Can you imagine being such a solider of pop culture that your activism would warrant you making the pages of a book written by a President?
Wouldn't such an inclusion make your family proud? Wouldn't it be a bragging right to share with your grandchildren? Shouldn't it get you an automatic NAACP Image Award?
Maybe the above would be the case if the President actually had something good to say about you.
But when President George W. Bush mentions Kanye West in his forthcoming book, "Decision Points," he's not singing the praises of the Chicago rapper who slammed him on a telethon for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, a week after numerous gulf coast cities were destroyed by the devastating storm and its aftermath.
[Bush admits he considered replacing Cheney] Bush expressed his frustration with the "Runaway" singer in an interview with the "Today Show"'s Matt Lauer to air Monday on NBC's "Matt Lauer Reports."
When Lauer asked Bush if he remembered the comments Kanye made about him, President Obama's predecessor offered a matter-of-fact response.
"Yes, I do. He called me a racist," Bush told Lauer.
Lauer clarified that Kanye did not literally call Bush a racist but instead said, "George Bush doesn't care about Black people." But Bush maintained his stance.
"That's - 'he's a racist,'" Bush said. "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, and it was one of the most disgusting moments in my Presidency."
Lauer quoted an excerpt from the book on the matter:
"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."
[Kanye collaborating with Jay-Z on album]
Bush said he still feels the same way and added that Kanye's comments upset him because it was not reflective of his work.
"My record was strong I felt when it came to race relations and giving people a chance. And--it was a disgusting moment," Bush said.
Lauer asked Bush if he was concerned that some might be upset that he has placed so much emphasis on being angry about someone criticizing his responsiveness to the hurricane victims as opposed to being saddened by the impact of "watching the misery in Louisiana."
Bush said no. "I also make it clear that the misery in Louisiana affected me deeply as well," he said. "There's a lot of tough moments in the book. And it was a disgusting moment, pure and simple."
If the saying is true that no publicity is bad publicity, getting this shout out from President Bush can only help the record sales of Kanye's "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" album out in a few weeks.
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