Bush Champions Compassion in Christmas Day Message

President Bush urged Americans to help the neediest among them by volunteering to care for the sick, the elderly and the poor in a Christmas Day call for compassion.

“Many of our fellow Americans still suffer from the effects of illness or poverty, others fight cruel addictions, or cope with division in their families, or grieve the loss of a loved one,” he said Saturday in his weekly radio address.

“Christmastime reminds each of us that we have a duty to our fellow citizens, that we are called to love our neighbor just as we would like to be loved ourselves.”

Bush said that “by volunteering our time and talents where they are needed most, we help heal the sick, comfort those who suffer and bring hope to those who despair, one heart and one soul at a time.”

On a day relaxing with his family at Camp David, Md., Bush turned his attention to military personnel working the holiday away from theirs.

Close by, he was spending time with the Marines who protected the presidential retreat during a dinnertime visit to their mess hall, White House spokesman Taylor Gross said.

And over the radio waves, Bush assured U.S. troops overseas that they were in the thoughts and prayers of their fellow Americans.

It was a message that has become a fixture of Bush’s annual Christmas broadcasts, but one with added poignancy this year, coming days after a devastating attack on a U.S. military dining hall in Mosul, Iraq. Fourteen U.S. service members were among the 22 killed.

“In Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere, these skilled and courageous Americans are fighting the enemies of freedom and protecting our country from danger,” Bush said.

He had called 10 members of the U.S. military around the world and in the United States on Friday to thank them for their service and to share holiday greetings.

“By bringing liberty to the oppressed, our troops are helping to win the war on terror, and they are defending the freedom and security of us all,” the president said. “They and their families are making many sacrifices for our nation, and for that, all Americans are deeply grateful.”

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson’s Democratic radio address also praised U.S. forces.

“No one has fulfilled the spirit of the Christmas season more than the men and women who are serving our military overseas,” Richardson said. “That includes thousands of reservists and National Guard troops who are bravely making such tremendous sacrifices.”

Richardson said the troops “defend our land out of the sheer values of patriotism, community and love of country. Our nation speaks with one voice when we express our gratitude.”

Bush and his family are spending a long weekend at Camp David.

“Santa did, in fact, come by,” Gross reported, adding that the president gave his wife, Laura, dessert plates that matched her china set. She gave him a raincoat.

After Bush’s visit with the Marines, he was to sit down for a Christmas dinner of turkey, sweet potatoes, cranberries, gravy and pecan and pumpkin pies, Gross said.

The Bushes are to fly today to their home near Crawford, Texas, where they are scheduled to remain until Jan. 2.

Aides say Bush’s holiday vacation is true down time.

After a year of campaigning and managing a war, he intends to unwind, and will not be interviewing candidates for key Cabinet posts. The two vacant Cabinet jobs are the secretary of Homeland Security and the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.