REPUBLICANS FOR IGNATIEFF PRAISES MICHAEL IGNATIEFF FOR DEFENDING GEORGE W. BUSH IN RECENTLY-DISCOVERED AUDIO CLIP
JULY 9, 2009 -- Republicans for Ignatieff, an international online community for Republican supporters of Michael Ignatieff, the new Leader of Canada's Liberal Party, today released a recently-discovered audio clip of Michael Ignatieff publicly defending former President George W. Bush and naming him alongside other great human rights leaders.
Speaking to an audience at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland in January 2005, Ignatieff admitted he was courting controversy when he said:
"Don't forget that the speech by a U.S. President that most directly committed the United States to the promotion of human rights and democracy in the Arab world was given by George W. Bush."Ignatieff's naming of Bush immediately followed his references to human rights leaders Eleanor Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt and Jimmy Carter.Ignatieff also told his audience that "human rights and the promotion of democracy" was a "central feature" of the Bush Administration.
Listen to the unedited, in-context two minute and twelve second clip by clicking on the following link:
The speech was delivered just several months before Ignatieff returned to Canada and was nominated as the Liberal Party's candidate in the electoral district of Etobicoke-Lakeshore.
At a time when the rest of the world, particularly the nations and people of Europe, were turning their backs on President Bush, Michael Ignatieff took a stand in publicly acknowledging the human rights actions of the former President. We salute his intellectual honesty and courage. Despite the fact that he sometimes criticized the domestic and foreign policies of Republican leaders, his words, overall, re-affirm our belief that he is the right choice for America, the right choice for Canada and the right choice for Republicans.
