Target of "white men" remark meant for Bush policies, she says.
By RACHEL DAVIS
The Times-Union
U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown apologized Thursday to a top Bush administration official for referring to the Bush administration policies on Haiti as "racist," calling his representatives "a bunch of white men" and telling Assistant Secretary of State Roger Noriega "you all look alike to me" when he said he was Mexican-American.
The Jacksonville Democrat verbally attacked Noriega during a Washington briefing on the Haiti crisis Wednesday. Her comments sent a hush over the hourlong meeting, which was attended by about 30 people, including several members of Congress and Bush administration officials, according to The Associated Press.
Noriega later told Brown: ''As a Mexican-American, I deeply resent being called a racist and branded a white man,'' according to three participants. Brown then told him ''you all look alike to me,'' the participants said.
"I sincerely did not mean to offend Secretary Noriega or anyone in the room. Rather, my comments, as they relate to 'white men,' were aimed at the policies of the Bush administration as they pertain to Haiti, which I do consider to be racist," she said.
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