Bush honors Hispanics

WASHINGTON, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- The White House rocked to a decidedly Latin beat Wednesday when President George W. Bush, together with Hispanic entertainers and others, celebrated the country's Hispanic community and their contributions to the nation.

The ceremony officially marked the end of National Hispanic Heritage Month, but it also symbolized the president's and the Republican Party's outreach to a group that now comprises about 13 percent of the U.S. population -- about the same as blacks.

"I'm glad you're here," the president said after popular singers Jennifer Pena and Jaci Vasquez serenaded more than 100 Hispanic lawyers, policemen, soldiers, sports stars, businessmen and government leaders in the chandeliered Roosevelt Room. "You brighten my day.

"Hispanic Heritage Month talks to the great diversity of our country and the fact that our country is strong because of that diversity."

Bush, often lapsing into the Spanish language, touted Hispanic values of hard work and family, and the contribution of Hispanics to the war on terrorism as soldiers, policemen, firemen and other emergency responders.

Pena and Vasquez, together with U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Richard Carmona praised a nation in which they dreams of their parents became reality and a president who shared common values.

" ... We celebrate the land that made these accomplishments possible, our country, the United States of America," said Carmona. "America has lived up to its promise for every one of us" who enjoy the country's freedoms.

The audience in the White House, which Bush called the "casa de todos de pais" -- the house of all the country -- included current Hispanic baseball players and four Hall of Famers -- Juan Marichal, Rod Carew, Raphael Palmero, Ivan Rodriguez.

A list of high-ranking officials in the Bush administration was read out by the president, who also exhorted the U.S. Senate to "stop playing politics" and confirm the nomination of Miguel Estrada, Bush's choice for the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

"There are senators who are playing politics with this good man's nomination," Bush said. "There are senators who would rather not give him the benefit of the doubt, senators looking for a reason to defeat him as opposed to looking for a reason to herald his intelligence, his capabilities his talent.

"I strongly object to the way this man is going to be treated in the United States Senate."

In his remarks to his guests, which was conducted more as a conversation than a speech, Bush also touched his template topics -- education reform to eliminate the "soft bigotry" of low expectations, the war on terrorism and the need for a more caring society.

"This great nation will lead the world to be more free," he said, despite the difficulties that lay ahead.