At Democrats' Meeting, Bush Appeals for Cooperation

"I felt welcomed," Bush said as he and the House speaker met with reporters afterward. "I felt like people understood that I've got pressures on me, like I understand they have pressures on them. And I really hope that the members out there get a sense that I bear no ill will, I bring no animosity about the fact that we may not agree on every position."

Pelosi said she came away "encouraged" by the president's remarks. After Bush left to return to the White House, Pelosi said she believes there is room for compromise with him on three areas: a jobs innovation program, energy independence and immigration.

"The choice is bipartisanship or stalemate," she said.

In the private session, two Democrats -- freshman Rep. Tim Walz (Minn.) and Rep. Bennie Thompson (Miss.) -- pushed the president in separate questions on why he did not talk about veterans' issues or the relief effort for Hurricane Katrina victims in his opening remarks to the caucus or in his State of the Union address.

Bush defended his record in those areas and said his silence in a particular speech should not be interpreted as a lack of concern, Democrats present said. As an example, Bush said he cares about maintaining national parks, even though the subject did not come up in the State of the Union.

Some Democrats said they remain wary of Bush. In his question to the president, Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (Ill.) said it is difficult for Democrats to trust Bush on immigration after Republicans used the issue "so brutally" against his party in the elections -- a remark that drew a loud ovation from other Democrats, according to people in attendance.

Bush said Democrats are not the only ones with "arrows" in their backs, a reference to the deep divisions in his own party on immigration. He spoke about his desire to combine tough border enforcement and a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, and he indicated a hope to keep politics out of the debate.

After he was pressed by Rep. Jay Inslee (Wash.) about curbing carbon emissions to reduce global warming, Bush strongly defended his environmental record and the progress of the nation. According to some in the room, Bush told Inslee not to assume that he does not care as much about greenhouse gasses as Inslee does.