ClydeR
01-18-2009, 08:50 PM
Once again, Bush's critics jumped on a perceived opportunity to besmirch Bush's legacy. But, as in the past, they are shamed now that the truth has come out.
Here's what happened (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/15/AR2009011503835.html). Several years ago, John Tanner, Bush's head of the Voting Rights Section of the Justice Department, sent an e-mail in which he said that he likes his coffee "Mary Frances Berry Style -- black and bitter."
Mary Frances Berry (http://www.maryfrancesberry.com) is former chairperson of the Civil Rights Commission.
When the e-mail became public, the liberal gotcha media prematurely jumped on Tanner's statement as an example of a Bush appointee who was interested in weakening the agency he was leading. It wasn't the first time the mainstream press attacked Tanner. A few years earlier, Tanner gave a speech in which he said that the concerns that voter ID laws would alienate elderly black people, who remember Jim Crow, were overstated, because black people don't live long as long as white people anyway, on average.
Tanner recently sent a letter to Ms. Berry in which he apologized for any perceived slight. Mr. Tanner pointed out that his e-mail comment was not meant to be disrespectful and, furthermore, "the term 'bitter,' of course, meant no sugar in the coffee, and was not meant as a reflection on you or your attitude towards a challenging situation."
I guess the Bush critics are chastened now.
In fact, if the liberal media had been interested in the truth, they would have published the phenomenal improvement in voting rights during Bush's term. The number of voting rights violations during Bush's term has dropped precipitously compared to previous presidencies. The powerful evidence to support the previous sentence is the drastic decline in the number of enforcement actions needed from the Voting Rights Division during the Bush era. I doubt Obama will be able to match it.
Here's what happened (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/15/AR2009011503835.html). Several years ago, John Tanner, Bush's head of the Voting Rights Section of the Justice Department, sent an e-mail in which he said that he likes his coffee "Mary Frances Berry Style -- black and bitter."
Mary Frances Berry (http://www.maryfrancesberry.com) is former chairperson of the Civil Rights Commission.
When the e-mail became public, the liberal gotcha media prematurely jumped on Tanner's statement as an example of a Bush appointee who was interested in weakening the agency he was leading. It wasn't the first time the mainstream press attacked Tanner. A few years earlier, Tanner gave a speech in which he said that the concerns that voter ID laws would alienate elderly black people, who remember Jim Crow, were overstated, because black people don't live long as long as white people anyway, on average.
Tanner recently sent a letter to Ms. Berry in which he apologized for any perceived slight. Mr. Tanner pointed out that his e-mail comment was not meant to be disrespectful and, furthermore, "the term 'bitter,' of course, meant no sugar in the coffee, and was not meant as a reflection on you or your attitude towards a challenging situation."
I guess the Bush critics are chastened now.
In fact, if the liberal media had been interested in the truth, they would have published the phenomenal improvement in voting rights during Bush's term. The number of voting rights violations during Bush's term has dropped precipitously compared to previous presidencies. The powerful evidence to support the previous sentence is the drastic decline in the number of enforcement actions needed from the Voting Rights Division during the Bush era. I doubt Obama will be able to match it.