"Do You Have Blacks, Too?"
May 31, 2002
by a BuzzFlash Reader
Dear
All,
Have you heard that, during his meeting with the Brazilian president (4/28/02),
Bush interrupted Cardoso to ask, "Do you have blacks, too?"
Condoleezza
Rice quickly jumped in to save GW by citing relevant facts and figures
-- just as if his remark were the most normal thing in the world...
Here are 3 sites -- in French, Portueguese, and German -- I am unable
to locate the English language site wherein I first came across this believe-it-or-not
item (but I give a very very rough English translation at the bottom of
this page.) By the way, the last site I list, Der Spiegel, has a w o n
d e r f u l photo of Condi Rice looking at GW in maximum disbelief.
http://www.mre.gov.br/acs/clipping/es0428.htm
-- in Portuguese ("Do you have blacks, also" in English.)
http://www.courrierinternational.com/mag/rvinso.htm
-- in French (International Courier) but with the comment also in English.
http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/0,1518,196411,00.html
-- German site gives original remark in English - and also has a perfect
photo of Condi at what looks like the very instant the remark has been
made. Here's the text from Spiegel - but make sure you go to the site
itself for the great photo:
Text from Der Spiegel:
Condoleezza Rice, 47, US-Sicherheitsberaterin, half ihrem Chef aus peinlicher Lage. Bei einem Gespräch der beiden amerikanischen Präsidenten George W. Bush, 55, (USA) und Fernando Henrique Cardoso, 71, (Brasilien) hatte Bush seinen Amtskollegen mit der Frage verblüfft: "Sie haben auch Schwarze?" ("Do you have blacks, too?") Rice, die bemerkte, wie erstaunt der Brasilianer ob der Frage war, rettete die Situation, indem sie Bush aufklärte: "Präsident, Brasilien hat wahrscheinlich mehr Schwarze als die USA, man sagt, es ist das Land mit den meisten Schwarzen außerhalb Afrikas." Cardoso urteilte hinterher: Was Lateinamerika betreffe, befinde sich Bush "noch in der Lehrzeit".
My English Translation:
During a chat between the American president George W Bush ....and Fernando Henrique Cardoso (of Brazil), Bush suddenly burst out with the question: "Do you have blacks, too?" Rice, his national security advisor rescued the situation by explaining, "Mister President, Brazil probably has more blacks than the USA. Outside of Africa, it has more blacks than any other country in the world." Cardoso reasoned afterwards that where Latinamerica is concerned, Bush is still in the "learning stage."
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