the NAACP saga continues
Kucinich, Gephardt, and later Lieberman got their chance to speak at the NAACP forum. Here's what happened:
Kucinich, who missed the session Monday for votes in the House, said he felt an "an obligation to be there to protect the interests of the American people to try to keep Medicare from being privatized. Now I'm here to let you know that while I have a 100 percent voting record, I'm also 100 percent for the NAACP."
The Ohio congressman spoke about his opposition to the war against Iraq and the need to rebuild the economy. Following Kucinich's five-minute speech, the moderator goaded him to offer an official apology, saying: "We have heard the explanation, does the congressman need to say something else?"
Kucinich replied: "I'm very sorry I wasn't able to be here, amazing grace, how sweet it is, once was lost, now I'm found."
Isn't that the kind of thing you say to your five year old kid? "Don't you need to say something else?" I'm afraid that I don't think this incident reflects very well on the NAACP leadership either. It's natural when you've been humiliated and demeaned to want to gloat when you finally get yours. But it's petty. I fear that this whole drama may be counterproductive for the NAACP in the end.
I'm partisan, of course, but I think that Kucinich handled it as gracefully as he could. When he stayed in Washington for the Medicare vote, he did it because he thought it was right, and he didn't apologize for that. Read it again. He didn't say, "I'm sorry, I should have been here, I made a mistake", he simply said, "I'm very sorry I wasn't able to be here" which is what any polite person would say.
However, I'm not quite sure what's up with the song lyrics at the end. Was it meant to be sarcastic? I don't know.
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