Bush speaks at NAACP convention

WASHINGTON -- President Bush, addressing the NAACP after skipping its convention for five years, said Thursday he knows racism exists in America and that many black voters distrust his Republican Party.

Bush lamented the GOP's rocky relations with blacks. He pledged to improve that relationship and work with the NAACP's new leader to achieve common goals.

"I understand that racism still lingers in America," Bush told more than 2,200 people at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's annual gathering. "It's a lot easier to change a law than to change a human heart. And I understand that many African-Americans distrust my political party."

That line generated boisterous applause and cheers from the audience, which generally gave the president a polite, reserved reception.

'A tragedy'

"I consider it a tragedy that the party of Abraham Lincoln let go of its historical ties with the African-American community," Bush said. "For too long, my party wrote off the African-American vote, and many African-Americans wrote off the Republican Party."

Black support for Republicans in elections has hovered around 10 percent for more than a decade. In 2004, Bush drew 11 percent of the black vote against Democrat John Kerry.

Most of the president's talk generated a smattering of applause. But many in the convention center stood and clapped when he urged the Senate to renew a landmark civil rights law passed in the 1960s to end racist voting practices, such as poll taxes and literacy tests, in Southern states.

The Senate overwhelmingly passed the bill Thursday and sent it to the president.

For five years in a row, Bush had declined invitations to address the oldest and largest civil rights organization in the nation. This year, he said yes, knowing that he would be facing a tough crowd.

According to AP-Ipsos polling conducted in June and July, 86 percent of blacks disapprove of the way Bush is handling his job, compared with 56 percent of whites who disapprove.

While the audience was cordial, some NAACP members were disappointed that the president did not mention the war in Iraq. During Bush's speech, two NAACP members from Louisiana held their hands in the air to display the two-fingered, "V" peace symbol.

Others expressed dismay that Bush did not offer more substantive remarks about issues such as education and the economy. The unemployment rate for blacks was 9 percent in June -- nearly twice the national jobless rate of 4.6 percent

"There was an amazing gap between the aspirations of his speech and the policy behind it. It was so vague," said Barbara Arnwine of the Washington-based Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

"He doesn't have enough contact with this community," said Arnwine. The group was set up in 1963, at the request of President Kennedy, to get private lawyers to provide legal services to address racial discrimination.

Bush talked about his No Child Left Behind education program, but did not mention that it has been underfunded, said Madie Robinson of Florence, S.C., a member of the NAACP national board of directors. "He raised many issues," she said, "but didn't offer solutions."

The administration's relations with the NAACP have been sketchy at best.

The organization's president, Kweisi Mfume, once described Bush's black supporters as "ventriloquists' dummies" and said the president's decision not to speak at the NAACP conventions was an insult.

The chairman, Julian Bond, urged members to oust Bush and condemned the administration's policies on education, the economy and the war in Iraq.

In 2004, then White House press secretary Scott McClellan said NAACP leaders, through their "hostile rhetoric," have shown no interest in working with Bush.

Relations have improved under the leadership of current NAACP president, Bruce Gordon.

Gordon, who introduced Bush at the convention, has met with him three times in the year that he has headed the civil rights group. That compares with one meeting Bush had with Mfume, Gordon's predecessor.

"Bruce is a polite guy," Bush said. "I thought what he was going to say, 'It's about time you showed up.' And I'm glad I did."

The White House denied that Bush's appearance was a way of atoning for the government's slow response to Hurricane Katrina. The Rev. Jesse Jackson and some black elected officials alleged that indifference to black suffering and racial injustice was to blame for the sluggish reaction to the disaster.

Bush said he and Gordon have had frank talks about the challenges blacks face following the hurricane.

"We found areas where we share common purpose, and we have resolved to work together in practical ways," Bush said. "I don't expect Bruce to become a Republican -- and neither do you. But I do want to work with him, and that's what I'm here to talk to you about."

Toward the end of his remarks, two protesters interrupted the president, shouting inquiries about Vice President Dick Cheney and the situation in the Middle East.

"Stop being a Stepin Fetchit for Dick Cheney!" one shouted in a reference to a black actor known for stereotypical portrayals of black minstrel characters.

Bond approached the microphone, but Bush told him not to bother trying to quell the disturbance. "Don't worry," Bush told Bond. "I'm almost done."

"I know you can handle it," Bond replied.