Julian Bond: Associating Bush with the Nazis and Confederates

President Bush has declined to attend the national convention of the N.A.A.C.P., the largest civil rights group in the country. Mr. Bush declined to speak at the convention, to be held July 10 to 15 in Philadelphia, because of "scheduling commitments," Scott McClellan, the White House spokesman, told reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday, adding that the group's leaders have made "rather hostile political comments about the president over the past few years." The group's chairman, Julian Bond, said in a June 2 speech that Republicans' "idea of equal rights is the American flag and the Confederate swastika flying side by side." Christine Iverson, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee in Washington, said, "It is doubtful that members of the Bush administration would speak to MoveOn .org and other political groups that have compared the administration to Adolf Hitler." Bill Clinton attended the conference in seven of his eight years as president, said an N.A.A.C.P. spokesman, Hillary Shelton. Mr. Bush has been invited each year, Ms. Shelton said. Founded in 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has 500,000 members.