Presidents, apologies, and Powerline’s partisan double standard

An e-mail I’ve sent to John Hinderaker at Powerline:

Re your criticisms of Obama for his negative statements about America to the Turkish parliament, did you ever criticize President Bush for saying this, at Gorey Island, Senegal in July 2003?

My nation’s journey toward justice has not been easy, and it is not over. For racial bigotry fed by slavery did not end with slavery or with segregation. [Italics added.]

Bush was saying that America at this moment (i.e., post-segregation America) is characterized by the “racial bigotry fed by slavery,” thus strongly suggesting that there is a moral continuum between America under slavery and America today. That’s what Bush said about the United States in an African country.

Here’s what Obama said to the Turkish parliament:

Robust minority rights let societies benefit from the full measure of contributions from all citizens.

I say this as the President of a country that not too long ago made it hard for someone who looks like me to vote.

What Bush said was worse than what Obama said. Obama said that “not too long ago” there were racial restrictions on blacks’ vote. (I agree with you that Obama was lying in making it seem as though the U.S., not certain states, restricted the vote.) But Bush clearly suggested that at this moment America still has the racial bigotry and racial guilt of slavery. Bush was insulting the U.S. more than Obama did.

If you didn’t criticize Bush for his despicable, anti-American statement in Senegal, then you have no right to criticize Obama for his despicable, anti-American statement in Turkey.

Lawrence Auster

Posted by Lawrence Auster at April 06, 2009 08:42 PM | Send