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WASHINGTON,
D.C. – U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) issued “The Bush Administration
Misstatement of the Day” on President Bush’s relationship with the NAACP.
During
a campaign bus trip last week through Pennsylvania, President Bush was
asked why he refused to accept an invitation to speak at the annual NAACP
convention being held in Philadelphia. President Bush answered by
first criticizing the leadership of the NAACP and replied that his "relationship
with the current leadership [of the NAACP] as basically nonexistent.”
He added that he would seek members’ support in other ways. (Washington
Post, “Bush Criticizes NAACP's Leadership,” July 10, 2004)
President
Bush’s comments now, however, are a reversal from a statement he had made
during a videotaped speech to the NAACP’s annual convention in 2001.
President Bush said then:
“It
matters what Presidents do. It also matters what Presidents say and how
they say it. I've tried to speak in a tone that brings us together, and
unites us in purpose. I believe that even when disagreements arise, we
should treat each other with civility and with respect. That is a basic
requirement of democracy.” (July
9, 2001)
According
to the NAACP, President Bus is the first president since Warren Harding
not to meet with the organization while serving in office. |
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