Kerry disputes talk of Bush 'bounce'

WASHINGTON -- Despite some polls indicating President Bush taking the lead or gaining among key constituencies in his reelection campaign, John F. Kerry disputes the incumbent received a "bounce" following the Republican National Convention.

"I don't know what you're talking about in terms of the 'Bush bounce,' " Kerry said in an interview with Time magazine released yesterday. "This is a very close race, and I'm not somebody that runs around worried about polls. If I did, I wouldn't have gotten up last December. Polls don't mean anything to me right now."

Kerry added: "If anybody had told me we'd be points apart from the sitting president of the United States, well, would you have believed them? I feel very confident in where we are and confident about the direction of this race. And the American people are beginning to listen and listen carefully."

The Massachusetts senator also brushed off Republican attacks, including a comment in which Vice President Dick Cheney seemed to suggest that the country may be more vulnerable to a terrorist attack if Kerry wins the election. Cheney later clarified the remark.

"I've been in worse situations in my life," Kerry told Time. "The attacks don't attack me as much as they attack America and Americans. They're trying to distract people from the real issues that matter."

While Kerry stayed out of public view yesterday, holding meetings with his staff in his Georgetown home, Bush, too, was off the campaign trail. The president did make a surprise visit to the Russian Embassy to sign a book of condolences for the hundreds of victims of a deadly school siege.

Kerry suggested Saturday night that Democrats will work vigorously to ensure that blacks are not prevented from voting this fall by Republicans.

"We are not going to stand by and allow another million African-American votes go uncounted in this election," he told more than 5,000 attending a gala dinner hosted by the Congressional Black Caucus. "We are not going to stand by and allow acts of voter suppression, and we're hearing those things already."

The Kerry campaign and the Democratic National Committee have organized teams of lawyers across the country to examine ballots and challenge procedures that might inhibit voting on Election Day. The legal teams also plan to monitor voting Nov. 2 and immediately challenge any exclusions they deem unjust.

The 2000 election was contested in the Supreme Court after a dispute about ballots and ballot access in Florida.

"What they did in Florida in 2000, some say they may be planning to do this year in battleground states all across this country," Kerry said. "Well, we're here to let them know we will fight tooth and nail to make sure that this time, every vote is counted and every vote counts."

Ralph Reed, in a statement issued by the Bush-Cheney campaign committee, condemned Kerry's criticism in particular because it was delivered Sept. 11.

"Prior to yesterday's attack by Senator Kerry, our national political leaders had refrained from political bickering on the anniversary of that tragic day," Reed, the former leader of the Christian Coalition, said. "His divisive statements are disappointing coming from someone who aspires to the highest office in the land."

In his remarks to the Congressional Black Caucus, Kerry also joked about his tight race with Bush. He said that Representative Elijah E. Cummings, the Maryland Democrat who is chairman of the caucus, appeared to be having an easier time with his own reelection campaign.

"The latest survey has him up about 80-20, so I said, 'Want to trade?' " Kerry said to laughter from the audience.

Glen Johnson can be reached at johnson@globe.com.