"You start out in 1954 by saying “n***** n******.” By 1968 you can’t say “n******.” that hurts you. Backfires. So you say stuff like forced bussing, states’ rights, and all that stuff. You’re getting so abstract. Now you’re talking about cutting taxes. All these things you’re talking about are totally economic things. A byproduct of them is blacks get hurt worse than whites. Saying “we want to cut this,” is much more abstract than even the busing thing. And hell of a lot more abstract than “n***** n******."

� Lee Atwater (Republican Strategist)