toledoblade.com --

CINCINNATI - Larry Groves said he and his wife, Darla, felt like they they were "living the American Dream" in 2001.

Darla Groves had worked for seven years as a secretary at a Cincinnati-area corporation. Larry Groves worked part-time so he could take care of their two children. They had bought their first home.

But in 2002, Mrs. Groves lost her job in the economic downturn.

''It was the longest drive I had ever had to my family, to tell them I had lost a job that was the major source of our income,'' she said.

''We felt like our whole world had crumbled down upon us,'' said Mr. Groves, who added that he and his wife's relatives lived in another state.

Forced onto welfare, the couple turned to Accountability and Credibility Together, a social services agency that helped Mrs. Groves return to college to get a nursing degree.

Now she has lined up a $40,000-a-year job - twice what she was making as a secretary.

Mr. Groves said he is working full-time, but he still makes sure that he reads with his children every day, that the family eats dinner together, and prays together.

Yesterday, in his 18th visit to Ohio since taking office in 2001, President Bush focused on one of the themes of his 2000 campaign: "compassionate conservatism."

At Talbert House, a Cincinnati-based social services agency which provides drug and alcohol abuse treatment and mental health care, Mr. Bush used the stories of Cincinnati-area residents to support his stance about the proper role of the federal government.

''We was lost, Mr. President,'' Mr. Groves said.

''And now you're found,'' replied Mr. Bush, who earlier had said one of his favorite hymns is "Amazing Grace."

''By the way, government can't make people sit down with their kids and pray,'' said Mr. Bush.

He sat in front of a sign with the message "Strengthening America's Families" that featured pictures of white, black, Asian, and Hispanic parents and their children.

''See, the role of government is to stand there and say, 'We're going to help you. If you want help, there's help here.' "

Mr. Bush said he has asked Congress to spend $290 million on programs that offer parenting classes to couples on welfare.

''I mean, we're a land of plenty, but amidst our plenty there are people who hurt. And we got to do something about it here in America. "We got to be smart about how we save lives, because the vision of our country is that everybody has hope, not just some.

"This country belongs to everybody,'' Mr. Bush said.

A spokesman for Democratic U.S. Sen. John Kerry's presidential campaign said it was "ironic" that Mr. Bush talked about "strengthening families when his economic policies have done so much to hurt them."

"George Bush has looked the other way while health costs, gas prices, and other household expenses have hit record highs,'' said spokesman Jennifer Palmieri.

"John Kerry thinks we can do better and has a plan to strengthen America's families. We need a President who works for policies that ease the burdens on our families, not one who makes them worse."

Mr. Bush said Congress "needs to get the welfare bill to my desk,'' referring to the re-authorization of the 1996 federal welfare "reform" law.

''It's stuck. There's too much politics in Washington on this,'' Mr. Bush said.

But Ms. Palmieri said the bill is stuck because Mr. Bush is "thumbing his nose" at a Senate-adopted provision to add $6 billion over the next five years for child care.

During his stop at Talbert House, Mr. Bush did not make any reference to his support for a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

That didn't surprise Berta Lambert, a 62-year-old activist who stood outside the social services agency with an "Iraq-nam" sign."

He said Mr. Bush only talks about the topic to conservative audiences.

''He's searching for a formula or a series of formulas to bring in the constituency. I don't think America is going to buy that because by and large, people want to be fair and tolerant,'' Mr. Lambert said.

After the event at the social services agency, Mr. Bush raised $2.5 million for the Republican National Committee.

The $25,000-a-couple fund-raiser was closed to the press and held at the estate of Bill DeWitt, an investor who lives in the Indian Hill neighborhood of Cincinnati.

Contact James Drew at:
jdrew@theblade.com or
614-221-0496.

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