Rocky, thousands flay president

The president was there, too — in the form of a large papier mache caricature head worn above the real head of someone who peered through a shirt below it. A big coat and large papier mache hands dripping "blood" added to the effect.

"My name is George W. Bush. I'm a war president. I'm here to try to talk reason to all these hippies, sir," said the man inside.

"I think it's a really good idea to cut veterans' health care benefits. I think that the children of military families probably ought to get a worse education than other children. Um, because we gotta keep people dumb to keep them willing to buy the line of crap that I feed them."

After the rally, thousands walked from Washington Square to the Federal Building, where a delegation went inside to deliver a call for indicting the president, Congress and administration officials for not upholding the U.S. Constitution. Unitarian minister, the Rev. Tom Goldsmith, who headed the group, said he gave it to staff members of Utah congressional delegation members who said they would give it to the president.

At the Federal Building Plaza, Evan Johnson, 22, carried a sign declaring that Anderson is "a jackass."

"People were very rude to me," he said. "I've been pushed, somebody told me they were going to spit in my face. I just want to get my opinions across, that I support the troops."

The rally was peaceful, said Joe Cyr, a spokesman for the Salt Lake City Police Department.

"It was a great day — very cooperative," he said. "Everybody was in a great mood."

An evening gathering at Pioneer Park continued the good mood with bands, a redux speech by Anderson and some of the same people who attended the rally earlier in the day. Audience members at Pioneer Park were led in anti-Bush chants by the "radical cheerleaders" in cool weather just before sunset.

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E-mail: kswinyard@desnews.com; bau@desnews.com