Katrina shows the poor still are a forgotten class (Leonard Pitts Jr.

[Laelth]

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/columnists/leonard_pitts/12717769.htm

``George Bush doesn't care about black people.'' -- Kanye West

I think Kanye West is wrong.

George Bush ranks at 43 -- and dropping fast -- on my list of most-admired presidents, and yes, it can be fairly argued that some of his policies have been detrimental to black interests. But the same is true of virtually every president, and in any case, that's not what West said. Rather, in his appearance on a hurricane relief telethon three weeks back, the young rapper, apparently frustrated by the laggard pace with which help was being sent to New Orleans, essentially accused the president of being a bigot.

It was a dumb accusation. Inaccurate, too, I think. Say what you will about him or them, Bush's closeness to Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell suggests an ease around blacks -- OK, conservative blacks -- greater than virtually every president from his father on back. If he's a racist, he's not very good at it.

Pitts shows, once again, why he so richly deserved the Pulitzer he won last year. This essay debunks the arguments fueled by America's racial divide in the wake of Katrina, and exposes the real cause of the Federal government's pathetic response to the disaster--poverty.

I checked, and didn't see this one posted yet. Pardon me if I missed it.

-Laelth


Edit:Laelth--clarity.

[OneBlueSky]

1. the Reagan era changed the American ethos . . .

from one of shared responsibility and helping the less fortunate to one of "me first, and to hell with everyone else" . . . it's an ethic that we have to reverse if this country is ever going to return to its pursuit of the American ideal of equality for all . . .

[mntleo2]

2. I am an advocate for low-income people

I have been saying for a long time, you can be any color and be in the country club nowdays, just as long as your color is green...

My two cents

Cat In Seattle