Bush, a former Texas governor who has returned to live in the Lone Star State, last was in Oklahoma in September, when he raised about $1 million at a private Oklahoma City fundraiser for the Republican National Committee. It allocated most of the money to help the unsuccessful GOP presidential candidate U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
Bush, who had a nationwide approval rating of about 34 percent after serving two terms as president, was met with a standing ovation and cheers when he arrived on the rodeo grounds.
"It’s nice to give a retired guy something to do,” Bush told the crowd.
Saturday night’s appearance was the largest gathering for the former president, who has appeared at several smaller events since leaving the Oval Office. Ticket prices ranged from $25 for bleacher seats to $500 for floor seating.
A military band from Fort Sill started the activities for the final evening of a two-day event called Let Freedom Ring 2009. After Bush spoke, a couple country music artists performed. A fireworks display was to conclude the event.
Woodward, a city of about 12,000 approximately 150 miles northwest of Oklahoma City, offered a friendly environment for Bush.
He won about 81 percent of the vote in Woodward County in his 2004 re-election.
Statewide, Bush won about two of every three votes cast in 2004, winning all 77 counties.
He won 60 percent of the vote in 2000 in Oklahoma, which hasn’t voted for a Democrat for president since Texas native Lyndon Johnson in 1964; Oklahoma was the only state where every county in 2008 voted for McCain.
Bush said he enjoyed the opportunity to spend the Fourth of July in Woodward, which he heard some refer to as a town in the middle of nowhere.
Bush, noting he was born in Midland, Texas, said, "No wonder I feel comfortable here.”
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