Lurch and John Boy show their desperation

I've been trying to ignore the fact that Lurch finally played the race card over the weekend. But, I'll confess, I just switched over from the Panthers/Packers game to Hannity/Colmes and caught Lurch in the middle of speaking to a black church in New Orleans.

Incidentally, whatever happened to separation of church and state? Oh, that only applies to Christian prayer in public schools - I see. Thanks for clearing that up.

To Kerry, it really is the late 60s. Just as he is re-fighting the Vietnam war and gobbling up even more suspect purple hearts, he's now going to go back in time and join Dr. King in his march on Washington.

He was introduced by Jesse Jackson, traveling with the candidate, who praised Kerry's "integrity," and Baptist president William Shaw, who told the roaring crowd, with a wink: "We can't make endorsements."

Kerry's 45-minute speech was laced with references to the civil rights movement, promises to fight poverty, and exhortations to vote.

"This November we're going to have a new march on Washington to bring your voice and our concerns right to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. I'm ready to march with you. Will you march with me?" Kerry asked, drawing roars from the crowd.

So, if you missed it back in the 60s, you've got a chance to march again in November! However, you may get drafted to fight in Vietnam before then, so don't book your plane tickets quite yet.

Kerry continued presenting his carefully crafted message of "W is for Wookie" and that was good enough for this crowd, who gobbled it up like so many chocolate chip cookies.

Kerry brought the large crowd at the National Baptist Convention USA to its feet several times — the first when he launched into what has become his campaign staple: "W stands for wrong. Wrong choices for Americans, and the wrong direction for America."

The warm reception for the Democrat was in contrast to the chilly one given earlier in the day to an emissary from the Bush administration, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson, who drew sustained boos when he told the crowd the President was committed to helping blacks.

The crowd stood for Kerry and cheered loudly when he said Bush "claims he is a friend of Black America" but "cannot conceal his identity no matter what clothes he wears." About 30,000 are attending the convention here of America's largest black church group, and the giant hall at the downtown convention center was packed for the candidate's speech.

Also, from the crack AP staff on the scene...

Sen. John Kerry accused President Bush on Thursday of failing the Biblical test set by the Good Samaritan, saying, "He's seen people in need, but he’s crossed over to the other side of the street."

In a speech that blended political rhetoric with Biblical references, the Democratic presidential candidate also branded Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas as out of the mainstream and said Bush will appoint more like them if he wins re-election.

"We have fought too hard and come too far to let George W. Bush roll back generations of progress," Kerry said in remarks prepared for delivery to the National Baptist Convention, the country’s largest predominantly black denomination. "John Edwards and I know that the whole future of civil rights and affirmative action may hinge on a single Supreme Court vote."

These scare tactics are not unexpected - it was simply a matter of when, not if. Democrats have played the race card since the 60s and it's usually worked to get out the black vote. It reminds me of how Al Gore bounced from black church to black church during the 2000 election trying to sound like a preacher at a big tent revival. But, at least Gore was able to put some umph behind his rhetoric. Kerry, conversely, speaks with the same droning, nasal, "I can't believe I have to talk to you people..." tone of voice, betraying his true distaste for the working class, to which he has no true ability to relate.

At least Pastor James Stovall enjoyed the taste of the tainted liberal kool-aid:

"Have we turned back into the chaos of darkness?" asked Pastor James Stovall of Cooksville, Md., before praising Kerry for having "the courage to project what he wants to do for all the people."

Apparently this time, the Dim-O-Cracks are really going to help the black community. They reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllly mean it. Unlike the Godfather LBJ, Carter, Mondale, Dukakis, Clinton, and Gore, this time, they're really going to do something to help.

The only thing they're going to do is help keep the black community in their place so they'll be able to count on them as a guaranteed voting block in 2006, 2008 and beyond.