Bush tries to mend fences with black lawmakers

Bush tries to mend fences with black lawmakers
REUTERS

WASHINGTON, FEB 1: President George W Bush tried to mend fences with sceptical black lawmakers on Wednesday who told him they strongly opposed John Ashcroft for attorney general and sought a commitment to electoral reform.

Pushing ahead with his bipartisan outreach, the President faced a tough audience at the White House -- 34 members of the Congressional Black Caucus, many of whom challenged the disputed vote in Florida which resulted in Bush's victory.

"This will be the beginning of hopefully a lot of meetings, I hope you come back," Bush said. "It's an important part of my job to talk to everybody who is in the legislative body."

The lawmakers expressed their vehement opposition to Ashcroft, denounced by Democrats as an ardent conservative and a hero of the religious right. Bush tried to reassure them that Ashcroft would enforce the nation's civil rights laws.

When they asked the President for a commitment on the issue, he replied, "You got it."

"My job is to represent everyone, whether they voted for me or not. I hear the concern in people's voices. Give him a chance," Bush told the group, according to White House spokesman Ari Fleischer.

The lawmakers also said they were still smarting from the election in Florida where many African Americans had voting problems that may have cost Democrat Al Gore the presidency.

"One of our main concerns was bringing to him the pain that so many people are feeling about the election," said Maryland Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings. He said Bush had not yet shown a strong commitment to addressing the Florida situation.

Fleischer said Bush told them, "If there are areas where people are discriminated against, we need to change it. This is America, everyone deserves a right to vote."

The group also urged Bush -- but got no commitment -- to re-nominate two African Americans to federal court judgeships, Missouri Supreme Court Justice Ronnie White and Richmond attorney Roger Gregory. Ashcroft led the opposition to White's confirmation.

Texas Democratic Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson said Bush vowed to make Africa and education priorities, but added: "We know that one meeting is not going to be enough. He seemed to make an attempt to somewhat allay our concerns."

Earlier on Wednesday, Bush gathered most of his Cabinet at the White House for their inaugural meeting 11 days after he was sworn in as President, saying he wanted to hear about "what may be going on", including the state of the energy crisis in California and the prospects for his $1.6 trillion tax cut.

"I am going to talk a little bit about reminding people that a dollar spent is somebody's money and that we expect there to be lean budgets, good stewards of the people's money," Bush said.

Flanked by Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Colin Powell on one side of a large oval table in the White House Cabinet room, Bush said: "I expect only one standard, and that's the highest of ethical standards."

Several of his Cabinet choices were missing, including Ashcroft, whose controversial nomination was still being debated in the Senate on Wednesday; Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, who has yet to be sworn in; and Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, whose confirmation hearings began this week.

Their seats were taken by acting department heads, temporary holdovers from former President Bill Clinton's Democratic administration.