Lauer Hits Bush: You Were Appalled at Racism Charge, Not the 'Misery in Louisiana'?
Football fans watching NBC on Sunday night were presented a brief commercial at halftime for Monday night's NBC interview with former president George W. Bush. Liberals might have been disgusted, since Matt Lauer's only question was to ask Bush to explain how military families supported his war policies. But on Thursday, Lisa de Moraes of The Washington Post picked up on an earlier NBC promotion, that showed how Lauer pushed Bush around about charges of racism surrounding Hurricane Katrina, and even suggested that Bush taking offense at rapper Kanye West's racism charges (on NBC's airwaves) as the “worst moment” of his presidency was heartless, since the actual suffering of the Gulf Coast residents should have won that title.
Can anyone imagine an NBC anchor asking Barack Obama if he was heartless because he cared about his own reputation more than the people he's caused to suffer? First, NBC liberals don't think anyone is suffering because of Obama, and second, that would be rude to a fellow liberal. Here's how it will unfold tonight in prime time:
"You say you told Laura at the time it was the worst moment of your presidency?" Lauer asked Bush in a taped interview, citing a passage in Bush's new book, "Decision Points," which officially goes on sale Tuesday.
"Yes. My record was strong, I felt, when it came to race relations and giving people a chance. And -- it was a disgusting moment," Bush responded to Lauer in the interview, which NBC is holding to air in prime time Monday.
A clearly agitated West made the comment about Bush on national TV on Sept. 2, 2005, during a telethon to raise money for victims of Hurricane Katrina, which had devastated parts of the Gulf Coast.
"Were you watching?" Lauer asked Bush about the fundraiser.
"Nope," Bush responded, according to a transcript issued by NBC.
You remember what he said?" Lauer asked.
"Yes, I do. He called me a racist," Bush responded.
"Well, what he said: 'George Bush doesn't care about black people,' " Lauer corrected Bush.
"That's: 'He's a racist,' " Bush responded, adding: "And I didn't appreciate it then. I don't appreciate it now."
Can the Post say Lauer “corrected” Bush? After all, West had just asserted that the government had given orders to shoot black people (below). It continued:
Lauer began to wonder whether some people, reading the passage in Bush's new book in which he writes that West's comment was the "worst moment" of his presidency, "might give you some heat for that. And the reason is this --"
"Don't care," Bush snapped.
"Well, here's the reason," Lauer persevered. "You're not saying that the worst moment in your presidency was watching the misery in Louisiana. You're saying it was when someone insulted you because of that."
"No -- that -- and I also make it clear that the misery in Louisiana affected me deeply, as well," Bush said. "There's a lot of tough moments in the book. And it was a disgusting moment, pure and simple."
Notice how typically, NBC left out the "misery in Mississippi," since that part of the affected disaster area doesn't resonate as clearly as racist. What this snippet of Lauer's seems to overlook is that President Bush worked hard throughout his presidency to reach out to black Americans, which is precisely why networks like NBC went out searching for radical-left black academics like Michael Eric Dyson to suggest Bush was an uncaring rich white guy.
Can Lisa de Moraes really insist West wasn't on a binge against an imaginary white racist government led by Bush? She'd just reproduced this part of West's splenetic rant:
"I hate the way they portray us in the media. You see a black family, it says, 'They're looting.' You see a white family, it says, 'They're looking for food.' And, you know, it's been five days [waiting for federal help] because most of the people are black....We already realize a lot of people that could help are at war right now, fighting another way -- and they've given them permission to go down and shoot us!"
The fact that NBC put on the man even Barack Obama has called a "jackass" has never been something Lauer feels a need to apologize for, and Bush should have pressed Lauer right back on why Lauer doesn't seem to feel that was a low moment for NBC. At the time, Lauer blew it off as just something that happens on live television.
- Tim Graham's blog
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Comments
It is time for everyone to
Submitted by WarEagle66 on Mon, 11/08/2010 - 9:57am.
It is time for everyone to preface EVERY comment about black misery in New Orleans, before, during and after Katrina....with...
The Chocolate City run by Democrats and Blacks for decades. Is a shooting gallery where the people were so incompetent, lazy and stupid that they left school buses sitting in parking lots and didn't heed warnings to get the hell out of Dodge.
Bush is #1!
Submitted by DontFeedTheTrolls on Mon, 11/08/2010 - 10:01am.
Bush, the President with the most minorities in his adminstration in the entire History of the United States, and the left calls him a racist. Oh, wait, those minorities, like Powell and Rice, were just 'porch monkeys' and 'house #######', according to the, oh, so inclusive, and tolerant, left, including Obama.
Enough with the ######## The
Submitted by motherbelt on Mon, 11/08/2010 - 10:11am.
Enough with the ######## The term is house niggas. Black people speak it, so why can't you write it?
Also President Bush gave billions to Africa (of our money).
Submitted by Red Jeep on Mon, 11/08/2010 - 10:44am.
"Popular in Africa: Bush has given more aid than any other US president"
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/popular-in-africa-bush-has-given-more-aid-than-any-other-us-president-783387.html
tthe Left conveniently constantly forgets this.
An Apology
Submitted by libBuster on Mon, 11/08/2010 - 10:07am.
Frankly, if I were in Bush's shoes, I would have told Lauer he was being rude and inappropriate. I'd have asked him to apologize.
This is clearly an example of
Submitted by Smartypants on Mon, 11/08/2010 - 10:12am.
This is clearly an example of Lauer trying to steer Bush's point in a direction to make Bush look as bad as possible. President Bush's point is clear, that he resents being called a racist after all he had done for minorities and for race relations, as governor and as president. It's a classic case of a liberal wanting nothing else but to stick it to a Republican.
You are right about Lauer's intent.
Submitted by motherbelt on Mon, 11/08/2010 - 10:17am.
He is a deplorable excuse for a journalist. He's even a deplorable excuse for for a quotation-marked "journalist."
Hey, you know what, Matt?
Submitted by motherbelt on Mon, 11/08/2010 - 10:24am.
If you really wanted to stick it to Bush, you should have said the worst moment?? Even worse than the 9/11 attack????"
But Lauer was clearly out to make the racism point and accuse Bush of not caring about black people, to paraphrase Kanye West.
so 9/11 wouldn't count.
Bush bashing resumes
Submitted by SouthJersey1953 on Mon, 11/08/2010 - 10:18am.
Libs must be thrilled that they can, once again, point the finger at Bush for everything. They are probably hoping this takes the spotlight off the dems and Obaba for a while...
President Bush is a class act
Submitted by motherbelt on Mon, 11/08/2010 - 10:35am.
He still refuses to criticize President Obama.
He tells Oprah (paraphrasing) I treat him the way I would like to have been treated.
<can you say "Jimmy Carter"???>
WarEagle66 is absolutely right!
Submitted by TexasMom0517 on Mon, 11/08/2010 - 10:36am.
Nagin and Kathleen Blanco did nothing to help get the residents out of New Orleans- and the residents DID NOTHING TO HELP THEMSELVES. The nanny state in N.O. made for people who were waiting for Uncle Sugar to take care of them, and they still are now. The actual hurricane hit Mississippi and Alabama, New Orleans was on the wet side of the storm, but it was the levees that failed. Alabama and Mississippi have worked hard to renovate the damage from the storm.
Every Republican politician needs to learn from Chris Christie and Andrew Breitbart- listen closely to the IMPLIED message ADVOCATED by the interviewer ("journolist") and call them on it. Perhaps, the GOP needs to train its people in litigation techniques.
I'm awfully tired of the media asking the "When did you stop beating your wife" questions- but only of Republicans.
Bush is too tactful
Submitted by bkeyser on Mon, 11/08/2010 - 10:40am.
Had it been me, I would have responded as follows:
Matt, Kanye West? He's a gay fish! (NSFW! Language warning!) Seriously, Matt. That's just a stupid question.
You're right on BK
Submitted by Paul G on Mon, 11/08/2010 - 11:28am.
That should be Every Republicans answer when they go on these stupid shows. When these idiots ask a stupid question..look them right in the eye and just short and simple say,..."that's a stupid question".
This is one of those cases
Submitted by Smartypants on Mon, 11/08/2010 - 11:01am.
This is one of those cases where the interviewer's mind is made up: Bush is a racist Republican. Now, all Lauer has to do is just show it. No matter what Bush says, Lauer would respond accordingly. If Bush says, the worst part was all the suffering in N.O., then Lauer says, "Well then, how could you let it happen, Mr. Bush?" Bush says he takes exception to being called a racist, Lauer responds, "Oh, so you don't care about the people of N.O?" What a loser.
It's like telling someone that you like his shirt and he responds, "What, you don't like my pants?"
Please.
If Bush was like Obama he'd boycott NBC
Submitted by exLib on Mon, 11/08/2010 - 11:34am.
Obama boycotts Fox and calls them illegitimate, Bush could have been like Obama and said, "I will not appear on a network that openly shills for Democrats"
Instead Bush was and still is willing to go into enemy territory and face the toughest interviews.
Meanwhile, Obama refuses the tough interview, including his go-to interview with 60-minutes where Obama basically said he's been trying to work with Republicans since day 1.
George W. Bush has more class
Submitted by marpel on Mon, 11/08/2010 - 11:41am.
George W. Bush has more class in his pinky fingernail than Matt Lauer will EVER have in his life. Lauer is just another part of the problem regarding this country. Long Live George W. Bush, the classiest and most gracious President and Ex-President we've ever had!
"Deep within my heart lies a memory. A song of ol' San Antone..."
President Bush
Submitted by lehman on Mon, 11/08/2010 - 12:35pm.
President Bush was nice enough to do an interview with Lauer, the least he could have done was show the former President a little respect. And, I don't like the way they set up the interview. It looks like they put the president in a dark, colored interrogation room with a table and glass of water. Anything to try to make him look bad.
President Bush is a class act. I ordered his book last week for my husband for an early Christmas present and we are looking forward to reading it. We really miss him.
As Expected
Submitted by rammingspeed on Mon, 11/08/2010 - 1:03pm.
Lauer's a Saul Alinsky style Marxist. They ("progressives") all are. Nothing unexpected here.
Tim.. NBC continues to push the charge of racism at Bush..
Submitted by Gary Hall on Mon, 11/08/2010 - 1:13pm.
Tim.. As you well know, NBC continues to push this sickening charge of racism at Bush. They do it, because these folks, Lauer, Brian Williams - the gang over there - find this method of smear and hate mongering to be efficient use of their journalistic skill set.
And, NBC knows better. They understand why it was so ugly, in NOLA, that first week following Katrina. Other than the fact that they (state and local authorities) had completely disregarded their responsibilities and had no emergency plans in place, no true evacuation plan, no planned (and stockpiled w/ supplies) emergency shelter, and no plan to get folks to the shelter, it was the State of Louisiana who ordered that the Red Cross (FEMA's historic first line of aid) not to enter the City of New Orleans that first week following the disaster. Picture those folks at the Convention Center - Where's the Red Cross?
Bush's biggest mistake, was a public relations error - not calling out Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin, loud and clear, on day one, and by not taking charge sooner.
Also, the red tape created by the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (FEMA was rolled under the umbrella) was something that President Bush had staunchly fought for 9 long months, following 9/11. The national MSM - pushed by the Democrats - forced his hands on that one.
NBC News is well aware of the blame that belongs to the state and local officials. Had they shown this segment from their own Lisa Myers more than once (and had other MSM outlets cared to report the facts, as well) and allowed the public to understand the roles of all the players, it would be my view that Kanye West, and like radicals minds, may not have settled into such a limited small thinking mind set.
Here's the Lisa Myers clip: Blanco's Performance in the aftermath of Katrina
The national MSM shared one major goal following Katrina. As Rahm Emanuel would later say, "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste," the MSM jumped into gear, and sought to use the crisis to
Also -- Matt Lauer and Brian Williams just can't seem to get off the topic of West's charges - it is they that want it to keep the smear alive. They seek to keep the country divided and full of anger and hatred.
On the 5 year anniversary of Katrina, Brian Williams in a special report, solicited his guests to discuss the race charges against Bush.
And, here's another look at Lauer and Williams talking it up together - notice the expression on Brian Williams face at the very end of the tape - it is very telling, indeed:
Bush response to Kanye for Katrina
Lauer and Williams have absolutely no interest in resolving the pathetic charges that race played a role in Bush's response; anything but that. Their want is to keep the lie alive and well - for all future elections and issues facing America. Imagine Lauer and Williams discussing the view that many have expressed in regards to Obama - that he plays the race card often enough. Do we wonder if Lauer and Williams would discuss it like this - smirk - and simply leave it out there on the table to ferment for another day; or, would they use all of their tools to defend Obama and to destroy the character of those pushing the charges?
Where is the NBC segment, "Putting the charges of racism against President Bush away?" The opening lines of the segment should include the opening line by Brian Williams, "Right off the top. We need to set the record straight. We're the ones who shamed ourselves, in our rush to .."
As Noel would say - that was a rhetorical query?
(;~> gary
What about Tennessee?
Submitted by ML Stovall on Mon, 11/08/2010 - 2:11pm.
Why haven't these idiot socialist 'journalists' put our current president to the task for zero response to the massive flood in Tennssee last summer? Thirty people lost their lives in the floodwaters and I don't know if Obama ever even casually mentioned it anywhere, any time. I guess since the folks in TN didn't sit around on a rooftop waiting for someone to do everything for them and blame someone else (Obama?) for their predicament and went to work immediately on rescue, recovery and rebuilding, then this 'minor' incident simply didn't warrant a mention from our dear leader. Well, I suppose now that I think about it, I do seem recall him being rather busy bankrupting the country or something...
ML Stovall.. Nashville
Submitted by Gary Hall on Mon, 11/08/2010 - 2:37pm.
I also don't recall that Obama every uttered any public comment - any sense of compassion, sympathy, or sense that the big wonderfully caring Obama Admin was ready to do their civic duty - on the Nashville flooding. What I do recall, is that there were rather loud rumblings in the conservative blogs, etc., about Obama's absence, and that after a while the MSM got a bit concerned and attempted to come to his aid; he was busy, a lot on his plate, he did make a personal call to a local personality one day, etc.
I note that in the recent Texas floods, from the tropical storm that ripped across the center of the state from one end to the other, the Obama administration refused Texas' request for federal disaster status, so that Federal aid could flow. The same thing had happened in Conn. months before, but Conn being a liberal state, the administration took a bit of heat from the media, and reversed it's decision.
How's he doing on the Haiti earthquake disaster relief? 10-11 months later - it's not shown up yet. From the Wa Post a day or so ago:
Of the $1.15 billion Washington promised for long-term reconstruction projects, only a trickle has been received so far in Haiti.
The main problem with American reconstruction funding is that the administration and Congress have treated it as business as usual. The bill containing the funds was signed into law by President Obama on July 29; after that, it took almost two months for the State Department to devise a spending plan. Since mid-September, the staffs of at least four congressional committees and the State Department have been engaged in back-and-forth negotiations regarding the particulars of the funding - mechanisms to promote sound strategy, accounting, transparency and so on. On Thursday, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said that the U.S. funds would have to wait a bit longer until Congress and State could satisfy themselves that the money wouldn't be stolen or misused once it arrives in Haiti.
.. going about as well as Obama's clean up effort on the BP spill. Oh, we get a little bit in the print media, here and there - a few journalists stick their necks out and make note of it, but it won't be the talk on the streets of America. The press is too busy still trying to paint Bush as a racist, as the guy who caused the housing bubble (har har) and deregulated Wall Street (har har), etc.
Looks like some Bush reconstruction got to the Katrina relief effort: The barrier - wow!
According to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll, 74 percent of respondents were upbeat and 70 percent said the recovery [Katrina] was heading in the right direction. Louisianans also give Bush higher marks for his response to Katrina than Obama’s handling of the Gulf oil spill — by a margin of 54 percent to 33 percent, according to Public Policy Polling
(;~/ gary
Yeah, Obama is a little sore
Submitted by ML Stovall on Mon, 11/08/2010 - 4:37pm.
Yeah, Obama is a little sore that Rick Perry didn't accept his 'stimulus' money handout and lobbied hard against Obamacare. He could, in fact, learn a bit from Perry by observing what he did to prepare for and how he responded in the days before and weeks after Hurricane Rita. For anyone who may have never heard of Hurricane Rita, "The Forgotten Storm", from the MSM, she blew in about three weeks after Hurricane Katrina in Sept, 2005. Rita was the most powerful, intense storm ever to be observed in the Gulf of Mexico, eclipsing Katrina, in fact, and at over 11 billion dollars, was the fifth most costly hurricane ever. The eye of the storm came right through and damaged my office and my family's home, ranch and pine plantation. Several billion dollars of pine timber was lost in East Texas from Rita. Some, including a couple of my family's homes, were without electrical power for six weeks. People in Southeast/Deep East Texas were actually denied any monetary assistance at the time because the federal agencies were nearly tapped out from the handouts to the Katrina 'refugees'. And, as we learned later, they were, in fact, handing out $1500.00 debit cards to every single occupant in a dwelling, if they had a New Orleans address. Most of the NO folks that you saw in TV on their rooftops had fled/moved to Houston and were living in federally subsidized rental homes by the time Rita blew in, but, alas, this is the excuse they were given anyway.
There are some really heartwarming (\s) stories about some of the NO residents who arrived at the shelters in Houston on tour buses as well. Boy, let me tell you they were sooo very thankful for all of the FREE $$ assistance and healthcare they were receiving and the catered meals (3x/day) they were being fed (yeah, sarcasm again). Many of my co-workers from our Houston office and their friends/family were volunteering at the GRB convention center and receive them off the bus with a bottle of water, deli sandwiches, $200 gift cards, etc. etc. and all they were concerned with was why they weren't being served sodas instead of spring water. They also had to put up with being called 'cracker bitches' and other epithets while serving these 'people' food or assisting them with medical needs,etc. I could care less what these idiots say about President Bush being racist. I along with everyone else knows the real truth. Maybe these 'people' should take a look in the mirror before they call someone else racist. Too much to ask, I know.
Lauer is no journalist
Submitted by RealVet on Mon, 11/08/2010 - 6:41pm.
Lauer is a pompous jerk. The lefty propagandists will be more hostile than ever now that they're faced with the reality that the socialist agenda is on the verge of being shredded and their phony messiah has been rejected.
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