Bush makes a revolutionary link

Marking George Washington’s 275th birthday, President Bush on Monday linked the ideals of the first president to the war being fought by the 43rd, saying Washington’s goals guided the nation’s quest to extend freedom beyond its borders.

“George Washington’s long struggle for freedom has ... inspired generations of Americans to stand for freedom in their own time,” Bush said, using a morning visit to Mount Vernon to compare the dilemmas faced at the birth of the nation to the troubles he now confronts.

“Today, we’re fighting a new war to defend our liberty and our people and our way of life,” he said. “And as we work to advance the cause of freedom around the world, we remember that the father of our country believed that the freedoms we secured in our revolution were not meant for Americans alone.”

Quoting the first president -- and referring, by implication, to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan -- Bush said: “He once wrote, ‘My best wishes are irresistibly excited whensoever in any country I see an oppressed nation unfurl the banners of freedom.’ ”

Bush spoke for nine minutes on a frigid morning in front of the first president’s mansion overlooking the ice-crusted Potomac River.

“I feel right at home here,” he told the audience of several hundred. “After all, this is the home of the first George W.”

After being greeted by Dean Malissa, an actor and Washington interpreter dressed in the blue-coat uniform and tri-corner hat of the Continental Army, Bush observed: “I thank President Washington for welcoming us today. He doesn’t look a day over 275 years old.”

The president recalled visiting Mount Vernon as a child with his grandmother, and said he and his wife had brought their daughters to the first president’s house. The visit of about 45 minutes Monday was his first as president.

The plantation, about 16 miles south of the capital, is in the heart of what are now Northern Virginia’s suburbs, with mini-mansions rivaling it in size and grandeur cropping up nearby on both sides of the Potomac. Bush flew here by helicopter, making the trip from one president’s mansion to another in just a few minutes.

Bush noted the trials that Washington faced during the Revolutionary War, at the helm of “the ragged Continental Army,” facing desertions, disaster and “a mighty empire.”

But, he said, “In the end, Gen. Washington understood that the Revolutionary War was a test of wills, and his will was unbreakable.”

Earlier, Bush and his wife, Laura, presented a wreath of red, white and blue blossoms at Washington’s tomb. Monday was a federal holiday celebrating Presidents Day; Washington’s actual birthday is Feb. 22.

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james.gerstenzang@latimes.com