MEQUON, Wis., May 14 -- President Bush told graduates of a Christian college Friday that the abuse of Iraqi prisoners has embarrassed the country, and he offered "compassionate conservatism" as an antidote to "show the good heart of our country to the whole world."
"Where there is tyranny, oppression and gathering danger to mankind, America works and sacrifices for peace and freedom," he said. "The liberty we prize is not America's gift to the world, it is the Almighty God's gift to all humanity."
In his commencement address at Concordia University, the continent's largest Lutheran university, the president said the scandal at the Abu Ghraib prison shows "how much difference, for good or ill, the choices of individual men and women can make."
"The cruelty of a few has brought discredit to their uniform and embarrassment to our country," Bush said. "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."
The 479 gowned students joined their parents in a standing ovation at the mention of the troops. Vice President Cheney used similar words in a speech to a Jewish federation a few hours earlier in Boca Raton, Fla. "The recent misconduct of a few does not diminish the honor and the decency that our servicemen and women have shown in Iraq," Cheney said.
Bush, who wore an academic gown, joked after receiving his honorary degree, "I kind of like the sound: 'Dr. Bush.' "
The president spoke in the most emotional language he has used in discussing the torture-like practices at Abu Ghraib, and his words appeared to reflect an awareness of the damage to America's image and, perhaps, to his own political fortune.
Bush lost Wisconsin in 2000 by 5,709 votes of nearly 2.5 million cast, so he has given the state constant attention in hopes of picking it up this time. He began the day in Missouri, another of his top targets, where he raised $2.2 million for the Republican National Committee's get-out-the-vote fund by speaking to a $25,000-per-couple luncheon in a car museum in Bridgeton, Mo., featuring six gleaming Rolls-Royces and Cadillacs from the 1920s and 1930s. About 90 people attended.
"We have done extremely well with a few people," he said, to laughter. "This is the way we like to do it in politics. I want to thank you all for your generosity."
Bush spoke of Nicholas Berg, the young American who was recently beheaded in Iraq. The CIA has blamed Abu Musab Zarqawi, a Jordanian terrorist connected to the al Qaeda terrorist network, and Bush used the killing to make the case that Saddam Hussein "had terrorist ties."
"The person responsible for the Berg death, Zarqawi, was in and out of Baghdad prior to our arrival, for example," the president said.
Bush called himself a "compassionate conservative" during the 2000 campaign as a way of distinguishing himself from the harder image of congressional Republicans, but those plans were overshadowed by the war on terrorism after Sept. 11, 2001.
Nevertheless, Bush's strategists feel the label will be a crucial part of appealing to women and suburban swing voters this fall, and he used the friendly audience at the Concordia commencement to reintroduce the concept and give it more of an international face.
"Many of us find that there is much more to life than getting and keeping," he said. "True fulfillment comes with the responsibilities we assume: to care for our families, and to love a neighbor as we want to be loved ourselves."
Bush's "compassion agenda" includes improving education, fighting poverty, helping faith-based groups compete for federal contracts, fighting global AIDS and treating drug addiction.
"America rejects the ethic of sink-or-swim. America rejects social Darwinism, because strength is not the same as worth," he said. "A compassionate society sees needs and suffering beyond its borders, and cares enough to act."
Concordia, on the Lake Michigan shore north of Milwaukee, was founded to train men to become pastors, and many students still go into the ministry. Bush laced his address with the language of faith and referred to his opposition to abortion and support for limits on embryonic stem cell research. "By your voice, and by your example, all of you can help to build a culture of life in America," he said.
Bush's Democratic challenger, Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.), accused him of empty rhetoric. Pointing to cuts in housing and child care, Kerry spokesman Phil Singer said, "The title of the president's speech should be 'Do as I Say, Not as I Do.' "
