Thanks for the link; I thought the president was asked later to clarify and if he'd qualify the Minutemen as vigilantes and he said he wouldn't. But I don't remember.
No problemo, de nada.
You may be right that he later clarified his remarks, I don't know, Peach. But whether he did or didn't, this was mischaracterized from the beginning.
When the minutemen first popped onto the scene, there were lots of predictions and fears expressed in the Media and by Hispanic groups that they were going to the border to take actions enforcing the border that the Feds weren't taking. Before they even went, the noise against them was deafening.
Bush was asked about them going to the border, and he was sandbagged. From what little he knew, he mistakenly said "we don't need vigilanteism". I heard and saw him. I think he was genuinely worried that something violent would happen between Americans and the illegals, and it would escalate out of control and be outside the law or anyone's efforts to do anything other than watch in horror. He never accused them of being vigilantes, but he warned against vigilanteism, out of concern that they were going to take the law into their own hands. It turned out their plans were peaceful and they were trying to assist law enforcement, not take it into their hands.
But he has been tarred with this ever since. It has hurt him, and hurt him very badly.
I think it is totally unfair. But by now these antiBush people don't care and have totally accepted that he is pro-Mexico and against his own country.