WASHINGTON Blacks' distrust of Bush comes through at rally

Bush's ratings among blacks have worsened since his response to Katrina.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
WASHINGTON -- By plane, bus, car and on foot, tens of thousands of blacks from across the nation converged on the National Mall on Saturday to celebrate themselves, commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Million Man March and denounce President Bush for policies that they say are racially insensitive.
The administration's lackluster initial handling of Hurricane Katrina in predominately black New Orleans took center stage at the Millions More Movement.
The rally was organized by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakahn. Organizers did not provide a crowd estimate. Ten years ago, the rally was a sea of bodies from the steps of the U.S. Capitol to the Washington Monument. There were some empty pockets along the Mall on Saturday afternoon.
Speaker after speaker and participant after participant said the Katrina response exposed a serious racial divide that persists in America and showed that Bush has done little to address it.
"You can't have a deadhead leader in the White House and have a meeting this large and it not be about him," said Ronald Gay, 53, of East Wilson, N.C. "Look at Katrina. The federal government arrived late, they suspend work rules so they can pay poor people less, they award no-bid contracts. This guy is killing us."
Scoff at remarks
In a Sept. 15 speech on rebuilding New Orleans, Bush acknowledged that the hurricane revealed poverty that "has roots in a history of racial discrimination, which cut off generations from the opportunity of America."
"We have a duty to confront this poverty with bold action," he said.
But most blacks doubt that he's up to the task. Bush, unpopular among black voters before Katrina, has become even more disliked and distrusted.
An NBC/Wall Street Journal poll last week found that only 2 percent of blacks approve of the job he's doing, down from 14 percent in the same poll last month and 23 percent in a July survey. The September poll revealed that most blacks believe race played a major factor in the federal government's response to Katrina. Asked if the Bush administration would have responded more quickly to Katrina if the affected area were a more affluent white suburban community, 52 percent of blacks said they strongly agreed with the premise while 18 percent said they agreed somewhat.
"What it says is George W. Bush is beyond not popular in the African-American community," said Jay Campbell, a senior analyst for Peter Hart Research, which conducts the polls with Public Opinion Strategy. "He is disliked. Strongly disliked."
White House response
Bush and White House officials say they are frustrated over the perception that they're unfriendly toward the black community. Claude Allen, Bush's domestic policy adviser, said the president is responding to the needs of blacks in New Orleans and other Gulf Coast regions severely damaged by Katrina.
"Just the mere fact you have pictures of the president on TV embracing grieving mothers, embracing pastors of churches that have been destroyed," Allen said. "That speaks about the personal character of our president, who is truly concerned about healing our nation."
Allen said there's a sense of "heightened opportunity and awareness" within the White House when it comes to race issues post-Katrina. Since the hurricane, Bush has met with Bruce Gordon, the new head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Bush had turned a cold shoulder to the civil-rights organization, repeatedly declining invitations to attend the group's annual convention because of what he believes were personal criticisms from its leadership.