So, the NAACP is mad at President Bush for turning down an offer to speak at the organizations annual convention, which was held last week in Philadelphia.
I dont even know why the NAACP invited the president in the first place, given the groups outright hostility to Bush.
Its somewhat ironic that the convention was held in the City of Brotherly Love, given the vitriolic rhetoric directed at the president by the NAACP, including an ad in 2000 that portrayed Bush as unsympathetic to the dragging death of James Byrd – a black man – in Texas. The NAACP has also called Bush an illegal president, compared his anti-abortion views to the Taliban and characterized a presidential trip to Africa as a mere photo-op.
So, let me see if I have this right: The NAACP, which has done little more than issue over-the-top insults at the president for the past four years, is surprised that Bush declined their offer to appear before an organization whose leadership – at the very least – hates him? Of course not, as the NAACP expected to be snubbed and is now playing the role of victim for political purposes.
Also, when someone is asked to do something, doesnt that assume there are at minimum two possible responses – yes or no? Is the NAACP so arrogant as to believe they can essentially tell the president of the United States what to do?
Not surprisingly, presumptive Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry addressed the convention, chastising President Bush for not attending.
Of course, during a previous campaign stop, Kerry said there were more blacks in prison than in college, which is statistically untrue. That mistake aside, imagine for a moment if President Bush had said that. There is no doubt in my mind that there would have been a hue and cry from the NAACP labeling Bush a racist.
Still, there was nary a peep from the NAACP about what Kerry said. Its not hard to guess why. Even though Kerry is hardly beyond reproach from black leaders, the anti-Bush zealotry is such that Kerry gets a free pass.
For his part, President Bush will address the Urban League in Detroit later this week during that organizations convention, where Im guessing there will be a lot less hypocrisy on the schedule.
My Two Cents is a weekly column where the author – who will probably never be invited to address the NAACP – gets in his two cents worth, in spite of the old saying that you only get a penny for your thoughts.
