On Campaign Trail, Bush Leaves Fray in Capital Behind

As his secretary of Defense struggled for his political life in Washington, President Bush trundled by bus through the placid farm country of Wisconsin and Iowa on Friday, promoting his economic policies and making only passing references to the turmoil sparked by abuses of Iraqi prisoners.

Aides said Bush was getting updates from staff members on Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld’s testimony to two congressional committees about the misconduct by U.S. troops, but was not watching or listening himself as his campaign bus rolled from Dubuque, Iowa, to Prairie du Chien and La Crosse, Wis.

Though the trip was planned in advance, it kept Bush out of the fray in the nation’s capital, and instead in an environment where he could address the prison abuse scandal on his own terms. He was confronted with few signs of the scandal; audience questions were friendly, and residents clustered along the roadway mostly held signs of greeting, not protest.

Bush himself raised the prison issue, telling a crowd in Prairie du Chien, “I’m just as disgusted by those pictures you’ve seen on TV as you are.”

“This isn’t the America we know,” Bush said at Cabela’s, an outdoors outfitting store. “Let me tell you something: Those few people have stained the honor of this country. They have helped paint a picture of this country that doesn’t exist. The men and women we have sent into harm’s way for our security and for freedom in the world are the finest of citizens in this country.”

The crowd responded with a lengthy standing ovation.

Bush pledged that he would use the scandal to provide a lesson in democracy for the rest of the world.

“In a free society, we will find out the truth and everybody will see the truth,” Bush said. “In a society that is a free society, there will be transparency in the process. People will testify. There will be fair trials, if there are trials, and the truth will be known. In societies run by tyrants, you never see the truth. You never find out the truth.”

Bush also said the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq had ended abuses perpetrated by Saddam Hussein’s regime.

“Because we acted, torture chambers are closed,” the president said.

Friday’s excursion was Bush’s second bus trip through the Midwest this week that targeted states expected to be close in the presidential election. On Monday and Tuesday, he traveled through Michigan and Ohio.

The “Yes, America Can” tour aimed to focus on the economy, and on Friday Bush repeatedly mentioned strong employment figures for April as evidence that his tax-cut policies were working.

“This morning, we got some more good news about our economy,” Bush told supporters in Dubuque. “Last month, America added 288,000 new jobs.... Since last August, we’ve added 1.1 million new jobs. People are finding work in this country. The tax relief we passed is working.”

The president made several stops along the byways of Wisconsin -- one at a dairy farm outside Hazel Green, another at the courthouse in Lancaster and a third at a frozen custard shop in Viroqua.

Bush emerged from the last of those with a vanilla cone in one hand. “Lots of calories,” he said.

On trips like this one, Bush rarely encounters critics or hostile crowds. Audiences are gathered with the help of local Republican Party organizations.

The Dubuque Telegraph Herald reported before Bush’s visit that local residents seeking tickets for the event were screened. One World War II veteran who waited in line for more than an hour was asked whether he had voted for Bush in the 2000 election. When the veteran replied that he had not and did not plan to vote for him this year, he was denied a ticket and escorted away, the newspaper said.

It was unclear whether the screening was conducted by the Bush campaign or other officials.

At Bush’s last stop, a rally at a baseball stadium in La Crosse, his bus rolled past a group of about 100 protesters. Among the signs was one referring to the prison abuse controversy, reading: “Jesus was killed by soldiers ‘just following orders.’ ”