Bush Offers Condolences for Monday’s School Shooting:
President Bush offered his condolences to the victims of the Red Lake shooting today…
WACO, Texas — President George W. Bush (search) on Friday expressed condolences to the leader of the Minnesota Indian reservation where 10 people died Monday in the second-worst school shooting in U.S. history.
Bush talked to Floyd Jourdain Jr., chairman of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa (search), for five minutes Friday morning, offering his sympathy for the victims of a teen-ager’s shooting rampage and for the entire Red Lake community. He pledged to provide federal assistance, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.
Of course, nothing the President does is without controversy…
Some American Indians have complained that Bush did not respond publicly to the shooting for four days. Just hours after the shootings at Colorado’s Columbine High School that left 15 dead, then-President Bill Clinton publicly expressed his condolences.
I’m a little pissed about it myself, but the American Indians shouldn’t take it personally. It doesn’t have anything to do with the American Indian people, but because the federal government has their priorities screwed up right now. They’re more worried about Terry Schiavo than nine dead victims. It’s disheartening at best, pathetic at its worst.