Names and faces
■ Former President George W. Bush on Saturday called on Americans to put aside partisan differences, heed the guidance of medical professionals and show empathy for those stricken by the coronavirus and the resulting economic devastation. In a three-minute video message, Bush, who rarely speaks out on current events, struck a tone of unity that contrasted with the more combative approach taken at times by President Donald Trump as the former president evoked the sense of national solidarity in the wake of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. “Let us remember how small our differences are in the face of this shared threat,” Bush said in the professionally produced video set against music and photographs of medical workers helping victims of the virus and of ordinary Americans wearing masks. “In the final analysis, we are not partisan combatants. We are human beings, equally vulnerable and equally wonderful in the sight of God. We rise or fall together and we are determined to rise.” Bush’s message was part of a series of videos aired online as part of a 24-hour live-streamed project, The Call to Unite, that also featured Oprah Winfrey, Tim Shriver, Julia Roberts, Martin Luther King III, Sean Combs, Quincy Jones, Naomi Judd, Andrew Yang and others.
■ Katie Hill, the former Democratic congresswoman from Southern California who resigned last year is running a digital and cable TV ad urging residents of her old district to vote in a May 12 special election to determine who will finish her term. She opens the 30-second ad in a black mask with the White House in the background and delivers a dig at President Donald Trump, saying the coronavirus outbreak is “more dangerous because of what’s coming out of that building.” She then pulls off the mask and says, “It’s me, Katie Hill.” She doesn’t mention the candidates for the 25th District seat — Democrat Christy Smith and Republican Mike Garcia — but warns voters that “when we take our vote for granted, we put ourselves and our communities in danger. This time, we have to vote like our lives depend on it,” she says. The ad was funded with $200,000 from Hill’s political action committee, HER Time. The ad is being targeted at voters who turned out in 2018 but did not have a consistent voting history, as well as newly registered voters and those who don’t typically receive a vote-by-mail ballot. Because of the virus outbreak, virtually all voters are expected to mail in their ballots. Hill resigned last year amid a House ethics probe into allegations of an inappropriate sexual relationship with one of her congressional staffers.