Michael Bryant wrote:
Here is a quotation from GWBush this last Friday in the Rose Garden. I'm not
sure why it hasn't received more play:


"There's a lot of people in the world who don't believe that people whose
skin color may not be the same as ours can be free and self-govern. I reject
that. I reject that strongly. I believe that people who practice the Muslim
faith can self-govern. I believe that people whose skins aren't necessarily
a different color than white can self-govern."


The racism here is not subtle. In my mind, it portrays how the President sees
the world.

I think it is important to be careful how you quote this. Yes, taken
out of context it seems that he is somehow racially biased. However,
the general problem as I understand it is that many folks believe the US
is somehow diminishing the equality of other races and that is how
protests and media coverage spin it. In the case of the quote above, he
was likely trying to answer directly to the concerns. Many think the
Americans hate Muslims and therefore hate middle easterners ergo darker
skinned people. Looks to me like he was merely saying that as a
majority white nation (and I mean that with respect to SKIN COLOR ONLY)
we *do* believe that other races are equally capable of governing
themselves. It is not a rhetorical statement. It is answering a
question in my opinion.

Best,
-Al