"Dan White" wrote in message news:hpK5d.500 I'm
glad you posted that. Agree with Bush's position or not, the whole
story, as usual, is more than what we are led to believe. Bush fumbled
around, but then went on to address the question more fully. The whole
exchange, from your link, is as follows:

MARK TRAHANT: Most school kids learn about government in the context of
city, county, state and federal, and of course, tribal governments are not
part of that at all. Mr. President, you have been a governor and a
president, so you have unique experience looking at it from two
directions.
What do you think tribal sovereignty means in the 21st century and how do
we
resolve conflicts between tribes and the federal and state governments?

GEORGE BUSH: Tribal sovereignty means that, it's sovereign. You're a --
you're a -- you have been given sovereignty and you're viewed as a
sovereign
entity.

MARK TRAHANT: Okay.

GEORGE BUSH: And therefore, the relationship between the federal
government
and tribes is one between sovereign entities. Now, the federal government
has got a responsibility on matters like education and security to help.
And
health care. And it's a solemn duty. From this perspective, we must
continue
to uphold that duty. I think that one of the most promising areas of all
is
to help with economic development, and that means helping people
understand
what it means to start a business. That's why the Small Business
Administration has increased loans. It means, obviously, encouraging
capital
flows, but none of that will happen unless the education systems flourish
and are strong. That's why I told you, we spent $1.1 billion in
reconstruction of Native American schools.



Not such a bad response really.

dwhite

What's the matter, Jeff...no quick comeback to this one?

todd