Bush Stays Out of Fight, Opts for Lighter Fare

When one child asked President Bush why he was visiting the District's YMCA Anthony Bowen Center, he said, "I came to see you." (By Gerald Herbert -- Associated Press)

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Gene Sperling, a top adviser to Clinton, said those policies had meaning. "If you can show that you are waking up every day focused on getting things done, even modest measures that people really care about outside the Beltway, it can be a positive sign," he said. "If it just looks like you're trying to change the subject and do symbolic things, it doesn't work."

Bush tested that thesis by navigating his motorcade across a snowy city to the YMCA Anthony Bowen Center. Protesters outside held up signs with messages such as "Bush Lied" and "Peace Surge."

"The reason I'm here is that we're heralding volunteerism in America," Bush said. "No better place to come where volunteers are doing their work."

He observed four activity stations where youngsters were being guided by adult mentors, including one station where they disemboweled a computer. As Bush chatted with some children, other youngsters were overheard by a pool reporter.

Bush Stays Out of Fight, Opts for Lighter Fare

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