<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1400" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>
<H1>Bush declines NAACP invitation</H1>
<H3></H3>
<P><SPAN class=cnnStoryTime><!-- date -->
<SCRIPT language=JavaScript type=text/javascript>
<!--
host = new String(location.hostname);
host = host.toLowerCase();
if ( host.indexOf("edition.") != -1 ) {
document.write('Thursday, July 8, 2004 Posted: 1540 GMT (2340 HKT)');
}else {
document.write('Thursday, July 8, 2004 Posted: 11:40 AM EDT (1540 GMT)');
}
//-->
</SCRIPT>
Thursday, July 8, 2004 Posted: 11:40 AM EDT (1540 GMT) <FONT size=1>Thursday,
July 8, 2004 Posted: 11:40 AM EDT (1540 GMT)
<!-- /date --><BR></FONT></SPAN></P>
<SCRIPT language=JavaScript
type=text/javascript>var clickExpire = "08/7/2004";</SCRIPT>
<!--startclickprintexclude--><!--endclickprintexclude-->
<P><B style="FONT-SIZE: 14px">PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (AP) -- President Bush
declined an invitation to speak at the NAACP's annual convention, the group
said.</B></P>
<P>The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People expects more
than 8,000 people to attend the convention, which opens on Saturday.</P>
<P>Democratic challenger <A
href="http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/special/president/candidates/kerry.new.html/"><FONT
color=#000099>John Kerry</FONT></A> accepted an invitation to speak next
Thursday on the final day of the convention, the NAACP said.</P>
<P><A
href="http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/special/president/candidates/bush.new.html"><FONT
color=#000099>Bush</FONT></A> spoke at the 2000 NAACP convention in Baltimore
when he was running for president.</P>
<P>NAACP spokesman John White said Wednesday that Bush has declined invitations
in each year of his presidency -- <STRONG>becoming the first president since
Herbert Hoover not to attend an NAACP convention.</STRONG></P>
<P>The NAACP received a letter from the White House three weeks ago declining
the invitation because of scheduling conflicts and thanking them for
understanding. </P>
<P>The letter was signed by presidential scheduler Melissa Bennett.</P>
<P>White House spokesman Jim Morrell said Wednesday that the president has
spoken about "equal opportunity and equal rights for all Americans" in many
public places.</P></FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>