Dignifying A Smear
It's Extreme Media fecality like this that makes me ask for the umpteenth time why George Bush continues to give these people the time of day, much less exclusive one-on-one interviews:
The first thought that comes to my mind is that a President of the United States who has a better record of elevating minorities to lofty positions in his administration than "the first black president," Bill Clinton, ever dreamed of, should not be insulted with such a despicable query. Not only should Williams have never asked, but the stupid notion should never have occurred to him in the first place.
The next thought is, well, what do you say to that if you're Bush? If you take the dignified approach you respond with something like, "Of course not, Brian." If you try to set Williams straight you rattle off stats like these from the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, showing that of the 488 bodies that have been identified and released to families so far, 49% were black, 47% were Caucasian and 2% were Hispanic, and then asking Williams if he seriously believes that FEMA deliberately rigged the rescue efforts to ensure that more black people perished. And if you take the approach that the question deserved, your retort becomes, "Take your race-baiting and shove it where Dan Rather's sense of ethics used to be, you [bleep]ing coifed ninny!"
Instead, the President responded with this:
I know how much importance Dubya places in maintaining the dignity of the office he holds, but press questions like this one don't do much for the image of the nation's highest office, either - or the man currently occupying it. Sometimes preserving one's dignity in the face of unspeakable calumny requires a little righteous indignation. And sometimes sheer self-respect demands it.
It isn't just factually wrong to call the President a racist - it's morally wrong. And it's long since time that the opposition attitude that leads to such outrageousness be blasted back under the proverbial rock from whence it slithered.
Responding to bogus claims that the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina discriminated against black storm victims in New Orleans, President Bush denied yesterday that he was a "racist."
In a wide ranging interview, NBC anchorman Brian Williams suggested that race played a role in Katrina rescue efforts, asking Bush: "Was there any social or class or race aspect to the response?"
The first thought that comes to my mind is that a President of the United States who has a better record of elevating minorities to lofty positions in his administration than "the first black president," Bill Clinton, ever dreamed of, should not be insulted with such a despicable query. Not only should Williams have never asked, but the stupid notion should never have occurred to him in the first place.
The next thought is, well, what do you say to that if you're Bush? If you take the dignified approach you respond with something like, "Of course not, Brian." If you try to set Williams straight you rattle off stats like these from the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, showing that of the 488 bodies that have been identified and released to families so far, 49% were black, 47% were Caucasian and 2% were Hispanic, and then asking Williams if he seriously believes that FEMA deliberately rigged the rescue efforts to ensure that more black people perished. And if you take the approach that the question deserved, your retort becomes, "Take your race-baiting and shove it where Dan Rather's sense of ethics used to be, you [bleep]ing coifed ninny!"
Instead, the President responded with this:
"A couple of people said — you know, said, 'Bush didn't respond because of race, because he's a racist.' That is absolutely wrong. And I reject that. Frankly, that's the kind of thing that — you can call me anything you want — but do not call me a racist."...
"When I thanked those chopper drivers from the Coast Guard who performed brilliantly," he said, "they didn't lower those booms to pick up people saying, 'What color skin do you have?' They said, 'A fellow American's in jeopardy. And I'm going to do my best to rescue that person.'"
I know how much importance Dubya places in maintaining the dignity of the office he holds, but press questions like this one don't do much for the image of the nation's highest office, either - or the man currently occupying it. Sometimes preserving one's dignity in the face of unspeakable calumny requires a little righteous indignation. And sometimes sheer self-respect demands it.
It isn't just factually wrong to call the President a racist - it's morally wrong. And it's long since time that the opposition attitude that leads to such outrageousness be blasted back under the proverbial rock from whence it slithered.
posted by JASmius at 5:51 PM
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