If there's one thing George W. Bush does consistently, it is staying loyal to his comrades, even doing so to a fault. But it plays well when their spirits need a lift.

Questioned by fellow Republicans in a closed-door meeting on his policy on a variety of "hot-button" issues like health care, immigration and an increasingly fiesty Iran, Reuters reports that sources at the retreat of the embattled Republicans in the House of Representatives say that Bush rallied the crowd to a standing ovation, particularly when he defended his program to eavesdrop on people with suspected terrorist ties without court warrants.

At the same time, the lawmakers were anxious over declining poll results that showed what appeared to be declining faith in the administration and Republicans, pressing him on issues that could be critical in the coming elections on November.

"And we're ready to lead again," Bush told the second day of a three-day meeting of House Republicans in Cambridge, Md., a two-hour bus ride from Washington. "We don't fear the future because we're going to shape the future."

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