or prejudiced? He obviously thinks that W isn't, but maybe he could give us his thoughts about the former First Lady/Current First Mother.
Obama was at the Astrodome at the same time that she was. He saw the people who had suffered unspeakable traumas and unspeakable losses. I assume that the last thing that ever even crossed his mind was how "convenient" things had been for them.
Mrs. Bush's comments were as mean-spirited and as prejudiced, in their own way, as anything that has ever come from, say, David Duke. Her comments, however, were not ever criticized, much less repudiated. They were kind of politely ignored and glossed over.
If I were black, and if I had been to Houston, I would've reacted w/ anger and indignation to those comments. I don't care if she is an old woman who has, for reasons I've never fully understood, acquired a halfway decent public reputation. She's a public figure who's had a major influence on 2 presidents, she freely chose to make these obscene comments, and she should be treated just like any other public figure under the circumstances.
Obama's usual terminal politeness would be understandable if we saw just an occasional burst of anger from the man. Hell, it would be understandable if we simply saw him openly acknowledge the obvious differences between LBJ in 1965 and W in 2005. Their respective approaches to hurricanes hitting N.O. speaks volumes about the visible differences between the 2 parties.
When Betsy his N.O. in 1965, LBJ, didn't go to "town meetings" and birthday parties and hide out at his ranch. He didn't use the city as a backdrop to give some phony speech w/ his sleeves rolled up days after the fact when hundreds had already died preventable deaths. He took quick, firm, and decisive action.
At the behest of Russell Long, LBJ went to N.O. w/i 36 hours after Betsy hit. He went into shelters and saw the suffering that people were enduring. He sent a 16 pp telegram to the mayor the following day outlining an aid plan. He didn't leave the local to fend for themselves, and he didn't stage photo-ops in front of parked helicopters many miles away.
Given the huge influence that W's mother on him and given the pretty visible pattern in almost every public policy decision he has made in his entire political career, it's apparent that W is mean-spirited. Whether or not he is prejudiced is beside the point. He has routinely advocated "Hood Robin" policies that take from the poor and the middle class and give to the rich. He has routinely appointed hacks and cronies to key positions. Millions of Americans have suffered already and will continue to suffer in the future b/c of his policies.
I understand that one must make compromises and accomodations in order to accomplish things in politics. I also know, however, that one must take brave and occasionally unpopular stands to accomplish things as well. Given the character of our political opponents, one probably has to, unfortunately, generally err on the latter side in striking that balance these days.
I'd feel a little better about Obama if I saw him occasionally acknowledge that confrontation was as essential as compromise.