The Bush Speech in Black and White
One of the more transparent aspects of President Bush's speech from New Orleans last night was its cynical outreach to African-Americans. Trying to break the stereotype of his administration and his party as modern day Confederates, Bush spoke eloquently of race and poverty in the Katrina disaster. Unfortunately, Bush's makeover as born-again racial healer simply isn’t credible, given his own penchant for racial stereotypes.
Returning to the formula of his 2005 State of the Union address, President Bush sought to repair the broken relationship between the Party of Lincoln and black Americans over his administration’s calamitous response in New Orleans' hour of need:
"As all of us saw on television, there is also some deep, persistent poverty in this region as well. And that poverty has roots in a history of racial discrimination, which cut off generations from the opportunity of America. We have a duty to confront this poverty with bold action. So let us restore all that we have cherished from yesterday, and let us rise above the legacy of inequality. When the streets are rebuilt, there should be many new businesses, including minority-owned businesses, along those streets."
Media reaction to the Bush address seemed to take the President at his word. Even a New York Times editorial noted that, "He spoke clearly and candidly about race and poverty...Mr. Bush's words could begin a much-needed healing process."
Sadly, Bush's introduction to the language of racial harmony can't mask his own and his party’s recent history of stereotyping and insensitivity. Mississippi Governor and former Republican National Committee chairman Haley Barbour referred to looters as "subhuman." Just weeks ago, the current RNC chairman Ken Mehlman misidentified Texan James Byrd as the perpetrator, not the victim, of one of the worst hate crimes in recent memory. (Bush's own discussion of the Byrd case during the second debate with Al Gore was one of the more disturbing moments of the 2000 campaign.) And President Bush himself, during a January forum seemed quite comfortable using racial caricatures while pushing his Social Security privatization plan to an African-American audience:
"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.
"Secondly, the interesting -- there's a -- African American males die sooner than other males do, which means the system is inherently unfair to a certain group of people."
Unfortunately for President Bush, New Orleans in the wake of hurricane Katrina is not New York after 9/11. This time, the color of suffering – and heroism – is black. There is no Lisa Beamer for Bush and his amen corner to appropriate as the face of their compassion. As the New York Times concluded in its editorial, real racial healing in the wake of Katrina "will happen only if they are followed by deeds that are as principled, disciplined and ambitious as Mr. Bush's speech."
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