Rocky, thousands flay president
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Salt Lake Mayor Rocky Anderson, who championed a protest against President Bush ever since the first reports that the president was coming to town, gave a pointed indictment of the administration to thousands of demonstrators surrounding the City-County Building.
The mayor responded with smiles and waves to supporters who chanted his name and begged him to run for president.
"A patriot is a person who loves his or her country," Anderson said to a roaring crowd about 12:30 p.m. at Washington Square. "We are here today because of our values. We love our country. We cherish the freedoms and liberties of our country."
Musicians played anti-war standards dating back 40 years, like Bob Dylan's "Masters of War." While the intensity of concern seemed similar to that of the 1960s, the demonstrators did not fit the '60s stereotype. Almost all were clean-cut. Decades ago, youth predominated at demonstrations, but Wednesday all ages were present.
In fact, some demonstrators were veterans in their uniforms, and others had participated in anti-war demonstrations long ago. When a speaker made a point, from time to time someone from the crowd would shout, "I agree!"
Police estimated the crowd at 1,500 while news reports and organizers put it at 4,000 to 5,000.
"This is a new day. We will not be silent," Anderson said in a 40-minute speech. "We will continue to resist the lies, the deceptions, the outrages of the Bush administration and this complacent, complicit, go-along Congress.
"We will insist that peace be pursued, and that, as a nation, we help those in need. We must break the cycle of hatred, of intolerance, of exploitation. We must pursue peace as vigorously as the Bush administration has pursued war."
Anderson shook hands with supporters and offered hugs to enthusiastic audience members. He responded to cries of "Rocky, Rocky, Rocky" with smiles and waves to the crowd.
The mayor vowed to protest Bush's arrival as soon as it was announced the president would visit Utah to speak to the American Legion. He invited nationally recognized war protester Cindy Sheehan, mother of a soldier who died in Iraq, but she had to cancel Tuesday because of a longer-than-expected recovery time from surgery. Anderson's office fielded hundreds of phone calls in the past several days from people who responded to an ad campaign by the Utah Republican Party against the mayor.
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