The above video has been doing the rounds of the interweb, showing former US president George Bush in Haiti. As you can see from the video, it looks like Bush shakes hands with someone and immediately wipes his hand on Bill Clinton's shirt.

An NPR news post on the subject was headlined: "Hand-Shaking Bush In Haiti Wipes Mitt On Clinton's Shirt", and plenty of tweets and blogs thought the former president was guilty of insulting Haiti and possibly Clinton. But it seems unlikely, although without being there at the time it's impossible to say for certain. An equally likely version of events would show the personality differences between the two presidents.

The video clip above appears to have been selectively slowed at the point that Bush touches Clinton's shoulder, making his gesture seem worse than it was. In the full-speed BBC version – available here – Bush is seen tapping Clinton on the shoulder twice and then plucking at his sleeve. Clinton is notoriously unpunctual and an enthusiastic glad-hander, whereas Bush is known for keeping to a tight schedule. So it's just as likely that Bush was encouraging Clinton to hurry up.

