V.W.H. Campbell Jr., Post-Gazette President Bush greets people who shared the stage with him yesterday during his appearance at the Capitol Music Hall. Click photo for larger image.

WHEELING, W.Va. -- West Virginians cheered as President Bush maintained that the war in Iraq and his assertive foreign policy were "laying the foundation of peace for a generation to come.''

In the face of increasing public uneasiness over the war, Bush came to the Capitol Music Hall yesterday continuing a renewed effort this week to shore up support for his administration's policies.

With familiar but impassioned arguments, Mr. Bush defended his decision to go to war and argued that his foreign policy goal of spreading democracy would lead to victory in Iraq and a more peaceful future for the Middle East.

For the third day in a row, the president answered questions on the war, this time before a markedly more supportive audience than he faced Monday at the Cleveland City Club or Tuesday in the White House press room.

Poll after poll in recent weeks have recorded bleak approval ratings for his job performance in general and his conduct of the war in particular.

But such sentiments were not apparent in the historic theater where the West Virginia audience, dotted with military families and men and women in uniforms, offered repeated applause and friendly questions. Mr. Bush, with a handheld microphone, strolled back and forth on a stage festooned with banners that read: "Plan for Victory."

	V.W.H. Campbell Jr., Post-Gazette President Bush fields a question from a crowd of about 2,000 people yesterday in Wheeling, W. Va. Click photo for larger image.

While acknowledging flaws in pre-war intelligence, Mr. Bush sparked applause in a community where a local Air National Guard unit is awaiting deployment to Iraq as he said, "I viewed it was ... Saddam Hussein's choice, to disclose, disarm, or face serious consequences. ... And I made my choice and the world is better off without Saddam Hussein in power."

Defending what he portrayed as the broader principles underlying his foreign policy, Mr. Bush said, "An interesting debate in the world is whether or not freedom is universal. ... People say, 'There's old Bush imposing his values.'

"See, I believe freedom is universal. I believe liberty is a universal thought. It's not an American thought, it is a universal thought," he continued, arguing that the spread of democracy would promote a more peaceful world.

Mr. Bush elicited another ovation as he said, "Look, I'm an optimistic guy. I believe we will succeed. If I didn't believe we would succeed, I would pull our troops out.''

While most of the session concentrated on Iraq, Mr. Bush also defended his proposed nuclear accord with India, warned that he would not accept Iran's designs on building nuclear weapons, and vowed to renew his frustrated campaign to transform Social Security.

	V.W.H. Campbell Jr., Post-Gazette President Bush addressed the issue of nuclear power in the U.S., India and Iran. Click photo for larger image.

Responding to one of the few challenging questions from the crowd, Mr. Bush denied that he was guilty of a double standard in his approach to India and Iran on nuclear weapons. He argued that India was a transparent democracy while Iran was not.

"They're certainly not a democracy. They are sponsors of terrorism," Mr. Bush said of Iran. "They have joined the [International Atomics Energy Agency], and yet we caught them cheating. In other words, they weren't upholding the agreements, and they started to try to enrich uranium in order to develop a weapons program. India is heading to the IAEA; the Iranians are ignoring IAEA."

West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin put in a plug for the state's coal resources as he asked the president how the nation could use other fuels to promote energy independence.

"Joe is talking about spending research money on the gasification of coal, which then will lead to the [liquefaction]," Mr. Bush said. "And I believe we ought to attack this issue on all fronts, on a variety of fronts. I know we ought to use nuclear power. It is a renewable source of energy that has got zero greenhouse gas effect."

		More pictures View more photos from the President's visit in the daily photo journal.

One questioner drew the crowd's loud endorsement with her complaint that the news media do not show enough of the good news of what is happening in Iraq.

"That's why I come out and speak. I spoke in Cleveland, gave a press conference yesterday -- spoke in Cleveland Monday," Mr. Bush said. "I'm going to continue doing what I'm doing to try to make sure people can hear ... why I make decisions, and as best as I can, explain why I'm optimistic we can succeed."

On his arrival at the Wheeling-Ohio County Airport, Mr. Bush tried to emphasize one positive outgrowth of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as he presented a volunteer service award to Kristen Holloway of Mt. Lebanon for her work in founding Operation Troop Appreciation, a non-profit group that distributes clothing, DVDs, musical instruments and other goods to GIs serving overseas.

The president plans to return to the region tomorrow to appear at a private fund-raising event for U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum.