It has become conventional wisdom that President Bush used his address on Thursday to speak candidly and meaningfully about the role of race in Katrina’s aftermath, and in America generally. A Lexis search finds more than 300 references mentioning race in the context of Bush’s speech in the last two days. A few instances:
CNN anchor Miles O’Brien: “It was an important prime time speech in the wake of Katrina with lots to say about aid, rebuilding, about the role of race.” [CNN, 9/16/05]
MSNBC anchor Lester Holt: “If you took [his statement on race] by itself that would almost sound like it was coming from a liberal.” [MSNBC, 9/16/05]
New York Times editorial: “He spoke clearly and candidly about race and poverty.” [NYT, 9/16/05]
Given this kind of media treatment, it’s worth noting that Bush’s 3,300-word speech actually contained just a single, 19-word sentence about race. Even more notable, that one sentence describes racial discrimination in the past tense:
As all of us saw on television, there’s also some deep, persistent poverty in this region, as well. That poverty has roots in a history of racial discrimination, which cut off generations from the opportunity of America.
President Bush’s commentary on race wasn’t candid and thoughtful. It was peripheral and insulting. Someone tell the media.
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