President Bush broke his public silence Saturday about the deadliest U.S. school shooting in six years, touting the government’s response “at this tragic time” after some American Indian leaders complained he paid little attention to the rampage.
Bush’s delayed public reaction to the shooting stood in contrast to his swift and high-profile intervention this week to prolong the life of Terri Schiavo, a brain-damaged woman in Florida whose feeding tube was removed.
Opinion polls show Bush’s approval ratings have slipped to a new low and some pollsters say his intervention in the Schiavo controversy may have been a major factor.
Bush decried the “tragedy” in which a 16-year-old boy killed nine people and then himself on a Minnesota Indian reservation. Monday’s rampage by Jeff Weise was the worst U.S. school shooting since 15 people died in the 1999 Columbine massacre.
“We are doing everything we can to meet the needs of the community at this tragic time,” Bush said in his weekly radio address one day after calling Floyd Jourdain, chairman of the Red Lake Chippewa tribe, to offer his condolences to the shooting victims and their families.
While White House spokesman Scott McClellan spoke briefly about the shooting Tuesday, Bush did not respond publicly for days while he focused on Schiavo’s fate, critics say.
Clyde Bellecourt, a Chippewa Indian who is the founder and national director of the American Indian Movement in Red Lake, said Bush’s response came too late. “He should have been the first one to reach out to the Red Lake Indian community,” he said.
Interrupt vacation
Bellecourt cited Bush’s decision to break off his Texas vacation to sign emergency legislation Monday that permitted federal courts to consider appeals by Schiavo’s parents to force the reconnection of the feeding tube.
“He does not have any problems flying in to restore the feeding tube to Terri Schiavo. I’m sure if this happened in some school in Texas and a bunch of white kids were shot down, he would have been there too,” Bellecourt said.
Dana Perino, a White House spokeswoman, said the president received “regular and full briefings on the tragedy.”
“The president’s immediate focus was on making sure the federal government was responding to the needs of the community. They were and they continue to do so,” she said.
In his radio address, Bush said U.S. churches responded with prayers hours after the shooting, and that the FBI and the Justice Department are “working to coordinate relief” efforts with state, local and tribal authorities.
“As we help the families in this community, we must do everything in our power to prevent tragedies like this from happening,” Bush said.
He made no direct mention of Schiavo, but said: “To keep our children safe and protected, we must continue to foster a culture that affirms life and provides love, and helps our young people build character.”
Bush was criticized for his initial reaction to the Dec. 26 tsunami in Asia when he pledged $15 million in U.S. government assistance. The U.S. government’s pledge rose substantially after the enormity of the disaster became clear.