family looking on.

During his speech, President Barack Obama told Bonner's incredible history with his customary eloquence.

"Now, Ruth's father, Elijah Odom, was born into servitude in Mississippi. He was born a slave. As a young boy, he ran, though, to his freedom. He lived through Reconstruction and he lived through Jim Crow. But he went on to farm, and graduate from medical school, and gave life to the beautiful family that we see today -- with a spirit reflected in beautiful Christine, free and equal in the laws of her country and in the eyes of God.

The bell also had its own story, having been taken from the First Baptist Church in Virginia, a historic black church.

So in a brief moment, their family will join us in ringing a bell from the First Baptist Church in Virginia -- one of the oldest black churches in America, founded under a grove of trees in 1776. And the sound of this bell will be echoed by others in houses of worship and town squares all across this country -- an echo of the ringing bells that signaled Emancipation more than a century and a half ago; the sound, and the anthem, of American freedom."