MISHAWAKA --President Bush defended his administration's war strategy Thursday, saying U.S. troops should keep fighting until Iraqis can defend themselves.
"In the long run, the way to lay the foundation of peace ... is the spread of liberty," Bush said during a 30-minute speech at Bethel College.
On hand for a congressional fund-raiser boosting U.S. Rep. Chris Chocola's re-election campaign, the president also trumpeted economic and social policies that resonated with Republican supporters in a luncheon crowd that repeatedly applauded him.
He repeated his confidence in measures he said have banned some abortion procedures, provided federal money for private, religious-based programs and cut taxes during his tenure. He thanked Chocola for supporting those efforts in Congress and said the lawmaker deserves another term in office.
"Our pro-growth economic policies are working, and it starts with keeping your taxes low. More money in your pockets means more for you to spend, invest and save," Bush told about 550 people at the $500-a-plate fundraiser on the Christian college campus.
Proof of the recovering U.S. economy, he said, were record homeownership numbers, a 4.7 percent unemployment rate and about 4.7 million jobs created in the past 2 1/2 years.
Even as he described other domestic issues such as Social Security and Medicare reform as ongoing priorities for his administration, Bush returned several times to themes of national security and the war on terror.
He condemned insurgents' bombing Wednesday of a sacred Shiite shrine in Iraq, calling the attack the work "not of a religious person, but an evil person."
The violence is reason for the United States to continue efforts to rebuild the country and train Iraqi security forces, Bush said, painting the war-ravaged nation as better off following Saddam Hussein's ouster. He likened Iraq to Afghanistan, where he said "25 million people now live in freedom" after the U.S.-led toppling of the Taliban regime.
"Someday, a duly elected leader from Iraq is going to be sitting with a U.S. president and talking about how to keep the peace, and our children and grandchildren are going to be better off," he said.
Closer to home, Bush defended his administration's controversial use of an eavesdropping program in the United States as a way to root out terrorist operatives before they strike.
Saying U.S. dependence on foreign oil opens the nation to security breaches, he also promoted an energy agenda that expands automotive technology and use of alternate fuels such as ethanol.
Bush's visit, the first to Mishawaka by a sitting president, came on a day when he faced criticism in Washington for his administration's approval of a United Arab Emirates company's takeover of large U.S. port operations. The president, however, made no mention of that issue -- or of his sagging poll ratings -- as he stumped Thursday for Chocola.
Instead, he called Chocola -- who flew with him from Washington aboard Air Force One -- a rising political star. A little later, the president mispronounced the congressman's name one time.
Regardless, it was a good day for the Bristol Republican.
All told, the event raised about $600,000 for Chocola's election coffers, said Brooks Kochvar, a spokesman for the campaign. The total included money from about 75 private photo opportunities with the president that brought in $4,000 or $6,000 apiece.
Chocola is seeking a third term in Indiana's 2nd Congressional District.
In the May 2 primary election, he faces Crown Point attorney Tony Zirkle, a challenger who Chocola easily defeated two years ago.
On the Democratic side, St. Joseph County educator Steve Francis and Granger attorney Joe Donnelly -- Chocola's opponent in the November 2004 election -- are in the race.
Though political analysts say Chocola is in no significant danger of losing his seat, they consider him more vulnerable than in the last election, according to The Associated Press.
Later Thursday, Bush flew to a Cincinnati fundraiser for an Ohio senator facing a challenger in the fall.
In other news from Bush's Thursday visit here:
* While he was in Indiana, Bush got a key to the city from Mishawaka Mayor Jeff Rea. At the fund-raiser, Bush thanked the Republican mayor: "My only advice, Mr. Mayor, is pave the roads," he said, prompting laughter in the crowd.
* Besides Rea, Elkhart Mayor Dave Miller and Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter also were at the event.
* Bush's speech was carried via closed-circuit video feed to students at an auditorium across campus. He encouraged them to take government seriously and to vote. "In our society, all of us have a duty to participate," Bush said.
* In all, it was Bush's seventh trip to the Michiana area. Before Thursday, his most recent visit was to the University of Notre Dame last March to tout Social Security reform.