Black conservative leaders said they were surprised by the frankness on both sides in a meeting yesterday with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Republican National Committee Chairman Mark Racicot and Deputy National Chairman Jack Oliver. "It was extraordinary," said Bob Brown, chairman and chief executive officer of a North Carolina public relations firm and a former domestic policy adviser in the Nixon White House. "The candor between black leaders and top Republicans was like something I haven't seen before — and I've been to a lot of meetings." Mr. Brown added, "We got past the niceties real quickly." Each side...
