WASHINGTON - Near the end of his second term in office, President George W. Bush tried to offer some encouragement to his fellow Republicans who have seen control of the Congress and many state governor mansions end up in the hands of rival Democrats.

After mostly playing nice during the day when governors of both parties were in town, he offered some juicy red meat politics to a Republican gubernatorial gala that raised about $10.6 million for their upcoming campaigns.

“I’m confident we’ll hold the White House in 2008. And I don’t want the next Republican president to be lonely, and that is why we got to take the House, retake the Senate, and make sure our states are governed by Republican governors,” Bush said.

He seized on the latest battle with Democrats in Congress over his administration’s warrantless wiretapping program and a looming fight over whether to extend tax cuts set to expire in 2010 to try to energize Republicans.

“Those are the two big issues facing us: who best to protect America, and who best to keep taxes low. I’m looking forward to this campaign. I’m excited about taking our message to the American people. With your help and hard work, there’s no doubt in my mind — no doubt — that we’ll win,” he said.

At the moment, polls diverge over whether the likely Republican presidential nominee John McCain will prevail or be beaten by either Democrats seeking to be their party’s nominee, Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.

But analysts see Democrats holding their grips on the House of Representatives because a large number of Republicans are retiring and in the Senate where Republicans have more seats to defend this election season.

Click here for more Reuters 2008 campaign coverage.

- Photo credit: Reuters/Larry Downing (Bush with his wife Laura at the Republican Governors Association gala.)