Faced with lack of popularity in Europe, Bush brushes off criticism

Saturday, June 26th 2004, 9:55 am

By: News On 6

NEWMARKET-ON-FERGUS, Ireland (AP) _ President Bush shrugged off criticism in Europe over the Iraq war, saying Saturday he was more concerned about his standing among the American electorate.

As thousands of people demonstrated against him and the war a few miles away from the European Union summit here, Bush was asked at a news conference about his apparent lack of support in Europe.

``I must confess that the first polls I worry about are those that are going to take place in early November this year,'' Bush said. The presidential election is Nov. 2.

``I will lead and we'll just let the chips fall where they may,'' Bush said. ``As far as my own personal standing goes, my job is to do my job. I'm going to do it the way I think is necessary. I'm going to set a vision,'' said the president.

The news conference was held outside a 16th-century castle that was heavily guarded against security threats and demonstrators.

Bush stressed the positive, saying that the United States is doing $2.2 trillion in trade with the European Union and that ``obviously something positive is happening.''

In a reference to the prison abuse scandal involving U.S. soldiers in Iraq, Bush said, ``I don't like it when the values of our country are misunderstood because of the actions of some people overseas.''