Bush Asks For Volunteers

President Bush appealed to older Americans and would-be teachers Thursday in his recruitment drive for volunteers, saying the dream behind his national service initiative is to change America's feel-good culture.

At the Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta, Mr. Bush said the nation has been idling in an "era that says if it feels good, just go ahead and do it."

"My dream is to change that culture to one in which each of us are responsible for the decisions we make in life. If you have a child, you're responsible for loving the child," the president said.

In the aftermath of last fall's terror attacks, "We can change – use the evil to help usher in a period of personal responsibility," he said.

Mr. Bush closed his two-day Southern swing to promote his new USA Freedom Corps with direct appeals to those who might volunteer as teachers — "There's no better way to leave a positive mark on the life of America," he said — and to the 44 million of the nation's older generation.

They might be retired, "but their brains haven't retired, and their experience hasn't been retired," Mr. Bush said at a morning appearance in Daytona Beach, Fla., with his campaigning brother, Jeb, the governor seeking re-election.

The 500,000-member Senior Corps, which will fall under the organizational umbrella of Bush's USA Freedom Corps, offers retirees small stipends in exchange for service as foster grandparents, companions to shut-ins, mentors to teens and aides in hospitals, day care centers and prisons.

A Web site launched Wednesday morning to register people interested in volunteering through the Freedom Corps received more than 450,000 visitors as of noon Thursday, the White House said.

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