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John Daley ReportingPresident Bush makes plans to come to Utah and protesters make plans for a rally.
Rocky Anderson, Mayor of Salt Lake City: "Yeah, I got a lot of hateful emails, but I think there were a lot of people also in support. But that's not the standard. The standard for me is standing up."
The president is apparently coming back to Utah next month, and the mayor of Utah's capitol city says he'll have a message for him. Mayor Rocky Anderson says, if asked, he'll be happy to be a speaker at an Iraq War demonstration when President Bush returns to Utah.
Last year a presidential visit inspired a large Pioneer Park protest and this year it looks like a repeat.
The White House isn't confirming the visit, but the Deseret Morning News reported today that President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will address the American Legion convention in Salt Lake City next month.
A year ago, President Bush came to Utah and spoke at a national VFW convention. You'll recall, the event happened as the debate over the Iraq war was re-erupting, thanks to protests at the president's ranch by Cindy Sheehan and others.
The visit drew a crowd of an estimated 4,000 protesters to Pioneer Park, including the Mayor, who was congratulated by some and chastized by others for making a fiery speech.
The mayor made no apologies then and says he expects a larger protest this year. His message is simple.
Rocky Anderson, Mayor of Salt Lake City: "We're not better off. We are not safer. We are far more at risk, far less secure as a nation, and each of us, as individuals, than we were before this president and his begotten war and his disastrous foreign policy."
Anderson says, contrary to popular opinion, he did not organize last year's event, though he did help promote it
The Deseret Morning News says that it obtained a report which says the city's Department of Airports has "been informed by the Secret Service that the President Bush Secretary of State Condelezza Rice will visit Salt Lake City on Aug. 30."
The American Legion's 88th annual national convention will be held at the Salt Palace Aug. 25th to 31st. This will be a big convention, with more than 14-thousand people expected to attended.
We should also mention, this is an election year and all but one of the Republicans in Utah's delegation is up for re-election, so you can expect the President and GOP candidates to use this visit to promote their cause too.
