Kerry Tells NAACP He Won't Divide U.S.
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By RON FOURNIER, AP Political Writer
PHILADELPHIA - Democrat John Kerry (news - web sites) accused President Bush (news - web sites) on Thursday of dividing America by race and riches, taking advantage of a White House feud with the NAACP to declare himself a leader of "all of the people."
With the president refusing to address the partisan civil rights group, the Democratic presidential candidate said
Bush "may be too busy to talk to you, but I have news for you: he's going to have plenty of time after Nov. 2," which is Election Day.
Bush skipped the annual convention to protest the NAACP's criticism of his policies, but will address another influential black organization, the Urban League, next week.
"The current leadership of the NAACP has clearly crossed the line in partisanship and civility, making it impossible to have a constructive dialogue," White House spokesman Dan Bartlett said.
The Republican incumbent has not spoken to the NAACP since the 2000 campaign, when the NAACP National Voter Fund ran an ad that portrayed Bush as unsympathetic to the dragging death of James Byrd in Texas.
Since that campaign, which angered many blacks who complained they were disenfranchised by confusing ballots and mechanical errors in Florida, the NAACP has called Bush an illegal president, compared his anti-abortion views to the Taliban and called his trip to Africa a photo-op.
Bartlett said Bush was at odds with NAACP leaders, not his "many friends who belong to the NAACP." Nonetheless, his absence was viewed as a snub.
Coralee Boulware, an NAACP member from Connecticut, said Bush, "showed disrespect to the people of this country and convention by not coming." NAACP Chairman Julian Bond mocked Bush for avoiding a hostile crowd. "If he didn't go anywhere people criticize him, he'd never leave home," Bond said.
With the soul anthem "We are Family" blaring, Kerry cut through the crowd, shaking hands and patting backs, before delivering an address tailored toward the supportive ? yet skeptical ? black community.
"We learned our lesson in 2000," he said of the disputed election recount, "and I add my voice to those who have vowed: Never again."
In a foreign policy tracked closely by blacks, Kerry said as president he would use "the full weight of American leadership" to help stop genocide in Sudan. A spokeswoman said that could include military force, but not as a first step.
Otherwise sticking to his stump speech, Kerry said repeatedly, "We can do better!" as he outlined his plans to improve education, health care, civil rights and the economy. He said the unemployment rate for blacks is 10 percent, twice the rate for whites.
Though polls show Democratic voters united against Bush, the Democratic presidential candidate is not beyond reproach from black leaders. They want more minorities on Kerry's staff and several members of the Congressional Black Caucus (news - web sites) demanded changes in new TV ads geared toward black voters.
Black leaders, including some who advise Kerry's campaign, privately worry about perceptions that the four-term Massachusetts senator has shallow ties to their community compared to the last two Democratic nominees, Al Gore (news - web sites) and Bill Clinton (news - web sites), who were both Southerners.
While Kerry will likely match Gore's 9-to-1 advantage with blacks on Nov. 2, they said, Republican tactics and Kerry failings could suppress turnout.
There was no sign of unease at the NAACP as the crowd shouted words of encouragement ? including "We love you!" ? and Kerry denounced Bush's absence. "When you're president, you need to talk to all of the people, and that's exactly what I intend to do," he said.
In a slap at Bush, the senator said, "I will be a president who is truly a uniter, not one who seeks to divide one nation by race or riches or by another label."
In Washington, Bush's education secretary, Rod Paige, criticized the NAACP. "You do not own, and you are not the arbiters of, African-American authenticity," said Paige, who is black.
Bush's campaign began airing ads on black radio stations in urban centers, calling Kerry's Senate record extreme and spotty.
After his speech to the NAACP, Kerry visited voters on a front porch in the Philadelphia suburb of Lansdowne. At the two-story brick home of Bill and Mary Kay Bowden, Kerry took questions from a crowd of about 100 people gathered on folding chairs in the front yard.
Two neighborhood boys offered their opinions about the war in Iraq (news - web sites), with one calling it evil and the other calling it necessary. Kerry, who voted to give Bush warmaking authority, did not dispute either opinion. He suggested the president failed to do everything he could to avoid war, then didn't work with allies.
Running mate John Edwards (news - web sites) planned a similar photo-op in New Orleans.
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On the Net:
Kerry campaign:
http://www.johnkerry.com
Bush campaign:
http://www.georgewbush.com
