Posted by Mark Silva at 6:05 am CDT and updated at 9 am CDT
SALT LAKE CITY — They don’t call this a Red State for no reason.
When President Bush landed here last night, preparing to address the American Legion’s convention today with the first in a three-week series of speeches about the “global war on terror” timed for the fifth anniversary of Sept. 11, local leaders had assembled 2,000 people on the tarmac for a screaming, rock-star’s welcome for the president, who agreed to address the adoring crowd. Of course, this served mainly as an antidote to an even larger anti-war rally that the mayor organized here. “These are challenging times,” said the president, who had insisted on this day that a political motive should not be read into his speech here about the war — but don’t tell that to the 2,000 people who were given tickets to attend this nighttime welcoming rally.
“I wish I could report to you that all is well,” the president told the cheering crowd, “But there’s still an enemy that wants to harm the United States of America because of what we stand for. We learned that lesson earlier this month, when because of the good work of our friends in Great Britain, and some of our own help, we stopped a terrorist plot against the United States. This is the challenge of our time, and my most important duty. And the most important duty of our government is to protect the American people from further attack.”
According to Rep. Rob Bishop (R, Ut.), the event was arranged on short notice as a counter-greeting to Bush after the local mayor had war protestor Cindy Sheehan to come protest the president’s speech. Several counter-demonstrations had been planned, Bishop explained, but organizers and the White House decided they would rather have a single, big “non-partisan” welcome.
Rocky Anderson, the outspoken mayor of Salt Lake City, had organized an even larger anti-war rally on the steps of City Hall during the day, with the mayor stirring the crowd with a firebreathing speech on not only the war but also the president. Anderson described Bush as a “dishonest, war-mongering, human rights-violating president” at a rally that led to a march to the local federal building.
The state’s two senators and three congressman – one of whom is a Democrat – greeted the president on arrival here. The White House and governor’s office had received numerous calls asking if there was going to be anything open to the public during the president’s visit here, according to spokeswoman Dana Perino, and it was decided that this was the best way to accomodate as many people as possible.
Tickets were distributed through the governor’s office and the congressional delegation. The president decided to speak to the crowd en route to the city aboard Air Force One.
The welcome, staged at 9:04 pm Mountain time, had the feel of a rock concert. The president stood at the top of the stairs of the presidential aircraft waving for a few moments before descending to speak at a microphone stand on a raised platform in front of the crowd, with Air Force One behind him. People in the crowd toted signs reading, “Utah Supports President Bush,” and “We Love You President Bush.”
The president worked a rope line for several minutes before moving on to The Grand America Hotel, a truly grand hotel — not to be confused with the Little America hotel across the street — at the foot of the mountains here. The flashing marquee on a Super 8 Motel on the way to the hotel beamed: “God Bless President Bush and Veterans.” Bush will address the American Legion this morning.
In the meantime, this is what the president had to say to his welcoming committee of 2,000, with the notations of applause provided by the official White House transcript-keepers:
“Thank you all for coming out. (Applause) I can’t thank you enough for this fantastic Utah welcome. I am delighted to be here in Salt Lake City. (Applause.) My only regret is that Laura is not here to see this great crowd. (Applause.) She sends her best, she sends her love.
“I want to thank the governor for being here today. Governor, thank you for coming. I want to thank your two fine United States senators, Senator Hatch and Bennett for joining us. (Applause.) I thank Congressmen Matheson, Bishop and Cannon for being here, as well. I want to thank you all for coming.
“Most of all, I want to thank you all for staying up a little past your bedtime, for some of you, to greet me. (Applause.)
“I’m looking forward to talking tomorrow to our veterans. (Applause.) I’m going to tell the veterans how much America appreciates their service to the United States of America. (Applause.) And I’m going to thank our veterans for setting such a great example for incredibly fine men and women who wear the uniform of the United States military today. (Applause.)
“These are challenging times. I wish I could report to you that all is well. But there’s still an enemy that wants to harm the United States of America because of what we stand for. We learned that lesson earlier this month, when because of the good work of our friends in Great Britain, and some of our own help, we stopped a terrorist plot against the United States. This is the challenge of our time, and my most important duty. And the most important duty of our government is to protect the American people from further attack. (Applause.)
“We will stay on the offense and defeat the terrorists abroad so we do not have to face them here at home. (Applause.) And as we do so, we’ll remember the power of freedom and liberty to transform regions of hate to regions of compassion. I believe there’s an Almighty, and I believe the great gift of the Almighty to every man and woman on the Earth is the desire to live in freedom. (Applause.)
“Iraq is the central front in this war on terror. If we leave the streets of Baghdad before the job is done, we will have to face the terrorists in our own cities. We will stay the course, we will help this young Iraqi democracy succeed, and victory in Iraq will be a major ideological triumph in the struggle of the 21st century. (Applause.)
“I firmly believe we’ll succeed. We’ll succeed in spreading liberty. And as we do so, we can say that this generation did our duty and laid the foundation of peace for generations to come. (Applause.)
“For those of you with loved ones in the United States military, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. (Applause.) I can’t tell you how proud I am to be the Commander-in-Chief of such a fantastic group of young men and women. (Applause.) And I’ll make this pledge to you: Our government will make sure your loved ones have all the support, all the help, all the training necessary to do their job of defending freedom, defending America, and spreading liberty that will yield the peace we all want. (Applause.)
“So I want to thank you all for coming. It warms my heart to see such a huge crowd. May God bless the great state of Utah, and may God bless America. Thank you all very much.” (Applause.)
