DENVER -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi attacked the Bush administration during an appearance in Denver Saturday.

Pelosi was in town to rally Colorado Democrats as the party prepares for a bruising battle that could give Democrats another U.S. Senate seat next year.

Pelosi said the scandal over conditions for veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center is part of "a pattern of neglect" in the Bush administration.

Revelations about shoddy facilities and wounded soldiers having to wait for treatment have embarrassed the Army and the Bush administration and have sharpened criticism of the Iraq war.

Pelosi said hearings on Walter Reed will continue on Monday.

President George W. Bush has ordered a review of conditions at military and veteran hospitals.

Pelosi also talked about Colorado's high-profile role in Democratic strategy.

"The spirit of change that's coming from Colorado and the West will be a strong message to the rest of the country," she said.

She acknowledged that the war in Iraq contributed to the Democratic wins in November, and she said she supports a mission change from combat to training, force protection and counterterrorism, and eventually refocusing on what she calls the real war on terror, the war in Afghanistan.

"What's happening in Iraq is a civil war," Pelosi said. "It's not the war on terror. That's why the public support has diminished, that's why people have lost faith and confidence in the president."