WASHINGTON - Angry black leaders predicted a backlash against President Bush yesterday after learning that white Republican fat cats are buying radio ads in urban areas. branding John Kerry "rich, white and wishy-washy."
The ads, which also mock Kerry's Mozambique-born wife for touting her African roots, are being aired on black stations in key battleground states by a group calling itself People of Color United.
They are largely funded by insurance magnate Patrick Rooney of Indiana, a big Bush backer who sold his company for almost a billion dollars in 2003 when Bush okayed private health savings accounts, which the company specialized in.
"Our community doesn't need another wishy-washy, rich, white politician. And boy, does Kerry come across as rich, white and wishy-washy," says one ad.
In another, school voucher crusader Virginia Walden-Ford, who now heads People of Color United, says:
"His wife says she's an African-American. While technically true, I don't believe a white woman, raised in Africa, surrounded by servants, qualifies."
Rooney, who is white, told The Washington Post: "The genuine word from the black community should be heard, not white folks saying for them."
Black leaders were incensed.
"It's laughable that the Republicans would trot out these paid Negroes to try to cut into the 92% of African-Americans that tends to vote Democratic," said Rep. William Clay (D-Mo.)
The ads only mock Kerry - they do not mention Bush - suggesting that their chief aim is to get African-Americans to stay home on Election Day.
The Rev. Al Sharpton predicted the reverse will happen.
"Bush cannot get away with this foolishness," Sharpton said. "It will backfire. It will turn around and energize people to beat George Bush."
Bush won 8% of the black vote in 2000, and his popularity sank even lower after the disputed Florida election.