Forgive the flouting of diary etiquette by posting a second diary by the same person on the same subject on the same day (and for posting what is probably the third or fourth diary on this subject), but today's events in Atlanta seem to me to be
too important, both morally and politically, to allow it to slide into obscurity amid the crush of new diaries.
On a moral front, it's simply appalling that this president--whose policies and politics are founded on scorn for the poor and minorities--should insult the memory and legacy of Martin Luther King by cynically placing a wreath at his memorial as part of a sideshow to his $2.3 million fundraising orgy in Atlanta and New Orleans.
And on a political, and practical, front, we need to make sure that the bastard pays for this exercise in choreographed and empty "compassion." This is, or could be, the domestic equivalent of Bush's aircraft carrier stunt: a PR gimmick that disastrously blows up in his face, revealing his shamelessness and vapidity more effectively than any partisan attack could. I can already see the campaign ads for our nominee showing Bush on the USS Abraham Lincoln and at the MLK Memorial and asking, "Has this man no shame?"
Please don't let this story die.
On the local news front (I don't live in Atlanta but my cable system carries Atlanta news channels), the MLK event has already backfired, at least to a certain extent. While there has been plenty of coverage of the pomp (and traffic/airport inconvenience) of Bush's visit, including his $2,000/plate fundraiser at the Georgia World Congress Center, each newscast included the protests (or "controversy" as they prefer to term it) very prominently in their reportage. One channel interviewed a bunch of fatcats walking into the fundraiser and the whole tone of the report was one of defensiveness on the part of the Republicans about how they didn't know what all the fuss was about. The newscasts also gave prominent play to Zell Miller's introduction of Bush at the event, calling his speech "historic" but also interviewing local Dems slamming him for turning his back on the party that gave him a political career. All the channels carried about 10 minutes of Bush's speech right in the middle of their 6 pm newscasts, with Zell standing prominently behind Bush, looking over his shoulder and grinning like the troglodytic throwback he is. Bush's speech, by the way, seemed to be more or less identical to the speech he gave in Florida that was on C-Span the other
day. The main themes of his campaign--9/11, compassionate conservatism, tax cuts, No Child Left Behind--are already pretty clear, and stunningly stale and familiar.