Bush Points Out Lesson in Prisoner Abuse Scandal

MEQUON, Wis. —  Drawing on the controversy that has haunted his reelection campaign in recent weeks, President Bush on Friday pointed to the U.S. soldiers accused of abusing Iraqi inmates as a life lesson for new college graduates.

“In Iraq, the cruelty of a few has brought discredit to their uniform and embarrassment to our country,” Bush told the 491 graduates and their families at Concordia University, on the shore of Lake Michigan in suburban Milwaukee. “The consequences of their failures of character reach well beyond the walls of a prison.

“Yet, those failures cannot diminish the honor and achievement of more than 200,000 military personnel who have served in Iraq since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom, “ Bush said.

Moments later, after a standing ovation, Bush added: “One person can do so much harm, or so much good. One person can show the compassion and character of a whole country in an hour of testing.”

The president’s 21-minute address harked back to a major theme of his 2000 campaign, in which he sought to define himself as a compassionate conservative.

“Wherever you are headed, I urge you to do the work nearest you, and help to build a more compassionate society,” Bush told graduates at the Lutheran university, which makes Christian teachings a centerpiece of its mission.

“First, America needs your efforts and energy in the fight against poverty and despair.... Government can play many important roles, but it cannot take someone’s hand and be their friend,” he said. “You have that power.”

The speech also wove in some more traditionally conservative themes, hinting at his opposition to abortion and embryonic stem cell research.

“America needs your good heart in meeting a basic responsibility: to protect and honor life in all its seasons,” Bush said. “A compassionate society shows a special concern for those at the beginning of life, those at the end of life, and those who struggle in life with disabilities.”

The speech came at a time when the president’s image was suffering. Several new polls suggest the abuse scandal at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad has fueled a sense that Bush is not in firm control of matters in Iraq. Some of the polls also show that more people disapprove of the job Bush is doing than approve of it.

In a Time/CNN poll released Friday, which surveyed 563 likely voters, 51% said they would vote for Democratic Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts and 46% would choose Bush if the presidential election were today.

When Ralph Nader was included as a choice, Kerry still bested Bush, 49% to 44%, with 6% for Nader. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Democrats have said Bush’s efforts to burnish his image as a compassionate leader clash with his support for a constitutional ban on gay marriage and his nominations of federal judges with conservative records on civil rights. They also attacked Bush on Friday for failing to tackle poverty.

In a conference call with reporters arranged by the Kerry campaign, Rep. Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.) chided the president for tax cuts that he said primarily benefited the wealthy.

“There is no compassion in this conservative administration,” said Gephardt, who lost his bid for the Democratic nomination and is considered a potential running mate for Kerry, the party’s presumed nominee.

“He truly convinced voters in the last election that he was a compassionate conservative, a different kind of Republican,” said Jim Jordan, a former Kerry advisor who now works for America Coming Together, a group raising money to oppose Bush. “His problem is that he hasn’t governed in that manner.”

For Bush, Friday was also a day for raising money, with Air Force One landing briefly near St. Louis so the president could attend a luncheon that collected $2.2 million for the Republican National Committee.

Bush told donors at the Bridgeton, Mo., luncheon that the beheading of American Nicholas Berg in Iraq added further weight to his argument that former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was linked to terrorists. U.S. intelligence officials have said that Berg was murdered by Abu Musab Zarqawi, a Palestinian-Jordanian militant thought to be linked to Al Qaeda.

Democrats have said the Bush administration misled the nation by tying Hussein to Al Qaeda without evidence.

“We knew he had terrorist ties,” Bush said. “The person responsible for the Berg death, Zarqawi, was in and out of Baghdad prior to our arrival, for example.”

Friday’s speech was the first of three college commencement addresses Bush was scheduled to deliver this spring. He also will speak to graduates of Louisiana State University and the Air Force Academy.