It's so refreshing to see someone in Washington do something to achieve diversity, rather than simply pay it lip service: Powell, 63, will become the first African-American to hold the post and the highest-ranking African-American official to serve in a presidential administration in history. <A HREF="http://foxnews.com/elections/121700/transition.sml" TARGET=_blank>Bush Appoints Rice National Security Adviser </A> "At the same press conference in Austin, Texas, the president-elect then named Texas Supreme Court Judge Alberto R. Gonzales as chief White House counsel and appointed his communications director Karen Hughes as counsel to the president. " "This is an extraordinary time in America because our values are being affirmed. It's important to remember those values at home," Rice said. Bush, she said, "will have an administration that is inclusive and bipartisan." "With the selection of Powell, Rice and Gonzalez Bush has so far delivered on his promise of diversity in his administration. "
Hey, in that same article they talked about Bush's experience with foreign policy -- very reassuring: "Bush's staff, reacting to questions about Bush's lack of foreign policy experience, released a list Saturday of more than a dozen countries that he had visited. They included vacation trips to France, Bermuda and Italy, a business trip to Guatemala ...and he said he has been to Mexico and Canada "many, many times." I went to the Bahamas on a cruise two years ago. Think I have a shot at an ambassadorship? ------------------
I also found this very encouraging. However, I find some of the reaction to this discouraging. I live with one African American and one caucasian roomate with an African American girlfriend. And both find the appointment of Powell solely done to "appease" minorities. My roomate even referred to both Powell and Rice as "Uncle Toms" and doesnt think Powell is representative at all of African Americans. I tried to argue that his parents immigrated from Jamaica and he grew up in the bronx, etc,etc to no avail. I personally see Powell as a fine, upstanding black man but certainly Bush will have to do more than just appoint a minority here or there to gain credibility. ------------------ "There are some frauds so well conducted that it would be stupidity not to be deceived by them." Charles Caleb Colton (1780-1832)
JayZ -- Too bad about your roomates -- I can't say the Powell appointment suprised but I'm certainly pleased -- Powell's certainly more than capable for the job. I don't know enough about Rice to get too excited about his appointment but I would hope Bush is making these appointment's based on the qualifications and merits of these canidates and NOT the color of their skin. ------------------ It doesn't matter if I have a signature!
JayZ750, I know this sounds like I'm looking for trouble here, but could you please ask these friends as to whom, exactly, would be representative of African Americans? Stone Cold--I would say that it's true that you don't know too much about Rice. He's a she. ------------------ stop posting my damn signature
Pole: My next door neighbor is a middle aged black woman who has been involved in politics for over 20 years. She likes Powell but I'll have to ask her about the rest. ------------------ The way to use life is to do nothing through acting, The way to use life is to do everything through being. - Lao-Tzu
No trouble at all. I didnt ask him who exactly would be representative but I tried to get at the question last night by asking who he thought would be a good seleciton to some sort of cabinet position. He really likes Sheila Jackson Lee. ------------------ "There are some frauds so well conducted that it would be stupidity not to be deceived by them." Charles Caleb Colton (1780-1832)
Pole -- Hahaha, man I told you didn't know jack about Rice. ------------------ It doesn't matter if I have a signature!
Why is it that if a person is African American and conservative, they are automatically considered a sell-out in some quarters? It's almost like some people think that any African American conservative can't possibly be thinking for themselves and have simply consigned themselves to the service of white people. That's pitiful. ------------------
On that same note, when a Democrat appoints an African-American to a post, it's because that Democrat appreciates diversity. When a Republican does it, he's merely trying to appease minorities. ------------------ Houston Sports Board The Anti-Bud Adams Page
HAHAHAHAAH!!!! Give up on him. Spend your time on less of a lost cause-- go try to convince a heroin addict to go cold turkey. You'd have better luck making that argument than you would trying to convince a Jackson Lee supporter to do anything other than spit on Republicans.
I think it is probably unfair for any of us white guys to make assumptions about what African Americans think or feel about political leaders. I don't care for Sheliah Jackson Lee much myself, but I know LOTS of black people who absolutely adore her and think that she is "their choice" for a leader. I could argue that she doesn't really represent them well, but that would be seen through the eyes of how most white people feel about her representation. Maybe that is the type of representation African Americans want for them. Who really knows? I just think it might be presumptious to question the decisions of black people when it comes to leaders they feel are representative of their thoughts and feelings. I, personally, would rather reserve judgement and just ask like Pole did. I worked with a large number of African Americans on the arena campaign. In fact, in many of the meetings with them, I was the only white person in the room. I met many of the state reps like Sylvester Turner and Garnett Coleman. I met Jackson Lee. I met Mayor Brown and others. Not all of them would necessarily be my choice for representatives but the African Americans I met there were fiercely loyal because they believed these people stood up for what they wanted as a race. It didn't matter if they were young or old, rich or poor, they wanted their black leaders to be strong in their community and not be conservative. They did a lot of things I'd never even heard of before like speaking in church on Sunday, which I always knew to be a big NO NO in the churches I went to. For them, if a politician didn't speak to them in their churches, they felt ignored and were highly pissed. It seemed odd to me but was perfectly natural to them. By the same token, I met a number of Hispanic leaders including State Rep. Mario Gallegos, former city councilperson Gracie Seinz and current city councilmen John Castillo and Gabriel Vasqez (my councilman as it turns out). Now, Castillo and Gallegos are almost icons in the Hispanic community whereas Vasquez is still new and has the distinction of not being particularly well-liked because he does not speak Spanish. I found that speaking Spanish was a huge barrier to being successful among them as reps. If a rep doesn't, he/she isn't really accepted. By the same token, the very conservative Hispanics like City Councilman Orlando Sanchez were outcasts among Latinos. I think it would be difficult if not impossible for any of us who are not minorities to estimate the beliefs and core values in the minority communities and why they choose who they choose to represent them. I just hope some of them respond because I'd really be fascinated to hear the responses. ------------------ The way to use life is to do nothing through acting, The way to use life is to do everything through being. - Lao-Tzu
I think the point is that it is sad that many people feel that if you're a certain race you have to be of a certain political philosophy in order to not be a sell-out. That's certainly not freedom. So much for MLK's dream of judging a man by the content of his character instead of the color of his skin. I heard an African-American gentleman make a phone call in to talk radio the other day saying how Clarence Thomas didn't think like a black man. How destructive is that logic? It assumes that if you are of a particular race you MUST also think a certain way. How is that freedom??? Talk about the bondage of racism...that's it in a nutshell!! Could you imagine how ridiculous it would be if I told Jeff he had sold out his race by voting for Nader..or for having views contrary to mine. Does anyone else see just how silly that is!!?? ------------------
Like I said, Max, it is pretty easy for us to sit here in judgement of the beliefs of another race but we have no idea exactly what it feels like to be in that situation. In addition, white people do not identify ourselves based on race because there are even divisions among us - Jewish people, for example, are white but do not identify themselves traditionally with Anglos. There are white people who are originally from England, let's say, who still consider themselves British which gives them a wholly different view than those raised in America. The point is that blacks in America have a skin color that binds them together as a group and they choose to continue that affiliation because they feel more comfortable with each other that way. I know many of us would feel uncomfortable in a bar in the 3rd ward in Houston because we are white. By the same token, I know many black people who feel equally as uncomfortable in a bar that is predominantly white. It is a dichotomy to proclaim Clarence Thomas a black man who doesn't act like a black man, but, if he is not representative of most black men and their beliefs, then the caller had a point. Plus, it is important to remember that many African Americans are liberal, which means no matter what Bush does, they aren't going to like it much because they don't really like him. Just like conservatives, for the most part - I'm totally generalizing here - didn't like anything Clinton did in office. It is just part of the political ideology and make up of the African American community. If you happened to be raised conservative, chances are you are conservative. If you were raised liberal, you are probably liberal. The same thing goes for black people. ------------------ The way to use life is to do nothing through acting, The way to use life is to do everything through being. - Lao-Tzu
Voting Democratic is not the same thing as being liberal. That's one of the great conundrums explored by David Horowitz in more than one of his books-- how does a generally conservative ethnic group such as Black America become permanently and hopelessly wedded to a political party that does little more than patronize them?
it looks like bush is getting all his token minority appointments out of the way and now is making room for all his skull & bones college buddies and good 'ol boy network friends from Texas. he's not all that.... rH ------------------ *** THIS SPACE FOR LEASE ***
Well I for one am glad to see that baby Bush is being his own man and choosing the best people for the job. I mean heck, if they were good enough for daddy's administration, they've got to be good enough for Dubya. Huh? Right! ------------------ 'Deeds, not words, shall speak me.'
BK: You make an interesting point, however, it really depends on how you define liberal. Most of the black people I know are Christians BUT they are for human rights, against the death penalty, for affirmative action, strong supporters of the environment and anti-big business. It is true that they are conservative on religious issues, but every black person I know (and I've gotten to know quite a few over the past few months in particular) is pretty far left of center. I think it boils down to the fact that most of my African American friends believe that their interests are best represented by liberals because liberal whites were the only white people to stand up to things like slavery, human rights violations, segregation and racism. Obviously, that is a pretty broad stroke of the brush, but I got into some pretty long political discussion with black people during the campaign and, while many of them were church-going Christians, they were also pretty far left democrats and I do not honestly believe that any of the one's I knew were just too stupid not to know the difference. In fact, most of them had been involved in politics and community activism for anywhere from 10 to 30 years. Many of those helping were black Baptist or Church of God ministers who could preach Jesus and gun control or anti-death penalty or affirmative action or any other number of liberal issues in the same breath. One woman who is a minister spoke with me at length about her belief in Jesus and her strong beliefs in pro-choice. To be honest, it was a bit of a surprise to me as well, but being around so many of them for several months made me see things quite differently than I did before. ------------------ The way to use life is to do nothing through acting, The way to use life is to do everything through being. - Lao-Tzu
Just like if people were good enough for the Carter administration, they must be good enough for Clinton. Why is Bush derided for picking people who had roles in the previous Republican Administration, but Clinton was somehow greatness for picking people from the previous Democratic administration? That's what Presidents tend to do. They get people from the previous administration of their party. Former President Bush had several Reagan people in his cabinet. Al Gore would've had several Clinton people around. I suppose that you'll next deride GWB for living in the White House. "Living in Daddy's old house. He just isn't his own man." ------------------ Houston Sports Board The Anti-Bud Adams Page
I'm not so sure that most Republicans would believe this statement, even though it is 100% accurate. Could it be that finally divorcing the terms "liberal" from "Democrat" as well as "conservative" from "Republican" would be the first step in bridging the political divide in our country? ------------------ "Blues is a Healer" --John Lee Hooker [This message has been edited by RocketMan Tex (edited December 18, 2000).] [This message has been edited by RocketMan Tex (edited December 18, 2000).]
