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Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Bush on blacks
In an interview today, President Bush lamented his inability to garner favor among African-Americans. He blames himself. He blames politics. He says Republicans have to find a way to attract blacks.
The comments came in an Oval Office interview with April Ryan, White House correspondent for American Urban Radio Networks, an operation with broad reach in black communities around the nation.
Bush cited the No Child Left Behind program as a major positive in education for blacks, calling it “a really great piece of civil rights legislation.”
The president brought up No Child Left Behind after Ryan, referring to Bush’s visit to Africa last week, asked, “”Why didn’t this all translate to the African-American community, all your work there?”
“I don’t know, April,” Bush said. “You probably could answer that better than me.”
He touted No Child Left Behind and then talked more broadly about what African-Americans think of him.
“I guess people get images in their mind in the political world where they just don’t get to know a person’s heart. I’m sure it’s my fault that I wasn’t able to go into some African-American communities and share my heart,” Bush said.
“Secondly, I am a Republican and there is a suspicion of being a Republican. You hear, ‘Aw, Bush is a Republican. He doesn’t care about us.’ And I understand that. And our party has to do a better job of making sure our policies are viewed as hopeful policies. I guess that’s the reason why,” he said.
“I was disappointed, of course,” Bush said of his inability to curry favor among blacks. “When I was governor of Texas they got to know me pretty well down there and I got a pretty sizable African-American vote, which I was proud of. When I ran for president I got whomped pretty significantly in the African-American community and I was disappointed, truly disappointed.”
What does probable GOP presidential nominee John McCain have to do to win black support?
“He is not quite the nominee yet and as you know I’ve been making sure I don’t get engaged in this primary. But the Republican candidate is going to have to, one, show heart, two, explain why policies will make a difference in the lives of the African-American citizens. We’ve got a lot of hard work to do,” Bush said.
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Other than that, how’d you enjoy the concert?
The White House review of today’s historic performance by the New York Philharmonic in Pyongyang, North Korea:
“The president thinks at the end of the day this is a concert. And it’s not going to change the behavior of a regime that is not being as forthcoming as we need them to be on their nuclear activities,” said White House press secretary Dana Perino.
“From there I suppose that additional cultural exchanges like the New York Philharmonic will be available, but you can’t help but think about all the people in North Korea who aren’t going to be able to hear this concert, and for those who are lucky enough to hear it I’m sure it will be memorable,” she said.
“What I’m saying is that what is a condition for future engagement with North Korea is for them to meet their (international) obligations. If they don’t meet their … obligations all sorts of things won’t happen, like increased communication, increased economic development, increased trade, increased cultural exchanges - all the things that many other countries in the world enjoy because they are not suffocating their own people,” Perino said.
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Give ‘em Helen
Today’s installment in one of Washington’s best long-running shows: Hearst Newspapers’ Helen Thomas vs. whoever happens to be in the White House.
The topic was President Bush’s insistence on lawsuit immunity for telecommunications companies that cooperated in the federal government’s program to eavesdrop on suspected terrorists. Ms. Thomas, as she has for several weeks, wanted White House Press Secretary Dana Perino to explain why immunity is needed. If the companies did nothing wrong, Ms. Thomas argued, they have nothing to fear in a court of law.
Thomas: Well why give them immunity if they’ve done nothing wrong?
Perino: …there already have been over 40 lawsuits.
Thomas: So? They must think something’s wrong.
Perino: Well they might think that.
Thomas: They must think they have a case.
Perino: Well, Helen Thomas, that is your opinion.
Thomas: Put my name in the transcript. The tactic is so transparent. You know, everybody else asks questions and they have anonymity.
Perino: Helen, I’ve answered the question several times.
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