Prometheus 6   

GOP breaks its vows to black voters

At this crucial time in American life, President Bush has before him a number of options that call for supreme boldness but are well within the realm of possibility.

Bush needs to contemplate something I once saw when Jack Kemp, then the U.S. housing secretary, Bertha Gilke, a black community leader and the first President George Bush spoke together in St. Louis. At one point, Gilke said that as a life-long Democrat, she had never expected to be on a stage with two Republicans, but she had to admit that Bush and Kemp had made it possible for working-class black people to own their homes.

Back then, the GOP was bent on taking black votes away from the Democrats. But that interest seems to have waned, and now bitter black Republicans don't believe the party has any intention of engaging blacks by moving on inarguable problems.