The race card

To the editor:

President Bush’s rejection of the NAACP’s invitation to address its national convention (“NAACP blasts Bush,” July 12) may be clever political strategy, but it’s still a contemptible pander to racism.

Since there are so many white racists in our society, Bush’s repeated rejection of the NAACP amounts to energizing a large part of his electoral base.

Nevertheless, no president of the United States should play a race card in seeking re-election; for it demeans so deeply American’s highest office.

John De Mott,

Lawrence