In any case, Anderson was praised by protesters at Pioneer Park. People chanted his name. They crowded around him like he was a rock star.

State GOP leaders think that if Anderson didn't harm himself politically, he at least hurt Democrats in general. Anderson's call for protests against Bush shows the true ilk of Utah Democrats, said GOP state chairman Joe Cannon. Utah Democrats can no longer claim they are different than national Democrats, Cannon claims, since Anderson's call included groups such as gay-rights advocates.

But as Anderson well knows, he doesn't have to worry about anger from people living outside Salt Lake City.

Do some Davis County residents not like Anderson? You bet, since he's criticized them for driving their gas-guzzling cars into the city while the mayor fought the Legacy Highway. But most who love to hate Anderson don't vote for Salt Lake mayor.

Yeah, it seems a little counter-intuitive for a mayor to anger people who may work in his city or drive here to buy goods and services. But do Anderson's actions really stop someone from driving to the Gateway to buy high-end clothes or catch a movie?

The question of conventions is more complex. State, city and county officials have bent over backward for the Outdoor Retailers Association convention — the largest in the state. The Veterans of Foreign Wars is a big convention, too, with upward of 14,000 or 15,000 people coming in, when you count spouses and other guests.

That's a lot of cash for the city.

Anderson tried hard to make it clear that he wasn't protesting against the vets, only against a person of authority who was visiting their convention. But some of Bush's strongest supporters are vets — a lot stood up and saluted Bush when he walked on the stage and cheered their guts out for him. So it probably wasn't the smartest idea to protest against a president wildly popular statewide at a veterans convention.

Still, Bush has been to Utah only twice since winning in 2000 — and no one was going to call for protests against Bush when he came to open the 2002 Winter Olympics. Everybody — and I mean everybody — was falling all over themselves in supporting the Olympic effort.

So if Anderson wanted to lead an anti-Bush demonstration during a presidential visit, this week probably was his only chance. And a leaked e-mail put him publicly at the front of that protest.

His 2007 re-election aside, Anderson seems to have turned his sights beyond Salt Lake City. A Democratic U.S. president would certainly help Anderson get out of town — all kinds of appointments come with a change in national administration. But that can't happen until 2008, after the next mayoral election.

Did Anderson harm his re-election chances in 2007 by this week's protests?

I doubt it.

Remember, Anderson has faced fellow Democrats — although admittedly more moderate Democrats than himself — in his last two general elections. He's won easily; 54-46 percent in 2003, 60-40 percent in 1999.

Running from the right against Anderson has not proved profitable. And Anderson knew this when he wrote that e-mail and challenged a Republican president.

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Deseret Morning News political editor Bob Bernick Jr. may be reached by e-mail at bbjr@desnews.com