A Black Eye for Vicente Fox
President Vincente Fox of Mexico did not help himself or President Bush with his comments about African-Americans this weekend. In Puerto Vallarta Friday, Fox declared that, "There's no doubt that Mexican men and women — full of dignity, willpower and a capacity for work — are doing the work that not even blacks want to do in the United States."
His insensitive remarks come at a sensitive time for Mexican-American relations. George Bush is on the defensive over immigration reform and the Minuteman patrols. And in Los Angeles, the Latino and African-American communities battle once again for influence in the mayoral election.
Fox's penance will be the same as that for virtually any American politician: he gets to meet with Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. Given Jackson's "Hymie Town" slur and Sharpton's role in the Tawana Brawley hoax, their instruction in diversity training should be helpful to Fox indeed.
The Mexican president, of course, could have avoided all of this had he just shown the same kind of deft understanding of racial politics as both Presidents Bush:
"Another interesting idea...is a personal savings account...which can't be used to bet on the lottery, or a dice game, or the track." President George W. Bush, speaking to African-Americans regarding Social Security, January 12, 2005.
"That's Debbie's kids from Florida, the little brown ones." Vice President George H.W. Bush, 1988.
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