He was clearly shaken. His voice was trembling, the impression that he was about to break down in tears was unsettling and, such is the beauty of language, if you were there with him, you'd see nothing that could cause such an impact on a human body. Lights, cameras, and another person standing up as he delivered his message. He was talking to an impassible lens, which could do nothing but reflect back the image of his face — though it's unlikely anyone could focus on something as minute as that.
No, not this either.
You weren't there, but you can imagine what it must've felt like: he could deliver a string of words that would make a difference. His legs were probably tingling and weak, the butterflies in his stomach were about to organise an uprising, and he was speaking his mind. At the first opportunity, as his voice shifted, he ranted and showed compassion. It's not hard to speak (if you're human), and all he had to do was utter the words he had in his mind, but aren't we all afraid of the backlash when we've got something polemic to say? He kept it to himself. His partner then gave his message... and, as the silence set it, he blurted out the words he had so much wanted to share.
So unexpected was the context of his sentence that looks of surprise were shown on the screen in the following seconds. Both in the studio and elsewhere. "What'd he say?", Chris Tucker must've asked himself.
Granted, he later tarnished his reputation with his impulsiveness (this sort of thing is usually hit or miss). At that moment, however, I was really happy for him, and please let me finish, but Kanye West's utterance was one of the best televised outbursts of all time. OF ALL TIME! As an outsider, I'm not even sure whether you can blame it on racism, which seems to be ever so present in the American discourse: it probably has deeper roots, both social and economical (not to mention the sheer incompetence of the authorities involved). This, nevertheless, is the bit that goes without saying. The moment he shared his opinion was probably the apex of his career, and that says a lot about someone who managed to do something interesting out of Daft Punk's worst album ever, having turned awful into awesome. But I digress.
What really impressed and stunned me was George Bush's reaction. While he was in office, the US suffered one of its most cruel terrorist attacks and he launched a misguided war which killed countless civilians that, just like those who perished in 9/11, simply happened to be at the wrong place in the worst possible time. Yet, when asked about the worst moment when he was in office, Dubya says Kanye West attack was worst moment of his presidency.
This is appalling as much as it is illuminating:
quote:
George W Bush: Kanye West attack was worst moment of presidency Former US president says rapper calling him a racist during a Hurricane Katrina telethon in 2005 was an 'all-time low'
Despite leading the US into war and presiding over one of the greatest financial disasters in history, the worst moment of George W Bush's presidency was, he said this week, when Kanye West called him a racist. "It was a disgusting moment, pure and simple," Bush said. "I didn't appreciate it then [and] I don't appreciate it now."
In 2005 West appeared before millions on a live telethon for Hurricane Katrina relief. As Mike Myers stood dumbfounded beside him, the rapper extemporised on race, money and aid efforts, finishing with the now notorious accusation: "George Bush doesn't care about black people." West's outburst helped spur a national debate about the White House's response to Hurricane Katrina.
Five years later, Bush hasn't forgotten. "I can barely write [West's] words without feeling disgust," the former president explains in a forthcoming book. "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."
"I still feel that way," Bush told NBC's Matt Lauer. "I felt [that way] when I heard [those words], felt them when I wrote them, and I felt them when I'm listening to them." Bush also recalled telling his wife it was "the worst moment" of his presidency. "It's one thing to say, 'I don't appreciate the way he's handled his business,'" he said. "It's another thing to say, 'This man's a racist'. I resent it, it's not true."
"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," Lauer suggested. "The reason is this ..."
"Don't care," Bush said, interrupting.
"Well, here's the reason," Lauer continued. "You're not saying that the worst moment in your presidency was watching the misery in Louisiana. You're saying it was when someone insulted you because of that."
"No, and I also make it clear that the misery in Louisiana affected me deeply as well," Bush said. "There's a lot of tough moments in the book."
While this incident may have bruised Bush's ego, the affair hasn't touched West as deeply. This week the rapper said his gaffe at the MTV Video Music awards in 2009 was "bigger ... than the Bush moment". "There's just so few black men [who] make it that far," he told hip-hop DJ Funkmaster Flex. "That's a responsibility, that's why so many fans of mine were upset because they're like: 'Man, you've got a powerful situation ... You can't be so reckless with your opinion. We can agree with you but you've got to play it in another type of way, because you can't throw away the opportunity.'" Apparently dissing Taylor Swift is more outrageous than taking shots at a sitting president.
CORe version: George Bush does care about Kanye West.
And Lira hates everything from Discovery, with the exception of this video
Edit: Original article added.
ziptnf
Good thing Kanye turned out to be such a respectable individual. Oh wait. :p
The17sss
lol... dude he said "one of the most disgusting moments of my presidency", not one of the worst. :stongue:
Sushipunk
Mike Myers cracks me up in that vid :stongue: "Uhh, what the ..."
Lira
quote:
Originally posted by The17sss
lol... dude he said "one of the most disgusting moments of my presidency", not one of the worst. :stongue:
quote:
"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."
"I still feel that way," Bush told NBC's Matt Lauer. "I felt [that way] when I heard [those words], felt them when I wrote them, and I felt them when I'm listening to them." Bush also recalled telling his wife it was "the worst moment" of his presidency.
Even if it he did say it was just "one of the worst moments", a more sane person would've figured 9/11, the War on Iraq, the Hurricane Katrina itself, among other things, deserved to be in the top spots ;)
ziptnf
quote:
Originally posted by The17sss
lol... dude he said "one of the most disgusting moments of my presidency", not one of the worst. :stongue:
quote:
Bush also recalled telling his wife it was "the worst moment" of his presidency.
EDIT: :mad:
Lira
quote:
Originally posted by ziptnf
EDIT: :mad:
It's cool, I wanted to post the video again, but didn't want to double post :p
I love the "Say what!?" look on Chris Tucker's face :p
OkiDokie
Gotta love those C0R versions, they make my life so much easier.
Silky Johnson
Hahaha oh man that video is so good. They're both just like "BUH??!"
The17sss
quote:
Originally posted by ziptnf
EDIT: :mad:
Hmm. So he did say it to his wife. I stand corrected. Well, I don't know man... is this some sort of indictment on his character now? lol. I can't even count how many times I've said "this is the worst day of my life" off the cuff.
Lira
quote:
Originally posted by The17sss
Hmm. So he did say it to his wife. I stand corrected. Well, I don't know man... is this some sort of indictment on his character now? lol. I can't even count how many times I've said "this is the worst day of my life" off the cuff.
Don't you think it shows some sort of self-absorption when, instead of any disaster that did happen while he was in charge of your country, he claimed in his book that this piece of criticism was (and I quote) "an all-time low".
Really? That was an all-time low?
idoru
quote:
Originally posted by Lira
It's cool, I wanted to post the video again, but didn't want to double post :p
[video]
I love the "Say what!?" look on Chris Tucker's face :p
I love his rambling more than I do his comment about Bush. It just makes him look so utterly ing retarded. :stongue:
