At the GOP-sponsored rally, Senate President John Valentine, R-Orem; Rep. Greg Curtis, R-Sandy; Provo Mayor Lewis Billings; and Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff spoke.

Shurtleff defended the war in Iraq and called U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, who recently publicly criticized Cheney, "Hezbollah Harry." He called Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, who regularly calls for the impeachment of President George W. Bush, "Iraqi Rocky."

Billings said he was glad to welcome one of the most "prominent and significant individuals in America" to Provo, and cautioned listeners against being too critical of the country's leaders.

"There's not one of us here that we couldn't put under a microscope and start picking off the faults and the flaws," Billings said. "As Americans, we tend to criticize, but I hope we don't get so caught up in (the negatives.) ... If any community can see through the fluff and chatter and rhetoric, it's this community."

Some graduates who posed near the protesters for their traditional portraits of the school's signature sign said they didn't mind the clamor the protests made, as shouts, bullhorns and car horns could regularly be heard, but that sentiment wasn't shared by all.

"Frankly, I'm annoyed by it," said Bradford Peck, who came to take pictures with his family. "Why are they protesting on my graduation day? If they want to protest they can go somewhere else. ... This isn't a political event."

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Contributing: Wendy Leonard

E-mail: achoate@desnews.com