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Tiger Woods - Source: Close Up -
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Tiger Woods, according to music mogul Russell Simmons' twitter page, is finally doing something right. The disgraced golfer is contemplating a donation to dispatch a cargo plane with a mobile hospital to Haiti. If correct, this is exactly what the crushed island requires, given its lack of medical facilities.
A story in the New York Daily News, again featuring quotes from Simmons, says that Tiger is proposing to send 50 medicos into the field at a cost of $US3 million.
Meanwhile, President Obama has reached out to Bill Clinton and George W Bush to spearhead relief efforts, hoping perhaps for the same force, the same combination of star power and connections that Bill Clinton and George H W Bush (the 41st president of the US) were able to bring to their humanitarian efforts after the tsunami at Banda Aceh
"This is one of those moments that calls out for American leadership," Obama had said.
At present the need in Haiti is immense, and by the latest reports, being chaotically met . Any charitable action is welcome.
But the following line from the website Associated Content, noting Tiger's prospective contribution gave me pause. "If making a humanitarian donation to Haiti to help the injured people there get help is Tiger Woods' first public act after his accident on thanksgiving night it is a noble act indeed. Philanthropic good deeds might show that Tiger Woods is still a person who cares about others, despite his allegedly high number of mistresses."
Charity does not mean opportunism.
Tiger Woods, his reputation having gone from rarefied to radioactive in a matter of weeks, must be aware of the PR benefits of a munificent act in such a time of crisis. He must also be aware of the dangers of appearing as cynical as he was during the industrial promiscuity that may well end his career.
His charitable actions have never been in doubt. Tiger's foundation has dispersed millions to underprivileged kids; his fidelity, judgement, and ability to tell the truth have been found to be - how to put this? - less than satisfactory.
George W Bush seems as sensible a choice to associate with a relief effort as Tiger would be to be a spokesperson for chastity. For much of 2008, Barack Obama cheerfully made political hay by thumping the ex-President on his failures during and after Hurricane Katrina. He was right to do so. An absence of leadership during turned a crisis of weather into a human catastrophe.
Now Bush, a leader pilloried as insufficient for Americans in their time of need has by the alchemy of convenience been deemed acceptable for Haiti by a President with sinking approval ratings. This is bipartisanship run amok.
Rahm Emmanuel, President Obama's Chief of Staff has a motto: "Never waste a crisis."
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