Bush camp solicits race of Star staffer | Arizona Daily Star �
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 Star refused to provide the information.
Cheney is scheduled to appear at a rally this afternoon at the Pima County Fairgrounds.
A rally organizer for the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign asked Teri Hayt, the Star’s managing editor, to disclose the journalist’s race on Friday. After Hayt refused, the organizer called back and said the journalist probably would be allowed to photograph the vice president.
“It was such an outrageous request, I was personally insulted,” Hayt said later.
Danny Diaz, a spokesman for the president’s re-election campaign, said the information was needed for security purposes.
“All the information requested of staff, volunteers and participants for the event has been done so to ensure the safety of all those involved, including the vice president of the United States,” he said.
Diaz repeated that answer when asked if it is the practice of the White House to ask for racial information or if the photographer, Mamta Popat, was singled out because of her name. He referred those questions to the U.S. Secret Service, which did not respond to a call from the Star Friday afternoon.
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