Posted on 07/11/2004 5:52:10 PM PDT by sandlady
YORK, Pa. - President Bush said Friday that he declined an invitation to speak to the NAACP's convention in Philadelphia because of harsh statements about him by leaders of the venerable civil rights group.
''I would describe my relationship with the current leadership as basically nonexistent,'' Bush told reporters. ``You've heard the rhetoric and the names they've called me.''
Bush added that he ''admired some'' NAACP leaders and said he would seek members' support ``in other ways.''
The decision not to speak was a far cry from candidate Bush's appeal to the NAACP four years ago when he conceded at its convention in Baltimore that Republicans hadn't always gotten along with the group.
`NOT ALWAYS ALLIES'
''The NAACP and the GOP -- have not always been allies, I know that,'' Bush said then. ``But recognizing our past and confronting the common future with a common vision -- by doing that, I believe we can find common ground.''
They haven't. NAACP President Kweisi Mfume is to respond to Bush's comments today at a news conference.
It's the fourth straight year that Bush has declined an invitation to attend the NAACP convention, which opens today in Philadelphia. He's the first sitting president since Herbert Hoover not to address the group.
White House officials initially said scheduling conflicts prevented Bush from making the journey to Philadelphia or addressing the conference via satellite, as he did Thursday to the League of United Latin American Citizens convention in San Antonio, Texas.
Administration officials traveling with the president on Friday on a campaign swing through south-central Pennsylvania signaled that White House annoyance with the NAACP was the major factor.
REASON REVEALED
''The current leadership of the NAACP has certainly made some rather hostile political comments about the president over the past few years,'' White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.
NAACP Chairman Julian Bond, speaking to lawmakers and business leaders in Indiana last month, said Bush and other Republicans appeal to a racist ``dark underside of American culture.''
''They preach racial equality but practice racial division,'' Bond said.
``Their idea of equal rights is the American flag and Confederate swastika flying side-by-side.''
On Thursday, Mfume accused the Bush administration of treating the black community cynically by courting the black vote while stiffing black organizations like the NAACP.
''We're not fools,'' he said.
McClellan said the Bush administration has been courting African-American voters through its political agenda. When Bush talks about his ''No Child Left Behind'' education program, he often speaks about eliminating the ''soft bigotry of low expectations'' that minority children experience in public schools. Bush received only 9 percent of the black vote in 2000.
Worden reports for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Depends on what the meaning of the word "is" is.
"Does he expect special (ie unequal) treatment?"
Yes.
But the world lives on sound bites, and that sound bite is too easy to use to make him look bad.
As President Bush pointed, it is the NAACP that has been hostile toward him.
I wouldn't wring my hands too much over it if I were you. I am confident it will not play out as you predict.
The natural question one would ask is "like what?" and when they hear they would agree with the president.
President Bush has not established his new tone for nothing. Now we are going to see it pay off. People know he is not a whiner and reaches out to people. With his decision not to attend and statement of why, they will be inclined to side with him.
This was a perfect opportunity to sidestep the NAACP media filter.
Venerable????
Becki
I liked what and how the President said. He reaches out, doesn't get angry and rant but let them know they went over the line in a very simple way. He is a man who will not be abused and disrespected. He did it exactly right.
I agree! He doesn't have to use a lot of flowery words that mean nothing to make a point!
We all know what liberal commentators will say. They'll make it up if they have to. I was talking about the effect.
Point to President Bush on this one.
They know the gosh-darn truth and don't care. They have an agenda and there's no reason President Bush needs to attend their functions and grant them more credibility than they deserve.
Send Dr. Rice, General Powell, Dr. Paige, etc.. to talk about self-responsibility and respect.
Render them irrelevant. As previously stated, there are other voices of African-Americans who truly want to be rid of the hostile posturing that the NAACP, Jesse Jackson, etc. perpetuate.
"We watched it on television, in that sordid ad run by the NAACP (another tax-exempt outfit) focusing on the rear bumper of a pickup with a chain attached to the hitch with the voice-over of the daughter of James Byrd saying that by not signing the hate-crimes bill Mr. Bush made her feel "like my father was killed all over again."
I hope we continue to make progress with civil rights and that African Americans come to participate fully in all the benefits of our society. But the NAACP has lost all credibility as far as I can see.
The NAACP should ask Muammar Ghaddafi for advice.
Now that's an idea!
Ooooooooh wow what a thought
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