After discussing the huge strides the agency has made in doing business with minority-owned companies, Jackson closed with a cautionary tale, relaying a conversation he had with a prospective advertising contractor.
“He had made every effort to get a contract with HUD for 10 years,” Jackson said of the prospective contractor. “He made a heck of a proposal and was on the (General Services Administration) list, so we selected him. He came to see me and thank me for selecting him. Then he said something … he said, ‘I have a problem with your president.’
“I said, ‘What do you mean?’ He said, ‘I don’t like President Bush.’ I thought to myself, ‘Brother, you have a disconnect — the president is elected, I was selected. You wouldn’t be getting the contract unless I was sitting here. If you have a problem with the president, don’t tell the secretary.’
“He didn’t get the contract,” Jackson continued. “Why should I reward someone who doesn’t like the president, so they can use funds to try to campaign against the president? Logic says they don’t get the contract. That’s the way I believe.”
It’s Not that He Believes It, It’s That He’s Stupid Enough To Say It
By ArchPundit
There is a theory in the field of Psychology called the “false consensus effect”. Basically, it occurs when a group of like minded individuals isolate themselves such that they reinforce the false perceptions they each hold.
In the model, they tend to operate in a vacuum whereby outside views and opinions rarely penetrate the dialogue in order to broaden the view and the conclusions of the group.
Seemingly, this administration and its appointees are operating as a textbook example of this phenomenon. I can’t think of a better way to explain the otherwise absurd statements and actions of so many of these individuals. Mr. Jackson is simply a classic case. He must be completely oblivious to the reaction such remarks will elicit. Amazing!
more observations here:
http://www.thoughttheater.com
Actually, neither one should’ve said anything. The only standards are best quality for the price. I spent to years in government markets in the telecom industry…never once did anyone say anything close to that. As the flak, I was in there with the principles.
Jackson should be looking out for the taxpayer, not President Bush. The vendor should be looking out for his stakeholders.
I thought it was interesting that the advertising vendor thought race trumped politics.
RBD, what are you talking about?
RBD’s trolling. Not very successfully, either.
I do think it’s interesting that a contractor would just blurt that out without any provocation or prompting.
Unless he didn’t and Secretary Jackson isn’t telling the whole story.
A conservative with a truth problem. Who’da thunk it?
Perhaps Secretary Jackson asked him for a campaign donation, and the contractor responded with a no.
Not sure how race trumped politics given the quote–it was in respect to increasing minority participation which is something the Bush Administration says they are all for….
I’d have to agree with Greg on the point that if you are seeking a contract, you shouldn’t bring in politics–and I’ve seen it done in weird situations. The approrpriate response from the Secretary should have been “We agree to disagree” and never bring it up again. And of course I agree on the point about value.
The funniest part–seeing Greg use stakeholder….
The Trib news-blog is now reporting that Jackson is saying he made the whole story up.
F’n Unreal.
The Swamp
http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/news_theswamp/2006/05/bush_cabinet_me.html
Presumably the advertising vendor is a minority – that’s the Secretary’s point. Then the vendor insults W. I took that to mean that the vendor thought the fact that the vendor and the Secretary shared the same race was more important than sharing the same political views.
The vendor was expecting the ‘good ol’ boy’ world where merit is not at the top of the deciding factors.
I took the Secretary’s response to say that this vendor did not have the brights to do the job. The ability to “read” and understand a situation is a crucial aspect of advertising.
Or maybe the Secretary just thought the guy was a jerk. Who tells their customer –at least before they have been paid– that they don’t like them.
The vendor was expecting the ‘good ol’ boy’ world where merit is not at the top of the deciding factors.
I took the Secretary’s response to say that this vendor did not have the brights to do the job. The ability to “read” and understand a situation is a crucial aspect of advertising.
RBD, that is possibly the stupidest analysis of a news story I’ve ever read. No sentient human being could read it that way.