( RollingStone.com ) -- When assessing the lowest moments of George W. Bush 's presidency , outside observers might have gone with , oh , Abu Ghraib , or that time when he realized he was going to have to bail out the US financial system , or when his approval rating dropped to 22 percent on his way out the door . But in his new memoir , `` Decision Points , '' George W. Bush himself writes that the `` worst moment '' of his presidency -- his `` all-time low '' -- was when Kanye West declared during a Hurricane Katrina celebrity telethon that `` George Bush does not like black people . '' Now West has responded to that verdict . On the one hand , he seems uncertain his line deserves the place in history that Bush has just given him . But he also sees where Bush is coming from . The whole back-and-forth started when Bush 's claim drew the attention of Matt Lauer , who sat down with Bush for an interview that will air the day before the book 's November 9 debut . And that in turn led to the following exchange , as relayed by Ken Tucker on EW.com : . Lauer quotes from Bush 's new book : `` Five years later I can barely write those words without feeling disgust . '' Lauer adds , `` You go on : ' I faced a lot of criticism as president . I did n't like hearing people claim that I lied about Iraq 's weapons of mass destruction or cut taxes to benefit the rich . But the suggestion that I was racist because of the response to Katrina represented an all-time low . ' President Bush responds : `` Yeah . I still feel that way as you read those words . I felt 'em when I heard 'em , felt 'em when I wrote 'em , and I felt 'em when I 'm listening to 'em . Lauer : `` You say you told Laura at the time it was the worst moment of your presidency ? '' Bush : `` Yes . My record was strong , I felt , when it came to race relations and giving people a chance . And it was a disgusting moment . '' Lauer : `` I wonder if some people are going to read that , now that you 've written it , and they might give you some heat for that . And the reason is this `` Bush [ interrupting ] : `` Do n't care . '' Lauer : `` Well , here 's the reason . You 're not saying that the worst moment in your presidency was watching the misery in Louisiana . You 're saying it was when someone insulted you because of that . '' Bush : `` No , and I also make it clear that the misery in Louisiana affected me deeply as well . There 's a lot of tough moments in the book . And it was a disgusting moment , pure and simple . '' For his part , West does not view his diss of then-president as the worst insult he 's ever dealt , ranking it below his more gratuitous put down of Taylor Swift at last year 's VMAs . During an appearance on Funkmaster Flex 's show on New York 's Hot 97 on Tuesday night , he said of the Swift incident , `` It 's an amazing , compelling situation . The situation is bigger to me than the Bush moment . It 's bigger than a lot of things . '' But in a separate interview today -- this one with Houston 's 97.9 The Box -- West expressed a sympathetic view of Bush 's reaction . `` Well I definitely can understand the way he feels to be accused of being a racist in any way . Because the same thing happened to me , '' West told host Devi Dev . `` With both situations , it was strictly a lack of compassion that America saw . You know , with him not rushing , not taking the time to rush down to New Orleans . With me , it was the lack of compassion in cutting someone off in their moment . Nonetheless , I think we 're all quick to pull a race card in America . And now I 'm more open , and the poetic justice that I went through the same thing that he went through , and now I really more connect with him on a humanitarian level , because that next morning , when he felt that , I felt that same thing too . '' Like Bush , West is coming out of self-imposed exile to mount a comeback effort , with his built around the release of his next album , `` My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy , '' slated for release on November 22 . `` I do think I changed a lot '' in the months since the Swift incident , he told Dev . `` I do think I 'm more compassionate , I 'm more sensitive to people 's emotions . `` I needed that time off ... Respect is something hard to earn and easy to lose , and I feel like I 'm on that path to getting that all back right now . '' Bush , no doubt , would like to feel the same way , though it 's not clear he sees it necessary to express the same kind of contrition . Copyright © 2010 Rolling Stone .
A newly sympathetic West says he feels Bush 's pain . Comment: He continues , `` I definitely can understand the way he feels to be accused of being a racist ''