Philadelphia ? Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry accused President Bush 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 Bush refusing to address the civil rights group, most of whose members support Democrats, Kerry 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.

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., greets delegates as he arrives to speak at the NAACP convention in Philadelphia. Kerry, taking advantage of a spat between the NAACP and the White House, accused President Bush on Thursday of dividing America by race and wealth, and promised as president to represent all

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 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.”

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.