Gov. George Bush misses the point of the criticism he is receiving for having spoken at Bob Jones University, an institution with an anti-Catholic, racist legacy. He seems to think that his opponents are trying to smear him as a Catholic-hating bigot, a claim he rejects.
The problem is not whether or not Gov. Bush is a bigot. In all likelihood he is not. My problem with Bush stems from the fact that, when he needed votes in South Carolina, he didn’t seem to mind being “smeared” in this fashion. In a state that flies the Confederate flag from its capitol dome, it was good for his candidacy to appeal to voters who shared Bob Jones University’s racist views, so he remained quiet. Now that he is heading to New York and California, however, where racist sentiments are looked upon far less favorably, he is trying to sell “contrition.”
It’s not George Bush’s bigotry. It’s his hypocrisy.
