Departing NAACP leader has 'man-to-man' talk with Bush

This one is very worthy of discussion.

From The Washington Post, link here: Departing NAACP Leader Has 'Man-to-Man' Talk with Bush
By Michael A. Fletcher
Washington Post Staff Writer

    President Bush and outgoing NAACP leader Kweisi Mfume met at the White House yesterday in what Mfume described as a frank, "man-to-man" discussion aimed at fixing the broken relationship between the president and the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization.
    Joined by the president's chief political strategist Karl Rove, Bush and Mfume spent much of the nearly 40-minute conversation discussing the strained relationship between Bush and the NAACP. Last summer, Bush pointedly declined an invitation to address the organization's national convention for the fourth consecutive year, calling his relationship with the group "basically nonexistent." The NAACP said Bush was the first president since Warren G. Harding who did not address the civil rights group while in office.
    Mfume was invited to the White House last month after announcing his intention to step down after nine years as the NAACP's president and chief executive officer. Speaking to reporters, Mfume was careful to say that the private session -- which he had requested in a letter to Bush -- did not "constitute a meeting" between Bush and the NAACP. But, he said, he was hopeful the encounter could set the stage for "future dialogue between the NAACP and the White House."
    In the past, Bush has said he refused to address the NAACP because of what he perceived as its unfair criticism of his policies, from his decision to invade Iraq to his opposition to many affirmative action programs. In yesterday's meeting, Bush said that he had refused to address the NAACP not because he feared a hostile reception from the group but because he thought such a reception would demean the presidency and embarrass the United States before the world, Mfume said. "That was something that was in his gut," Mfume said.

emphasis added mine

... more at linked article

It's a damn shame that it took this long for a meeting like this to occur, and even more disgraceful that it had to take place in a completely unofficial capacity from the NAACP's point-of-view.

As noted in a prior blog article (NAACP shows it's true colors), Mfume was basically pushed out of the NAACP because he was making overtures to President Bush and the Republican party. That was something that I am certain was something that Mfume had seen as absolutely necessary to protect political power in the long term (as noted in that blog article and the linked article referenced there-in), and which he knew was necessary to keep Blacks from being taken for granted by either political party.

Mfume seems to have much more savvy than I had originally given him credit for. I hope that the discussion he had with President Bush was as 'frank' as described in the article linked above, and I hope the advice he gave to President Bush is followed.

I'm amazed that the article linked directly above has the following in the closing paragraphs:

Julian Bond, the NAACP's board chairman, issued a statement saying he welcomed the discussion. Bond previously has been sharply critical of Bush and many Republicans -- who he once said "draw their most rabid supporters from the Taliban wing of American politics. " Earlier this year, the IRS launched an investigation into whether those remarks by Bond violated the NAACP's tax-exempt status.
"After being shut out of the White House for four years, we look forward to discussion about our differences -- and even agreement when our agendas intersect," Bond said in his statement.

I'm surprised that Bond actually acknowledged the meeting, but I guess he probably had to in some way. Unfortunately, he'll probably just as quickly turn around an spew more venom like the comments noted in the end of the first paragraph directly above.

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How dare the NAACP equate Prs. Bush's declining to speak with them as a rebuff agaisnt all Black Americans. SInce when does the NAACP represent anyone other than their own members? I wonder how the NAACP would accept the idea of advancing Condoleeza Rice as President if she chose to run???

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It is unfortunate that the behaviour of those in charge of the NAACP is mostly likely looked on as representative of all African Americans. While the group does serve a purpose, it's unfortunate when things are taken to extreme to serve a few people's (this might be the wrong word) "fanatic" beliefs. Its also unfortunate that the President has not met with them because he thought it would "demean the presidency and embarrass the United States before the world...". But I guess going with his gut feeling is right on his part - gut instincts are always best to rely on and I'm a believer of that.

Mfume was the best thing to happen to the NAACP, in my opinion, and it is too bad he's not in charge there anymore.

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