And the worst moment of his presidency was...

The former President in a forthcoming interview (emphasis mine):

MATT LAUER: You say you told Laura at the time it was the worst moment of your presidency?  

GEORGE W. BUSH: Yes. My record was strong, I felt, when it came to race relations and giving people a chance. And it was a disgusting moment.

You might suppose he's talking about Hurricane Katrina, and if you did, you'd only be half-wrong. Because the "worst moment of [his] presidency," according to the man himself, was this:

According to the man himself, then, Bush placed more importance on whether people perceived him to be racist than what happened to actual black people in the city of New Orleans.

In short, he proved Kanye right.

Comments

[Amardeep]

Maybe he (W.) should commission Taylor Swift to write a song of outrage on his behalf.

You called me a racist
But it wasn't fair
You said in New Orleans
That I didn't care

You should have been trusting
But it was just disgusting
And now I don't have to discuss it, anymore

(How does that sound for a mock Taylor Swift song?)

[SEK]

Having never listened to an entire Swift song, I can only say that that sounds appropriately vapid, but I wonder whether she could pull off that internal slant rhyme in the second stanza there.

[Ahistoricality]

My record was strong, I felt, when it came to race relations and giving people a chance.

In other words, he's a true believer: dismantling systems of affirmative action, social welfare and legal protection really is about fulfilling King's legacy for Bush, and it's all done with love in his heart.

If he ever becomes authentically self-reflective, he's done for.

[The Modesto Kid]

"Becoming authentically self-reflective was the end of him" would make a fine motto for somebody's headstone. The unexamined death is not worth dying.

[J.S. Nelson]

I am inclined to wonder what "race relations and giving people a chance" have to do with one another.

[Josh]

TMK, isn't that the point of Sandman?

[Jonathan]

Sandman: I think, therefore I die.

[That Guy]

"I am inclined to wonder what 'race relations and giving people a chance' have to do with one another." I must say that I am wondering the same thing. If, in most of the nation, it is equally as difficult for both minorities and whites to get jobs, then wouldn't a policy mandating a quota seem to say that one cannot compete with the other unless — of course — the government has some hand in things? My honest opinion is that affirmative action has the possibility to bolster feelings of resent, and even provide evidence for sinister accusations of inferiority; it is for this reason that I am incapable of viewing it as positive. This type of arrangement causes problems in the should-be meritocratic work place, and, I think, it takes away incentives to improve public schooling in poor neighborhoods: they'll get into college and get a job easier, it's not like they really need a quality education. Perhaps there's a flaw in my reasoning, and this certainly wouldn't be the first time, but this is how I'm seeing things.

[MaryStack]

Ahistoricality, Is record was stong, and he did give people a chance. PEPFAR committed "$15 billion over five years (2003–2008) from United States President George W. Bush to fight the global HIV/AIDS pandemic. The program initially aimed to provide antiretroviral treatment (ART) to 2 million HIV-infected people in resource-limited settings, to prevent 7 million new infections, and to support care for 10 million people (the "2–7–10 goals") by 2010. PEPFAR increased the number of Africans receiving ART from 50,000 at the start of the initiative in 2004 to at least 1.2 million in early 2008.[... The budget presented by President Bush for the fiscal year 2008 included a request for $5.4 billion for PEPFAR.The response to PEPFAR has been largely positive.[6] The massive funding increases have made anti-retrovirals widely available, saving millions of lives...A 2009 study, however, found that the program had reduced the death rate due to AIDS in the countries involved by 10%....While the Bush administration had promised to increase funding for PEPFAR, January 2010's Obama administration budget showed signs of 'flatlining' funding to PEPFAR"
No doubt he fucked up on Katrina, but he did not have evil intentions, just bad advice.

[Ahistoricality]

One overdue AIDS program constitutes a "strong record"? Don't get me wrong: I was surprised and pleased that Bush did this, though he allowed his allies in Congress to hamstring the program in all sorts of pointless ways. But it doesn't address domestic policy at all, and the "just bad advice" dodge obscures the fact that the President chooses his advisors and the rest of his record on matters of race and equality is equally dismal.

[Mary Stack]

Come on, I think you have some strong feelings about GB but you cannot dismiss the significance of what he did to alleviate, and prevent Aids in Africa. No other country showed such strong leadership and commitment to fight this scourge. It is unfortunate that you were surprised but the media has been negligent in covering this story. The millions who have been saved from this program found it to be more than adequate. I hate to burst your bubble, but most aid programs are corrupted by graft and outright theft. Interestingly, I just saw George Clooney defend conservatives on African issues.
http://www.breitbart.tv/george-clooney-defends-conservatives-from-bill-mahers-baseless-attack/

[nate]

I think Killer Mike said it best, "Kanye only had it half right/Bush don't care about poor people, be they black or white."

[Ahistoricality]

I wasn't surprised by your raising it: I was surprised when he proposed it in the State of the Union (I watch those), and a bit more surprised that he actually almost carried through with it (that big balloon payment at the end tells you that his planning stunk, as usual) but not by the failings and limitations of the program, which were many.

[Mary Stack]

Ahistoricality, If that program was a failure, I can only hope that we have similar failures in the future.

[Ahistoricality]

You really can't read, can you? I didn't say it was "a failure"; I said that it had "failings and limitations."

[Mary Stack]

I question not your comprehension ability, but your politically tainted contacts. PREFAR is a success, unfortunately most aid programs are not. I don't care who was the political figure involved, I suspect it is all that matters to you.