ACKSONVILLE, Fla. - George W. Bush said yesterday he doesn't think his inability to name leaders of some of the world's hot spots will hurt him with voters.
''The voters know I'll have a strong foreign policy that promotes peace,'' Bush, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, said during a campaign swing through northeast Florida that included a visit to a juvenile detention center.
Asked by a television reporter last week to name the leaders of Chechnya, Taiwan, India and Pakistan, Bush was able to give a partial response for just Taiwan.
He said yesterday that he wasn't troubled by the reporter's questioning.
''The voters know that I intend to rebuild the military power of the United States so we can keep the peace,'' said Bush, the governor of Texas. ''The voters know I intend to use our technological brain power to bring certainty to an uncertain world.''
Bush, who was making his third campaign visit to the state this year, also raised about $450,000 at a $1,000-a-plate luncheon. He was accompanied by his younger brother, Florida Governor Jeb Bush.
At the Duval County Jail, Bush sat among a group of youth offenders, mentors, and teachers involved in the state's ''Listen and Learn'' juvenile justice program. He sat next to 18-year-old Julius Mills, who was serving time for drug dealing, and listened as others explained their crimes and how they were learning in the school set up in the jail.
''I'm going to do whatever it takes to succeed,'' Mills said.
Bush described the mentors and teachers as ''armies of compassion'' and told the juveniles, ''I hope that you have learned the lessons of right and wrong.''
In his speech to about 450 supporters, Bush reiterated his plans to cut taxes, protect Social Security and strengthen the education and military systems.
He drew his most enthusiastic response with his comments about the military. Jacksonville is the home of two Navy bases.
''This is still a dangerous world, an uncertain world,'' he said.
