WASHINGTON (NNPA) - President Bush urged Americans to exercise racial tolerance while pointing out only White reporters to ask him questions during a White House press conference about the war against terrorism in Afghanistan.

�And listen, I want to urge my fellow Americans not to use this as an opportunity to pick on somebody that doesn't look like you or doesn't share your religion,� the president said, nearing the end of his first primetime press conference, attended by nearly 100 reporters Thursday night.

�The thing that makes our nation so strong and that will ultimately defeat terrorist activity is our willingness to tolerate people of different faiths, different opinions, different colors within the fabric of our society,� the president said.

Bush�s remarks on race came near the end of the conference, during which he called on eight White men and two White women of the White House Press corps while an invited multicultural group of about 26 reporters sat excluded from the dialogue in assigned seats to his left.

Many of them raised their hands and tried to get in their questions during the nearly one-hour press conference. But Bush never glanced at the group to his left as he gave somewhat standard answers to polite questions involving the bombing campaign that started on Sunday, targeting Middle Eastern terrorist camps.

He repeated that the war, in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on America, will be long, and that he still wants the ruling Taliban in Afghanistan to hand over suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden. The president also expressed appreciation for assistance from other Middle Eastern nations, including Saudi Arabia and Syria.

He closed with a special appeal for America�s children to send a dollar to the White House to help the children of Afghanistan.

The conference marked the one-month anniversary of the attacks that killed more than 5,000 when highjacked passenger jets crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and into a Pennsylvania field.

On one hand, the press conference updated America�s response with tough talk and a recap of some of the actions taken. On the other hand, except the two women, it appeared to be a chat among the White House press corps �good ol� boys.� At one point, the president held up his left hand to silence the increasingly aggressive, but professional reporters, to his left.

�Excuse me. I�m having trouble hearing John,� he said.

One dark-complexioned reporter with a Spanish accent seemed so frustrated that he continued to shout his question after the president had left the podium.

Two Egyptian-American reporters quietly discussing the exclusion as they left the East Room agreed that it was �not intentional,� but systematic. The president said from the outset that he would �be glad to take questions from the White House Press corps.� It happens that the press corps, decades after major media organizations began desegregating its ranks in the late 1960s and early 1970s, remains almost lily White, despite applications backed up as far as last March.

The two Egyptians and an East Indian reporter, all of whom asked to remain anonymous, also agreed that President Clinton was more inclusive at his press conferences, allowing some questions from reporters outside the press corps.

-by Hazel Trice Edney