Bush & Ashcroft vs. O'Reilly?

Check out Jennifer's clip [right] in which Bill O'Reilly presents outright racism as common sense. Sure, racism is common sense for him and his fellow travelers. This time it's in the form of selecting Muslims (how do you tell exactly?) for searches by airport security.

But wait! Look who's on the other side of the debate: It's president Bush and former Attorney General John Ashcroft.

In a rare moment of sanity, common sense, and adherence to the principles of the Constitution they were sworn to uphold, Bush and Ashcroft sent a Department of Justice Fact Sheet on why Racial Profiling is wrong, will not be tolerated, "materially impair[s] our efforts to maintain a fair and just society," and "creates a 'lose-lose' situation."

Here are the two quotes that introduce the Fact Sheet (PDF):

"It's wrong, and we will end it in America. In so doing, we will not hinder the work of our nation's brave police officers. They protect us every day -- often at great risk. But by stopping the abuses of a few, we will add to the public confidence our police officers earn and deserve.'' --President George W. Bush, Feb. 27, 2001

"This administration… has been opposed to racial profiling and has done more to indicate its opposition than ever in history. The President said it's wrong and we'll end it in America, and I subscribe to that. Using race… as a proxy for potential criminal behavior is unconstitutional, and it undermines law enforcement by undermining the confidence that people can have in law enforcement." --Attorney General John Ashcroft, Feb. 28, 2002

Under "Taking Steps to Balance National Security Concerns," there's this provision (emphasis mine):

"the racial profiling guidance recognizes that race and ethnicity may be used in terrorist identification, but only to the extent permitted by the nation’s laws and the Constitution."

That would be the Constitution Bush, Cheney, Gonzales and others are busy trying to work around (see: Spying, NSA). Which effectively means that yes, when it comes to airport screeners the Bush administration is in full accordance with O'Reilly's talking points.

Let the wrong, will not be tolerated, "materially impair[s] our efforts to maintain a fair and just society," and "creates a 'lose-lose' situation commence. Just make sure it's international please.

For those interested in why racial profiling doesn't work and is merely a hollow plan to capitalize on fear and racism, go HERE.