ELTON, Texas - Governor George W. Bush spoke of patriotism yesterday as he joined a small-town Independence Day parade, never mentioning presidential opponent Al Gore.
''I love the Fourth of July. I love Texas; it's an honor to be here,'' Bush told about 2,000 people outside the courthouse.
Bush, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, said, ''Americans cherish liberty, and Americans have sacrificed for it.''
Belton, a town of about 13,000 in central Texas, is about 20 miles from Fort Hood, one of the country's largest military installations.
Campaign workers passed out red-white-and-blue pompoms, and Boy Scouts and their parents waved American flags for the cameras.
Smoke from barbecues that were fired up earlier in the day wafted through town.
