President Bush in the 2000 campaign said the issue of a Confederate flag flying in South Carolina was a state issue, and nothing’s changed, according to his spokesman.
 Tony Snow |
The comment from White House spokesman Tony Snow came in response to a question from Les Kinsolving, WND’s correspondent at the White House.
“The Associated Press reported from Orangeburg, S.C., yesterday that Hillary Clinton announced that the Confederate flag should be removed from the war memorial in Columbia’s Statehouse grounds. And my question, does the president agree or disagree with this Hillary request?”
“The president is not going to get involved as pundit-in chief in political campaigns,” Snow said.
In 2000, Bush was criticized for campaigning at Bob Jones University, which discouraged interracial dating then, and also for not speaking out about the Confederate flag issue, which then was being argued.
At that time, Bush said the flag dispute was a local issue.
Kinsolving continued with his line of questioning. “Does the president believe that Mississippi’s state flag needs to be changed because it has the Confederate battle flag and that the 15-star replica of the Star Spangled Banner, now flying at Fort McHenry, should be removed because it was the flag of a slave nation?”
“It hasn’t come up,” Snow said. “Believe it or not, I don’t have an answer for you on that.”
“The name of George Washington – President Lincoln in 1842 said that, ‘The name of George Washington is the mightiest name on earth – long since the mightiest in the cause of civil liberty; still the mightiest in moral reformation…’ Does the president believe President Lincoln was wrong in saying this because President Washington owned slaves?”
“Oh my goodness,” Snow said.
Hillary Clinton said the confederate flag should be removed because the nation should unite under one banner while at war. Her comments echoed those from Sens. Chris Dodd and Joe Biden, who also are presidential hopefuls. They also have said the flag should be removed.
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