‘Read My Heart; Watch My Deeds,’ Gore Tells NAACP

BALTIMORE — With the tones of a fired-up preacher, Vice President Al Gore took a swipe at his rival’s attempt to win over members of the NAACP, telling the group Wednesday that it could count on him regarding civil rights issues.

His voice thick and growling with his native Tennessee twang, the Democratic presidential candidate cited Scripture as he warned the group not to trust the overtures made by Republican George W. Bush in his visit two days earlier.

“I will show thee my faith by my works,” said Gore, quoting the Bible’s Book of James, as the hundreds of delegates assembled here for the annual convention of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People rose to their feet with a roar of cheers and applause.

“I’m not asking you to read my lips,” he added, his face reddening and his voice bellowing. “I’m asking you to read my heart and watch my deeds.”

Gore promised to work on myriad issues, including a hate crime bill, affirmative action, a minimum wage increase and public schools. He also cited the efforts of prominent African American leaders such as Frederick Douglass and Rosa Parks as he vowed to continue fighting for equal rights.

“You know from a hard history and a long struggle that talk is cheap,” he said. “It’s deeds that matter.”

Gore received an overwhelmingly warm reception from the delegates. People stood on chairs as he entered, peering to catch a glimpse of him and snap his picture as he raced up and down the aisle, shaking hands and hugging.

“I’m a member of the NAACP--it’s good to be home,” he said, continuing the contrast with Bush. “I have come here not just in an election year but year after year.”

During his speech, Gore listed some of the African Americans appointed by President Clinton, and he cited his opposition to the flying of the Confederate flag in South Carolina as well as racial profiling by some police officers.

Tammie McFarlin, 41, a delegate from Newport, Ark., raved after Gore’s comments: “He’s the man. Everything he said was right on target. He told us what we were looking for.”

The reaction to the vice president’s visit was markedly different from the tone in the room Monday when Bush visited the annual NAACP convention and acknowledged that his party had failed in the past to reach out to the group.

Gore was introduced by Bill Lucy, a member of the group’s board of directors, who said: “Al Gore, unlike a lot of other people, has not just discovered the NAACP.”

A Bush spokesman said Wednesday the Texas governor was happy with the reception he received.

“Gov. Bush recognizes the challenges that lay before him in reaching out to new constituents,” said Dan Bartlett. “Gov. Bush is working to make the party more inclusive, and we’re getting positive feedback.”

Julian Bond, chairman of the NAACP’s board of directors, said that the atmosphere that greeted the Republican candidate was “respectful,” while Gore’s visit was like “an old friend coming back.”

The nonprofit group cannot endorse a candidate, but Bond said the organization is spending about $8 million this year on voter registration and education.

Later, Gore toured an industrial field on Baltimore’s Inner Harbor that was left polluted by an old Procter & Gamble soap factory. With local tax incentives, a developer is now cleaning up the site for a waterfront campus that will host high-tech companies.

Gore has proposed a $4.2-billion, 10-year program to provide loans and grants to clean up polluted fields, as well as a permanent tax incentive and bonds. Bush has offered to raise federal standards for toxic waste cleanup, provide protection from federal liability to encourage more cleanup and make an existing cleanup tax incentive permanent.

For the third day, Gore also attacked Republican leaders in Congress, accusing them of blocking popular legislation because of special interests. Gore said that Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) entered into a “secret agreement” with polluters last year to block a hazardous waste cleanup law.

Republicans returned the fire Wednesday with a spokesman for Lott charging that Gore failed to support an initiative for a comprehensive overhaul of the federal Superfund program for hazardous waste. “He’s been completely AWOL,” said John Czwartacki, a spokesman for Lott.

The GOP also lashed out at Gore for a joke he repeated Wednesday about friendly relations between Bush and actor Charlton Heston, president of the National Rifle Assn. “The last time Moses took advice from a bush, his people wandered in the wilderness for 40 years,” Gore said, a reference to Heston’s role in “The Ten Commandments.”

Republican National Committee President Jim Nicholson said in a statement: “In fact, what the Bible makes clear is that the burning bush was the voice of God. . . . Many Jews, Christians and Muslims are likely to be offended by Gore making jokes about God’s word simply to score partisan points.”

Today, former Democratic candidate Bill Bradley is expected to join Gore at a rally in Green Bay, Wis. It will be the first joint appearance of the former rivals since a bitter Bradley pulled out of the race March 9. Aides said Bradley will use the word “endorse” for the first time when speaking of his support for Gore.

“I called and we had a great talk,” Gore said. “From what he told me . . . I think it’s going to be a very hard-hitting speech. I am very grateful to him.”