GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — In the run-up to President Bush's appearance Saturday at Calvin College's commencement ceremonies, hundreds of faculty, students and alumni bought local newspaper ads objecting to his visit to the small Christian liberal arts college.
But when Bush took the podium, he was greeted with the cheers and loud applause that White House officials must have expected when they picked Calvin for one of the president's two commencement addresses this year.
Bush's speech never touched on the hot-button issues of his presidency. Instead, he used his 15-minute address -- half an hour shorter than the time allotted on the White House schedule -- to deliver a call to service that Bush took pains to note carried no partisan bent.
"As Americans, we share an agenda that calls us to action -- a great responsibility to serve and love others, a responsibility that goes back to the greatest commandment," the president told more than 800 graduates, their families and friends crammed into the college gymnasium.
In his only acknowledgment of the controversy that preceded his brief trip, Bush added: "This isn't a Democratic idea. This isn't a Republican idea. This is an American idea."
No one sought to disrupt the speech, and even Bush's critics said they wanted to remain civil in their opposition.
A small number of the graduating students wore protest buttons saying, "God is not a Democrat or a Republican." Even fewer were spotted with color-coded armbands protesting various Bush policies.
The White House's selection of 129-year-old Calvin College, attended by many evangelicals, seemed designed to appeal to the religious conservatives that are a key part of the Republican base. The college, however, is more centrist than such schools as the very conservative Bob Jones University in South Carolina, where Bush's appearance during the 2000 campaign sparked controversy.
Bush was not Calvin College's original choice to address the graduating seniors. But after chief political advisor Karl Rove pulled aside the local congressman, Vernon J. Ehlers (R-Mich.), during a recent Washington reception to indicate the White House's interest, Calvin officials were happy to change their plans.
Michigan was a battleground state in last year's election, and strategists in both parties believe it will remain competitive in future elections, including races for Senate and governor in 2006.
