Does America like Kanye West?

Kanye West’s off-script criticism of the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina has caused the nation to question something near and dear to the hip-hop artist’s heart. And that question is: Do we like Kanye West?

That probably wasn’t West’s intention at the live fundraiser last month when he said “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.” Despite his reputation as a media hound and egotist, the Kanye West who burst out with accusations of racism in both the government and media treatment of Katrina victims wasn’t the boastful producer-turned-rapper he’s often portrayed to be.

Paired with comedian Mike Myers in what is now a popular Internet download, West ignored the teleprompter and blurted his own words, wide-eyed and voice shaking, as if nervously aware that he was breaking rules. As Myers stood frozen, West went on to criticize his own behavior, how he “tried to turn away from the TV because it’s too hard to watch. I’ve even been shopping before even giving a donation.”

That’s not the expected behavior of a man who stormed out of the American Music Awards when he didn’t win Best New Artist. Or who reacted to his 10 Grammy nominations for his debut LP “The College Dropout” as if there could be no other winner. But at the telethon, West’s mission seemed clear. He wanted people to acknowledge a life-and-death issue that he felt was ignored.

Perhaps West is a bit too full of himself if he thought he could inspire discourse on the subject. It’s not the first “shocking” criticism out of his mouth — just the most publicized. And yet the focus is not “what’s up with the response to the Katrina disaster?” It’s “what’s up with Kanye?” Is West’s persona too big or is the media too small? Either way, will we ever get past Kanye West and pay attention to what he’s got to say?

The fallout after West’s telethon appearance is relatively nonexistent — nothing approaching the career blow suffered by the Dixie Chicks after their comparatively-vague criticism of the same administration. If anything, a whole lot of people who never heard of West now know his name.

West’s live comments were cut when the telethon re-aired later that evening on the West Coast. But anyone with an online connection can watch the original event, as well as the “Saturday Night Live” sketch with Myers and West satirizing the incident. He even performed a week after the telethon at another live fundraiser, albeit with a 30-second delay.

West’s sophomore LP, “Late Registration” premiered at the top of the charts to rave reviews, selling 860,000 its first week. The single, “Gold Digger” continues to rule the top five with no signs of disappearing. When West launches his tour this week, all shows are sure to sell out. There was a rumor that Pepsi dropped West from its ad campaign, but that never happened.

We, the viewing public have suffered more than West, asked to endure endless news and entertainment segments in which interviewers ask other celebrities what they thought of West’s use of free speech. Almost unavoidably, we know how famous people such as Diddy, Jay-Z and Harry Connick Jr. feel about West’s appropriation of charity time for his personal opinion. Just like we know what a myriad of stars think about the Brad and Angelina or the rumor that Nicollette Sheridan had plastic surgery.

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