UNITED STATES:DELIVERING THE final commencement address of his tenure, President Bush told supporters and protesters at Furman University on Saturday that he was far from "a model citizen" when he left college but that "it is never too late to recover and get back on track".
In a lighthearted speech peppered with personal details, Bush also urged graduates to embrace "a culture of responsibility" and referred to his drinking problems as a younger man. The topic has become something of a touchstone for Bush during his last year in office.
"There was a time in my life when alcohol competed for my affections, but I found salvation in my family and in my faith," Bush told the crowd at Furman's outdoor stadium, which included more than 600 graduating students.
"There is no shame in recognising your failings or getting help if you need it," he added. "The tragedy comes when we fail to take responsibility for our weaknesses and surrender to them."
Although he received a warm welcome, Bush's visit was preceded by controversy as more than 200 faculty and students signed a letter objecting to his policies on the Iraq war, detentions and other issues. A conservative group responded with its own, larger list of signatories, and said the protesters were being disrespectful of the presidency and of the graduating students.
Several dozen protesters greeted Bush's arrival outside the stadium, and a group of 14 faculty members stood during Bush's speech while wearing white T-shirts emblazoned with the phrase "WE OBJECT."
Though less conservative than nearby Bob Jones University, Furman is a campus with strong Baptist roots that has graduated a number of prominent Republicans over the years, including South Carolina governor Mark Sanford, who helped arrange Bush's visit.
Stanley Crowe, the English department chairman and an outspoken critic of the president's visit, said before the ceremony that Bush "is a man who has undermined some pretty basic constitutional values . . . The fact that one objects to the president has nothing to do with not respecting students. That's a false dilemma."
James Guth, a Republican who teaches political science at Furman, called the debate "a standard, expected scenario when a Republican is invited to speak at a liberal arts college these days . . . but I didn't anticipate it would develop into the community controversy it has."
Bush made a joking reference to the protests, telling the audience: "I, too, am a strong believer in free speech. And to prove it, I'm about to give you one."
Bush faced a similar controversy when he delivered the commencement address in 2005 at Calvin College, a moderate evangelical Christian school in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where hundreds of professors and students protested at his appearance.
- (LA Times-Washington Post service)