Bush Cites Criticism by Kanye West As Worst Moment of Presidency – Not 9/11, Not Iraq, Katrina, Economic Collapse

George Bush's announcement last summer that he would come out of seclusion in October to promote a book about his presidency written in his name titled "Decision Points" sent Republicans into a panic. Within days of the announcement, word came that Bush had delayed his press junket until after the elections.

Lauer: "I wonder if some people are going to read that, now that you've written it, and they might give you some heat for that. And the reason is this — "

Bush [interrupting]: "Don't care."

Republicans panicked because they suspected, rightly, that having Bush out doing press would remind voters about the bad old days when he and his cronies in Congress, including Speaker-in-Waiting John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, were in charge. His presence would have disrupted their campaign to shift blame for the crises Bush created and/or ignored to Pres. Obama — a campaign that ultimately worked out remarkably well for them in the midterm elections.

The election is over, and Bush is back and, well, badder than ever. The first soundbite from his book tour proves that Republicans were right to keep him under wraps.

In an interview with NBC's Matt Lauer set to air next week, Bush offers a glimpse of just how disruptive he could have been to his party's midterm campaign:

[The] former President is very passionate on the subject of [Kanye] West's criticism of the way Bush handled the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. NBC has released some quotations from the interview.

"He called me a racist," Bush tells Lauer. "And I didn't appreciate it then. I don't appreciate it now. It's one thing to say, 'I don't appreciate the way he's handled his business.' It's another thing to say, 'This man's a racist.' I resent it, it's not true."

Lauer quotes from Bush's new book: "Five years later I can barely write those words without feeling disgust." Lauer adds, "You go on: 'I faced a lot of criticism as President. I didn't like hearing people claim that I lied about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction or cut taxes to benefit the rich. But the suggestion that I was racist because of the response to Katrina represented an all-time low.'

President Bush responds: "Yeah. I still feel that way as you read those words. I felt 'em when I heard 'em, felt 'em when I wrote 'em and I felt 'em when I'm listening to 'em.

Lauer: "You say you told Laura at the time it was the worst moment of your Presidency?"

Bush: "Yes. My record was strong I felt when it came to race relations and giving people a chance. And it was a disgusting moment."

Lauer: "I wonder if some people are going to read that, now that you've written it, and they might give you some heat for that. And the reason is this — "

Bush [interrupting]: "Don't care."

Lauer: "Well, here's the reason. You're not saying that the worst moment in you're Presidency was watching the misery in Louisiana. You're saying it was when someone insulted you because of that."

Bush: "No, and I also make it clear that the misery in Louisiana affected me deeply as well. There's a lot of tough moments in the book. And it was a disgusting moment, pure and simple."

rest at http://www.pensitoreview.com/2010/11/03/bush-cites-criticism-by-kanye-west-as-worst-moment-of-presidency-not-911-not-iraq-katrina-economic-collapse/