George H.W. Bush: “No, that's why I asked the question, because that obviously is something local and I hadn't seen it. But the answer…”

“No, that's why I asked the question, because that obviously is something local and I hadn't seen it. But the answer clearly is local law enforcement. There's no other answer. There's no Federal police force in this country, and there will not be as long as I am President. We don't need that. But we do need to guarantee the rights of citizens to be protected under the law by the local police. The State police have some role in this. Federal crime is violated, the Feds have some role in it. What's happening now is we're just trying to guarantee everybody's civil rights under the civil rights statute. But in terms of the guy that gets beat up at a gas station, that clearly has to be a renewed effort by the local authorities to guarantee the safety of the life and limb of American citizens. The law has got to be totally colorblind in that regard, and people have to, local police have to do their level- best. Participant. But they never did ask for us----”