TV Talk: Bush responds to Kanye statement

Remember a certain famous phrase uttered by the always polite, never pushy rapper Kanye West?

In case, you've forgotten, after FEMA failed to react efficiently and quickly to the Hurricane Katrina disaster in New Orleans, the rapper took it upon himself to say why. And as he notoriously stated, "George Bush doesn't care about Black people."

In an interview for a special prime-time Matt Lauer Reports set to air Nov. 8, Bush revisits that notorious political moment as he talks with the NBC host about his new upcoming book Decision Points.

The phrase, no matter how true or false, was ridiculous then, and it's still ridiculous now.

As for Bush' thoughts on the matter, NBC released some quotations from the interview:

"He called me a racist,” Bush tells Lauer. “And I didn’t appreciate it then. I don’t appreciate it now. It’s one thing to say, ‘I don’t appreciate the way he’s handled his business.’ It’s another thing to say, ‘This man’s a racist.’ I resent it, it’s not true.”

Bush went on to say that distinguishing moment "represented an all-time low" in his presidency. The former president's comment has already drawn fire for implying that the insult of being racist was worse than the tragegy and suffering of those affected by Katrina.

Though, Lauer seems to be the first one to make that leap in interpretation. From the written excerpts, it's difficult to discern if that's really what Bush thinks or if Lauer, in the fashion of many interviewers, is simply putting words in his guest's mouth.

To decide for yourself, check out Entertainment Weekly to see more excerpts from the interview and Bush's new book.

***Nov. 3rd update: In an interesting turn of events, Kanye West has responded to Bush's comments. And in the biggest surprise of them all, after the fallout for interrupting Taylor Swift at the 2009 VMAs, Kanye says he emphathizes with the man he once accused of being racist.

During an interview with a Houston radio station, Kanye said:

"I think we’re all quick to pull a race card in America. And now I’m more open, and the poetic justice that I feel, to have went through the same thing that he went [through] — and now I really more connect with him on just a humanitarian level.”

To listen to the full radio clip, click play below.