The Fort Worth Convention Center is packed this morning for the Get Motivated seminars. A long list of all-star speakers are scheduled but what's bringing national attention to today's feel good fest is the debut of former President George W. Bush as a motivational speaker.
Two hours in, we've heard four speakers, all of whom are giving personal anecdotes to deliver similar lessons: be a leader, stay positive, don't give up.
A couple of speakers have veered briefly into politics.
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell told a funny story about having trouble getting through airport security. He then praised President Bush's policies related to terrorism and foreign policy.
"We are safer than we were before 9/11 because of President Bush," Powell said to applause.
John Walsh, of America's Most Wanted, spent most of his speech describing his journey from his son being murdered to helping catch criminals on his long-running TV show.
Near the end, Walsh praised Bush for creating the National Sex Offender Registry and then sharply criticized President Obama for not funding the Adam Walsh Act, named after his son.
He also complained that federal leaders will let NASA spend millions to find "ice crystals on the moon" but won't put more into beefing up protections against sexual offenders.
Mentioning the different companies the Obama adminsitration bailed out, Walsh said, "They’ve bailed out out all these creeps but they haven’t funded the Adam Walsh Act.”
Walsh urged the crowd to lobby their members of Congress.
"Send them that letter, 'I'll never vote for you again. I'll never send you five bucks unless you get the Adam Walsh Act funded," Walsh said.
-Aman Batheja
