You know that we simply cannot let this one pass without a comment and a smile. Via Twitchy, CBS happened to be on hand — and apparently in on the secret — when George H. W. Bush paid a visit to Texas A&M to see the school named after him. Believing this to be a normal reception, the students at College Station demonstrated to the initially-bewildered former President what a flash mob does … at least in Texas. As his granddaughter Jenna leaned in to explain it, the crowd began doing a dance number to “Boot-Scootin’ Boogie,” but with special lyrics for the occasion.
C’mon … click it. You know you can’t resist:
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.”
That’s a great way to start out the day, and a fine way to honor a fine American.
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