Bush camp solicits race of Star staffer

July 31, 2004 8:45 AM

Bush camp solicits race of Star staffer. 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 jounalist's name was Mamta Popat. She sure sounds like a terrorist.
posted by JeffK (30 comments total)

Walton told Hayt that Popat's race was necessary to allow the Secret Service to distinguish her from someone else who might have the same name.

Is that a popular name??
posted by dhoyt at 9:06 AM on July 31, 2004

white house spokesperson Pompa Sasshat had no comment.
posted by quonsar at 9:12 AM on July 31, 2004

That's just despicable. What possible reason could they care about the reporter's race? Bastards.

And there's even more shit going on with Cheney in the Southwest: Obtaining Cheney Rally Ticket Requires Signing Bush Endorsement, (in a public school, no less,) and:
Man Loses Bid to Open Cheney Rally
posted by amberglow at 9:17 AM on July 31, 2004

Walton told Hayt that Popat's race was necessary to allow the Secret Service to distinguish her from someone else who might have the same name.

Wouldn't someone else of the same name have a good chance of sharing the same race as Popat too?
posted by revgeorge at 9:22 AM on July 31, 2004

Of course, a news service would *never* credential a reporter who normally worked for another news organization, like al Jazeera, or a foreign government, on the hope that they would be offensive and obnoxious.
posted by kablam at 9:44 AM on July 31, 2004

Hmm. I went to college with Mamta. She was an acquaintance...had a few classes with her, went to some of the same parties, et cetera. Nice woman. Good photographer. No terroristic tendencies that I could detect.
posted by Vidiot at 9:50 AM on July 31, 2004

i would be careful about admitting you knew her in college. next, they will be tracking you down and questioning what kind of parties and classes these were.
posted by JeffK at 9:58 AM on July 31, 2004

Walton told Hayt that Popat's race was necessary to allow the Secret Service to distinguish her from someone else who might have the same name.

They had her social security number, which would be sufficient to distinguish her from someone with the same name.
posted by mr_roboto at 10:05 AM on July 31, 2004

Mamta Pophat is an Indian name. Strictly speaking, her race is caucasoid. This is very useful for security to know - as she might be working with other caucasoid terrorist groups such as al-qaeda, Baader-meinhoff or the Tamil Tigers.
posted by rks404 at 10:21 AM on July 31, 2004

I've heard rumors that Bush nearly pooped himself when someone tried to brief him on Barack Obama or he saw a button with his name on it.

And a comment here to the effect that he's pretty well scared (sorry, scart) of anything foreign (furrin'). I wonder if the anti-depressants have helped with that much?
posted by fenriq at 10:25 AM on July 31, 2004

white house spokesperson Pompa Sasshat had no comment.

**snort**
posted by rushmc at 10:49 AM on July 31, 2004

...my god, an editor that actually has a backbone!

Hold me; I'm worried we're living in the End Times.
posted by aramaic at 11:22 AM on July 31, 2004

Of course, a news service would *never* credential a reporter who normally worked for another news organization, like al Jazeera, or a foreign government, on the hope that they would be offensive and obnoxious.

Maybe they would, but what's the relevance of that? How would knowing the race of this person make any difference one way or another? What makes you think that we need to import offensive or obnoxious people anyway? Besides, the staffer in question is a photographer, not a reporter.
posted by me & my monkey at 11:24 AM on July 31, 2004

Could she have answered "human" and gotten her credentials?
posted by srboisvert at 12:04 PM on July 31, 2004

Hey, whatever... this is the sort of good news I need to hear. Keep it coming.
posted by donfactor at 12:09 PM on July 31, 2004

I'll bet the biggest threat to Bush's life right now is some wingnut white American a la McVeigh. There'll be this glad-handing the public photo-op moment and suddenly there'll be a 15' deep crater where Bush, his bodyguards, a couple dozen of the public, and the assassin were.

And it'll turn out to have absolutely nothing to do with foreign darkies, and everything to do with Bush's fucking-around with constitutional rights, big government, and militia paranoia.
posted by five fresh fish at 12:16 PM on July 31, 2004

*blinks, peers around furtively*
posted by quonsar at 12:26 PM on July 31, 2004

They had her social security number, which would be sufficient to distinguish her from someone with the same name.

You would think so. Customs takes an inordinate amount of time reviewing my passport and always has an odd question for me every time I return to the US. Sure, maybe other Richard Andersons out there in the world are naughty but how many of them share my passport?
posted by Dick Paris at 12:35 PM on July 31, 2004

Perhaps she needs to change her name to Scaife Bradley Coors Kochs Hunt Olin?
That ought to get her a seat ON the fuck...Cheneying stage, huh?
posted by nofundy at 12:44 PM on July 31, 2004

Hell, Bandar would be shorter and get her free oral sex from Cheney too.
posted by nofundy at 12:45 PM on July 31, 2004

And if it were Scaife Bradley Coors Kochs Hunt Olin, there'd be no point in asking her race....
posted by Vidiot at 12:53 PM on July 31, 2004

Of course, a news service would *never* credential a reporter who normally worked for another news organization, like al Jazeera, or a foreign government, on the hope that they would be offensive and obnoxious.

Are you suggesting that Popat is in fact an employee of al Jazeera or a foreign government? Or offensive and obnoxious?

Popat is a photographer. Here's a search for her last seven days of work for the Star. (A search anyone can do, without knowing Popat's race!) Looks like she provides the color for a lot of nice, fluffy human interest pieces. None of it looks offensive, or obnoxious, and I sure don't see any evidence of al Jazeera's sinister influence. I suppose I might not know where to look; it might linger in this shot of two teenage girls at a friend's memorial--it can't be any better than showing dead soldiers on TV, anyway. This one depicts Hispanic job-stealers casually conversing. The horror!
posted by kjh at 8:31 PM on July 31, 2004

I would be remiss if I didn't say that I hope that in my next MeFi incarnation I have as cool a name as Pompa Sasshat.
posted by yhbc at 8:47 PM on July 31, 2004

I'll bet the biggest threat to Bush's life right now is some wingnut white American a la McVeigh.

No argument from me on this one. I'd like to add that the biggest threat to his reelection is not Michael Moore or John Kerry, but rather his own FUCKED UP STAFF and incompetance. I really don't see how the media can pass this up.
posted by gesamtkunstwerk at 8:52 PM on July 31, 2004

I really don't see how the media can pass this up.
We're watching it every day, while any little thing Kerry (or his wife) does is repeated ad nauseum.
posted by amberglow at 9:51 PM on July 31, 2004

I've heard rumors that Bush nearly pooped himself when someone tried to brief him on Barack Obama or he saw a button with his name on it.

Illinois Rep. Janice Schakowsky told how she was part of a group that met with President Bush at the White House several months ago. She was putting on her coat after the meeting when Bush stepped forward to shake her hand. Then he "literally jumps back in horror," Schakowsky said.

On her coat lapel was an "Obama" button in support of Illinois Senate candidate Barack Obama. "Suddenly I realized he [Bush] thinks I'm wearing an Osama button," Schakowsky said.

When she explained who Obama was, Bush responded: "I don't know him."

"I told him, 'You will, Mr. President. You will.' "

Note: in Chicagoland, the "Obama/Osama" jokes wore thin pretty fast. The best was a cheeky appeal to the Irish -- buttons reading "O'bama".
posted by dhartung at 11:34 PM on July 31, 2004

don't feed the troll.
posted by jpoulos at 6:30 AM on August 1, 2004

They had her social security number, which would be sufficient to distinguish her from someone with the same name.
You would think so. Customs takes an inordinate amount of time reviewing my passport and always has an odd question for me every time I return to the US.

Aha! I know the answer to that one!! The INS computers and the SSA computers don't talk to each other.

I'm a nationalized citizen and a few years after I got my passport I found out that I was still on the SSA computers as a green card holder.

Unfortunately I found this out while attempting to cross back into the US from Canada with only a drivers license and a SS card for ID. This was last year, btw, not pre 9/11.
posted by maggie at 11:26 AM on August 1, 2004

"Mamta Pophat is an Indian name. Strictly speaking, her race is caucasoid. This is very useful for security to know - as she might be working with other caucasoid terrorist groups such as al-qaeda, Baader-meinhoff or the Tamil Tigers." - Baader-meinhoff? Umm - OK - but as far as I know, the whole notion of "race" has all but evaporated except in popular culture. I'm a "caucausoid" too, albeit light-skinned. Are you suggesting genetic testing to determine whether those who have "caucausoid" genes can meet a US president ? And what if that president is also "caucausoid" ?

Are there genetic distinctions between humans ? - Yes. Or between historical human social groupings ? - Sure. But "Race" is a notion without much scientific merit.
posted by troutfishing at 10:31 PM on August 1, 2004

trout - I was joking!
posted by rks404 at 6:26 AM on August 2, 2004