Bush said after meeting Botswana's President Festus Mogae here that he would continue to speak out for democracy in Zimbabwe, which is gripped by a lingering political and social crisis.
"We expect there to be democracy in Zimbabwe, in order for the people of that country to advance," Bush said in the capital of Botswana, a country viewed by Washington as a rare African example of good governance.
"It's a shame that the (Zimbabwean) economy has gotten so weak and soft.
It is a shame for Botswana, it's a shame for southern Africa, and that the weakness in the economy is directly attributable to bad governance.
"Therefore we will continue to speak out for democracy in Zimbabwe," Bush added, on the third leg of a five-nation African tour.
Zimbabwe's official Herald newspaper earlier quoted a statement from the government's information department critical of Bush's remarks on Zimbabwe after talks in Pretoria with South African President Thabo Mbeki.
Bush used the talks to back Mbeki's quiet diplomacy on Zimbabwe, and did not repeat acidic criticisms of Mugabe in public when he appeared with the South African leader.
He said he thought Mbeki could be an "honest broker" in the Zimbabwean crisis, and said he had urged his counterpart to "continue to work for the return of democracy" in his northern neighbour.
The Herald pounced on his words, which it described as a "fleeting and perfunctory reference to Zimbabwe," proclaiming them "a loud climb-down by a president all along misled".
The Herald quoted the statement as saying the US would have to accept that Zimbabwe would "not accept false and synthetic solutions from outsiders however powerful".
Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai meanwhile said yesterday that his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was "heartened by the sense of urgency displayed by presidents Mbeki and Bush".
He said in a statement that he hoped that Mbeki would ensure that talks resumed between the MDC and Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union -Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) "within days rather than weeks".
The MDC, which rejects Mugabe's victory in presidential elections last year, has strongly criticised Mbeki for not taking a firm stance against Mugabe.
On Wednesday Tsvangirai said Mbeki had misrepresented the Zimbabwean position to Bush by suggesting talks were going on between the two main political rivals.
Fledgling inter-party talks brokered by South Africa and Nigeria in April last year were scuppered when the MDC leader launched a court petition against Mugabe's electoral victory.
Tsvangirai, who is facing high treason charges, claims the poll was tainted by vote rigging, violence and intimidation. - Sapa-AFP.
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