in Indianapolis, snubs the NAACP in Milwaukee. Will focus on education and the economy:
from WTHR.com:
Indianapolis, July 13 - Marvin Boatright and his family have run a near north side funeral home for decades. He's a proud supporter of the Black Expo.
As usual, he bought a full table for the annual awards luncheon.
Although he disagrees with many of President Bush's policies, he plans to attend, and listen to the speech. He says he is "Proud of the staff and the volunteers of being able to secure our President to be here."
But he and others are concerned about the Black Expo's decision to honor the President with its Lifetime Achievement award.
"I think the lifetime achievement award is really stretching it, not simply because many African-Americans are Democrat. He has not really got to that level yet and many people, including myself, don't believe he's deserving of that."
Speaking for Black Expo, Alpha Garrett disagrees. "There are a lot of initiatives that he has on his plate."
Black Expo organizers defend the decision, according to Garrett, citing a number of the President's community initiatives. "As far as explaining the steps we took and the reasons why we feel he is deserving of the award, that the community will definitely understand and see that he is rightfully deserving of it."
Businessman Marty Goens says politics won't keep him from honoring the President and the Expo. "The things that he has set in place, the faith-based initiatives and so forth, they have potential and I think that's what we should keep our eye on, the potential for some of the things in place. Focus on the positive, I mean that's what I believe in. Build bridges, not walls."
Others share that sentiment. They say they'll put politics aside and listen to what the President has to say. At the same time, they'll show their support for Black Expo.
From IndyStar:
President Bush will focus on education and what he calls the "ownership society" in his speech today at Indiana Black Expo, his top domestic policy adviser said.
Claude A. Allen, a former deputy secretary of Health and Human Services named by Bush earlier this year to be his chief domestic policy aide, said Wednesday that the message Bush brings to the RCA Dome will be one of opportunity for all Americans -- and in particular black Americans.
"When we talk about ownership, we look broadly at the issues that affect Americans, in this case African-Americans, where they live and where they work," he said. That includes, Allen said, the No Child Left Behind education reforms that Bush initiated in his first year in office. They let students transfer to other schools if their local schools fail to meet certain standards.
"African-Americans, particularly in urban settings, are the core beneficiaries of the rigorous standards we are demanding of schools," Allen said.
To Democrats, "ownership society" is shorthand for privatization and cutting federal support for such things as health care, education and Social Security.
To Republicans, however, it means giving people more choices in those areas and a personal stake in helping to shape their own future.
Bush will deliver the speech -- which the White House said could include some new education initiatives -- to about 3,200 politicians, business leaders and others at the Indiana Black Expo's sold-out luncheon.
Allen said the president can be expected to talk about the war in Iraq, too. "You can't talk about ownership without talking about freedom," Allen said, adding that Bush also will speak about the billions in aid to Africa pledged at the recent Group of Eight summit he attended in Scotland.
But the main focus will be the home front and economic security, Allen said, including Medicare, the health care program for seniors; restructuring Social Security; and "making sure African-Americans are able to participate in home ownership and small-business ownership."
Allen, 44, said Indiana Black Expo -- a nonpartisan event that includes job fairs, health screenings and business networking -- is a perfect forum for Bush to address such issues.
Black voters generally have not been receptive to Bush.
A recent survey by national polling firm Zogby International of 905 likely voters found blacks have a much dimmer view of Bush than whites do. More than 75 percent of black voters said they had an unfavorable view of Bush, while about 55 percent of whites viewed the president favorably.
Allen said the 2004 election results show Bush winning support from black voters. In 2000, he received about 8 percent of the black vote. In 2004, that grew to 11 percent, still low, but more than past GOP presidential candidates.
Allen -- who in 1983 became the first black on the staff of Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C. -- once was part of that Democratic base himself. In 1980, he said, someone told him to read the two parties' platforms, with the labels removed.
He said he discovered that he shared the values the Republicans espoused of "opportunity, ownership, a strong national defense and strong family values."
Mike Edmondson, executive director of the Indiana Democratic Party, said the difference between Democrats and Republicans on minority outreach and support is "we walk the walk, instead of just talking the talk."
"The president's record on minority issues is very sad," Edmondson said, noting that the president has missed funding targets for No Child Left Behind by $22.4 billion over the past four budgets and that health and nutritional services have been cut for about 324,000 black children enrolled in Head Start.
Edmondson also criticized Black Expo's decision to honor Bush with its Lifetime Achievement Award, saying he didn't know what Bush had done to deserve it.
"If it's for focusing on minorities, I'm awfully suspicious," Edmondson said, saying better recipients would have been state Rep. Bill Crawford, D-Indianapolis, or Marion County Sheriff Frank Anderson, also a Democrat.> |
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