Bush campaign demands to know race of journalist

[quaoar]

http://www.azstarnet.com/dailystar/dailystar/32301.php

President Bush's re-election campaign insisted on knowing the race of an Arizona Daily Star journalist assigned to photograph Vice President Dick Cheney.

The Star refused to provide the information.

Cheney is scheduled to appear at a rally this afternoon at the Pima County Fairgrounds.

A rally organizer for the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign asked Teri Hayt, the Star's managing editor, to disclose the journalist's race on Friday. After Hayt refused, the organizer called back and said the journalist probably would be allowed to photograph the vice president.

"It was such an outrageous request, I was personally insulted," Hayt said later.

Danny Diaz, a spokesman for the president's re-election campaign, said the information was needed for security purposes.

[quaoar]

1. BTW

It is certainly reasonable to do background checks of journalists covering the president/vp, as the story points out:

Journalists covering the president or vice president must undergo a background check and are required to provide their name, date of birth and Social Security number. The Star provided that information Thursday for Popat and this reporter.

"That's all anybody has been asked to provide," said Hayt, adding that this is the first time in her 26-year career that a journalist's race was made an issue.

But this is racial profiling.

[elperromagico]

2. Just what would happen...

if the photographer turned out to be Arab-American?

[Cybergata]

3. I can just see it

In Bush's New World order, we all will have to carry ID cards which include our race.

There are so many people living in the U.S. today that can't pare down their race to just one. I have had students who are a mix of Native America/Caucasian/African American/Hispanic. When being asked about the race, my students just don't know what to put, especially if the form they are filling out asks for only one. Bush wake up, we are a nation of many races. We are becoming more and more a melting pot. Making race an issue is so 50s-60s! :hippie: