Wichita ? Former President George H.W. Bush said Thursday if Iraq is visibly better, and its democracy validated and stronger, then the 2006 elections will be very positive for those members of Congress who supported the war efforts.

“If control went to the other party – and I honestly don’t think it will – then the administration will be on the defensive a lot more,” Bush told members of the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce.

That will mean a more hostile Congress for President Bush, he said.

The former president also told hundreds of people gathered for the annual Chamber meeting that he does not fear an all-out open presidential primary in 2008 on either the Republican or Democratic side.

“I don’t have a favorite, nor can I predict what is going to happen,” he said.

Bush said he was cautiously optimistic about the future of Iraq.

“You are already seeing changes, more and more steps toward democracy in an area where it has had no chance at all,” he said.

Bush told the enthusiastic crowd he was 100 percent in support of his son, President George W. Bush.

“Besides that, I don’t need to comment on every hot topic that comes along,” he said.

Responding to a question from the audience about the oil-for-food scandal at the United Nations, Bush replied that it hurt the U.N.’s credibility.

“We ought not to be looking for the U.N. to do things it cannot do. … We ought to be looking realistically at the U.N.,” he said, referring to U.N. military response to world conflicts.

But he said the U.N. is worthy of support.

“Its fundamental value is as a place, if nothing else, where you can blow off steam and debate,” he said.

The world today, he said, has more democracies than it did during his presidency.

“I truly believe for our country, and the world, the best is yet to be,” Bush said.