President Bush is in the southeastern United States, campaigning for the policies and the programs he outlined in his State of the Union address to Congress and the nation. His first stop was Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

In an appearance before police and firefighters, President Bush carried on the themes of his State of the Union address. He said, "Even though we are at war, even though we are in recession, the state of our union has never been stronger."

The words were similar, but the setting was very different. He stood before a crowd in a local auditorium, instead of a group of lawmakers in the formal halls of Congress. This time, the president joked with his audience and spoke to the men and women in the crowd in a very personal way.

He talked again about his determination to win the war on terrorism. And he told them the events of September 11 brought out the best in America, that people became more aware of their connections to their family, their community, and their country. "What the terrorists have done," he said, "is cause us to take an assessment of what is important. And one of the parts of my job is to capture this new spirit."

Mr. Bush said the government is expanding programs that put volunteers to work helping others. He urged all Americans to devote much more time to volunteer work even if only an hour or two a week. "Obviously," he said, "if you want to fight evil we have figured out a way to do so militarily as one way. But at home, you fight evil with acts of goodness. You overcome the evil in society by doing something to help somebody."

One of the programs slated for expansion is the Peace Corps. In his State of the Union address, President Bush announced plans to double the size of the Peace Corps over the next five years to almost 15,000 volunteers. He said many of the extra Peace Corps members would be sent to help development projects in Islamic countries.

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