BUSH WOOS TO TEPID RESPONSE

Bush gets the lion's share of coverage of the National Urban League meeting. Mike Allen of the Washington Post writes Bush "received polite but tepid applause as he described his dedication to 'bringing economic hope to every neighborhood, a good education to every child, and comfort and compassion to the afflicted.' " While the Democratic candidates used the forum to attack Bush's economic and civil rights policies, while black leaders complain that Bush has met rarely with African American organizations. Allen notes: "It was Bush's first appearance in 23 months before a large civil rights organization and one of the rare times that the audience was not controlled by the Republican Party."

The New York Times' Richard Stevenson frames Bush speech, "which received a polite reception from the crowd," as an effort to woo black voters. "Mr. Bush won only about 9 percent of the black vote in 2000. With his re-election campaign getting in gear, the White House has tried to make inroads among African-Americans in a variety of ways, including having Mr. Bush travel earlier this month to Africa, where he spoke of how an unbreakable spirit brought across the Atlantic by slaves ultimately helped strengthen and enrich the United States," Stevenson writes. Apparently, Sen. Arlen Specter has been tapped as a Bush spokesman on his campaigns' black voter outreach initiatives. Stevenson writes that the Pennsylvania Republican "told reporters traveling with Mr. Bush on Air Force One that the president would have to 'work hard' to increase the percentage of the black vote he draws next year, but that he had a chance to succeed. 'He's not going to leave anybody out, even if Democrats have done well in the past,' Mr. Specter said."

The Washington Times' Joseph Curl reports Bush's speech "drawing applause" and "the president drew mostly polite applause, although attendees clapped vigorously when he talked about the administration's efforts in Africa." His first coverage by the numbers:
2 : number of times Bush is quoted saying "hope"
2 : number of times Bush uses "opportunity"
2 : number of times Bush uses "promise"
7 : number of times Bush or Curl uses the words "Africa" or "African"

No word on how Bush's speech went over from USA Today's Laurence McQuillan, though one attendee says the room was a "tough crowd" for Bush.