I caught President Bush's address to The NAACP Convention Thursday morning.
You can check out the full transcript of Bush's Speech at The NAACP here: iht.com
President George W. Bush had been invited to speak during The NAACP Convention 5 times over 5 years and 5 times over five years he declined to attend.
To be invited to speak at The NAACP Convention I personally look at as an honor. In my book I would consider it a high honor and not just because I am African-American. Whether I personally agreed or disagreed with this tactic or that tactic or this strategy or that strategy of theirs dealing with racism, bigotry, unfairness and more over the years and the fight to obtain justice and fairness for all people and especially Black People and our unique history and relationship with America, I would still feel honored I was asked or invited to come and speak and participate in some real work and solutions. To me it is just an honor to be asked to speak there because of who they are, what they represent and all that they have done over the years and continue to do. I would be honored to be invited to speak during their convention. Not at just a party, dinner or fundraiser, but at their yearly annual Convention where real work and solutions are being done? Yes, I would be honored and actually excited to be there.
Now, to me, if you invite someone to speak at your group 5 times since 2000 and 5 times they said no, and it happens to be The President of The United States and then all of a sudden at the tail end of their 2nd term Presidency when the whole house of cards on all fronts seems to be falling in on them, they then decide to attend, how does that look to you?
I mean, basically, that is one full whole Presidential Term where the President of The United Stated of America said "No" to the nation's oldest and largest Civil Rights Organization in History. Just a flat "No." For five years.
Then two years into his 2nd term he says, "Yes"?
At that point, should the NAACP even worry about inviting him? Do they really need his stamp of approval on anything at that point? What good is it? To have a photo-op with no results afterwards but now everybody feels happy?
Do you want to know how I really feel on this?
If I was on the board or committee or even in charge of the NAACP, at that point, honestly, I wouldn't ask again. I would go about our business as a group or an organization. It actually is an insult when you think about it. It's an insult-snub for 5 years.
As a matter of fact, after 5 years of getting a "No" reply, The President of The United States and all his people would have to ask me or my group if they could attend and then we would decide whether we would want him to come or not.
And to be really honest with you, I wouldn't give a double-dipped damn if he came or not, because he already made himself clear about your organization in the first place.
To me, he's made himself clear, folks. He didn't want to be there, doesn't want to be there, was never interested in being there in the first place and The NAACP was never on his priority list. Ever. Think he'll come back next year in 2007? OK, now, ya'll really making me laugh.
As a matter of fact, if he didn't have to be there right now with the mid-term elections coming up in November, he wouldn't be there at all. Somebody pulled his coat.
So when he finally shows up and accepts, does it really matter?
To me, in this case especially, it doesn't.
Especially if the speech The President gives is almost exactly similar to the one he gave at The Urban League not too long ago.
You remember that one, don't you? The time the President took The Urban League up on their offer to speak during their conference and convention as a way to once again duck and dodge The NAACP. No one missed that move he did. Give me a break.
My thing is this: When you are President of The United States of America, there are going to be a lot of events you will personally not want to attend and may not even care for but because you are The President of The United States, there's certain cases where you just have to go. You have to be there. Whether you like them, love them or hate them, Dude, go. Go there. Show up. Show your face in the place. Be seen. Duh.
Now if it was the Hispanic, Asian, Italian, Jewish, whatever organization of whatever, do you think Bush would hesitate to be there? Do you think he would have denied any of those groups invitations for his whole 1st Term Presidency and even going into his second? Do you think he would have denied any of their requests without thinking of any repercussions consequences or possible fallout? Do you think his office would have at least sent a letter explaining why or the reasons?
Back to his speech, I didn't hear Affirmitive Action or Poverty mentioned in his speech once aside from many other issues he could have addressed concerning present day Black America.
Oh, and by the way, who wrote the speech? We know he didn't and couldn't have.
He also did not mention the war, not once. Are we not Americans too? Do we not have family members over there too? Some which have been injured and killed?
Now, to me, you could pay anyone off the street to come into your convention and have them speak for 33 minutes, shake hands and then leave.
What he should have done to me was instead of making a joke at the beginning of his speech, he should have apologized or asked for forgiveness for not coming when they first called him in 2000.
He also should have attended several workshops. You know, sat in on some workshops to show he really is concerned about issues facing Black America, especially after the whole Katrina tragedy and all the after effects, but did he do that? Nope. Even though I am not surprised by that.
He talked about AIDS, but what else is new? What else you got?
Even though a lot of people called it a great speech, hell, I can make a great speech. A lot of people I know or I know of can make a great speech. Very good. So, what?
Words and Actions. Two different things.
Bush has another thing he likes to do I heard summed up well yesterday by Tavis Smiley so well called, "The Texas Two Step."
Bush will do something that seems to be positive for Black People, then he will turn right around the next day and do something which has the total opposite effect for years to come.
So I guess that would mean, keeping true to form, after his great speech Thursday, watch out for the other shoe to drop with something else that will actually not benefit us in the next couple days.
The passing of the Voting Rights Bill? According to the news from the The Hill, that was going to happen anyway. Blacks becoming more and more homeowners? According to reports, that has been happening naturally anyway for a while now.
How much credit can Bush actually take?
Yes, I've heard the arguments and debates about how it can happen in history that certain presidents can get credit for some things that the opposite party actually started in motion when they were in but when it sees fruition the current administration can get all the credit and visa versa. It's an interesting discussion.
One would really have to go President by President from the beginning, take a look at all their track records and histories in office and really see in detail what each one accomplished and whether it was accomplished in their time or in the next President's. Interesting project. Interesting story.
What I enjoyed more than his speech was right after his speech, listening to The Power on WOL 1450 AM and Channel 169 on XM Radio and hearing Michael Eric Dyson and Reverend Al Sharpton's shows and all the callers reaction from all over Black America. Now, that was good! LOL!
Another thing that this shows is that once again African-Americans are not one monolithic group of people where everybody feels exactly the same way about everything and that is fine with me. All I want us to do is touch and agree on what we all do agree on at the end of the day so we can all move this thing forward for all our benefits. Solutions.
We have Black Conservatives, Black Republicans, Black Independents, Black Right Wingers, Black Left Wingers, we got it all too and you heard that again yesterday after The Presidents speech.
Another note on the radio tip, every black hip-hop and urban, urban ac radio station in DC should have done remote broadcasts from The NAACP Convention all week.
That was so necessary. Whether young folks would listen or not, just by the stations being there would be a positive thing. They would hear some of the issues. Heck, mix it in with the music in the background if you have to, program directors. Issues that face Black Youth etc.
The comment that cracked me up the most was the old man that called in and said, "Yeah, Bush spoke at the NAACP Convention in DC? He didn't even have to use Air Force One this time! It was free! It was right in DC! All he had to do was be driven there! He had to be there!" Good point. No exscuse this time, Mr. President. And don't give us that you were out of town crap. All week? It would not have flown with anybody.
BTW, how many times has Bush met with The Congressional Black Caucus since 2000? Once? Twice max?
2008 cannot come fast enough for me when it comes to this President. In the words of Michael Baisden, "I said it! Yes, I did!"
Not only will history remember Bush as "The Worst President of All Time," the Republican Party even has begun to be ashamed of him and has started distancing themselves from him.
You talk about The King Who Has No Clothes and Cannot See! You talk about a real live episode of The Twilight Zone with what we got here! You talk about an episode of Star Trek where the Timeline Continuum got altered and a different America is about to exist and now exists because of who was placed in office not once but twice?
Don't get me started on this guy! I could go all day long.
Remember when we were kids? Teacher: "That's right little girls and boys, if you do all your homework, work as hard as you can and become smart, smart, smart, you too can one day be President."
Would you have ever thought we would have had this reality we got here? Dayum!
The same President who will without a care spit a big loogie right in front of the Press Corps on the White House Lawn in front of live rolling world's cameras?
The same President who will let the F-Bomb drop on mic or off in a sec?
The same President who will use the S--- word when describing a current world crisis situation?
Yeah, that guy.
I respect The Office of The Presidency in general, but this particular President we got here and now? How much time you got? My list is long.
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