Excerpt from article:http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20050906/cm_thenation/120080

Commenting on the facilities that have been set up for the evacuees -- cots crammed side-by-side in a huge stadium where the lights never go out and the sound of sobbing children never completely ceases -- former First Lady Barbara Bush concluded that the poor people of New Orleans had lucked out.

"Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this, this is working very well for them," Mrs. Bush told American Public Media's "Marketplace" program, before returning to her multi-million dollar Houston home.

Granted the article is slightly written biased.....wow...

/forehead slap...

I could've had a V8...

Seriously tho, what's the unbiased factual account? Seems like an out of character thing for her to say.

Fandros

"Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this, this is working very well for them," Mrs. Bush

If I was down there and heard her say that.. got one word that comes to mind... bitch.

/agree Shamzy

I hope that whole story is a typo, but for some reason I don't think it is. I wonder though if it may have been taken out of context. I wonder if she was refering to the fact that people are/should be grateful they are alive and not one of the many who may not have made it.

Yes, she said it. You can download the clip from here (http://www.discourse.net/archives/2005/09/the_modern_let_them_eat_cake_moment.html). There's actually more context to the quote (I haven't listened to the audio, as my work machine isn't up to snuff -- but readers can verify for themselves.
"What I’m hearing -- which is sort of scary -- is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. "And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this--this [she chuckles slightly] is working very well for them."
And, really, I don't consider it out of character.

Bah..
I cant get roused up over this.. she is a nice old (very old) lady. Leave it be.

never :/

Shes a Bush so shes guilty by association.

It's indicative of her true character, but a very minor bit of kerfuffle in the greater scheme of things.

so since shes an old lady she can be ignorant and make generalizations that poor people sleep in cots in crappy conditions.....

I bet its ok since shes old to call people niggers, spics, kikes and gooks, i mean since shes old.

People are playing that out to be a lot worse than it actually is if you read the whole thing. I don't see what the big deal is, and if nothing else it's pretty dumb to demonize someone for speaking her mind just because it's potentially insensitive. There are so many things to be seriously upset about with the handling of the situation that an old lady acting like an archetypal Texan and not carefully choosing her words isn't merely off the radar, it's not even reflective.

Seriously tho, what's the unbiased factual account? Seems like an out of character thing for her to say.


Actually, from what I have read, this was completely in character.

Of course, it really does not matter; she is nothing more now than the wife of a former president, and she can say whatever asinine stuff she has a mind to without having to worry about intruding on anyone's sensibilities. Besides, her son makes enough blunders verbally that she probably does not expect anyone to really pay her any mind anymore.

I'd be mad, but I laughed at some guy who fell at school about six hours ago. =/

Meh, I laughed at a girlfriend who slipped down some icy stairs one night. That doesn't make you a bad person (though she didn't think it was funny).

lol Reminds me of the famous Quote..........Let them Eat Cake......

I'm sure there are plenty of old/older ladies who have much worse things to say :). Namely my very English grandmother, lol.

ahhh but is your Grandmother a public figure who is recognizable and whose son is the President of the United States? LOL, this was classic Barb. Though she could be a touch senile.

Mrs. Bush said that maybe Texan hospitality at the AstroDome was better for the refugees than the living conditions were back home. Yes, it has a lot of vague room to superimpose meanings to the statement. It some cases, it may even be true.

The article gives two sentences worth of actual fact, and the rest of the article is spin,...not written with a slight bias. Again, in some cases pushing on the arrogance and inappropriateness of the Bush family may even be true.

I'm glad Mrs. Bush got out of her million-dollar mansion, limoed her happy ass down to the AstroDome, and visited with the refugees at all. She is an old woman, mostly excused from public duty, and could have just as easily sent some bag of gently used matronly clothes and a 24 pack of water from Costco. She could have given a statement to Larry King Live and been done with the whole thing. I'm glad that she went down and did some face-to-face observation, and feel badly that her comments were the focus of her visit...instead of her good will.

instead of her good will.

Well, apparently her motivation for going is questioned a bit more easily by others, and she is scrutinized more than what some might like.

/shrug

I find good will to be something I have never really associated with Barbara Bush. Of course, I am sure all the writers are biased when they approach the topic of the Bush family, so naturally they do not portray her as a kindly good-hearted old lady.

I can't say that I know Mrs. Bush's intentions, but she has always been portrayed as "friendly" from what I can tell. :p

http://snltranscripts.jt.org/01/01jfunhouse.phtml