Bush visit met with opposition
By Jack Gillum
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered Friday during a local visit by President George W. Bush to voice opposition against his administration's foreign and domestic agendas.
Focusing on the economy, Bush spoke to a room full of workers at United Defense Industries, a Santa Clara-operated defense contractor whose products played a role in the recent U.S.-led war in Iraq.
Protestors gathered near the intersection of Brokaw and Coleman, the closest they were allowed to be near the plant. After Bush left, both presidential supporters and dissenters marched across a bridge over El Camino Real, gathering at Marselli Park.
Some demonstrators felt that another tax cut-a key component of Bush's economic plan-wouldn't help much.
"He hasn't done anything to help me find a job. He hasn't done anything to help a lot of people find a job," said Gaye Freedman, who says that even after receiving a rebate check, she had remained unemployed for two years.
"I don't think sending another $300 is going to do anything," she said.
Santa Clara police estimated the crowd to be between 700 and 1,000 people. Only two arrests were made, when one protester struck a police horse and another refused to leave the roadway.
Alvin Rosales, a Santa Clara student, opposes the president's policies, especially given what he sees as maldistribution of money and cuts to education and healthcare. But he admired the quick organization of different Bay Area opposition groups on a moment's notice.
"It is incredible that up to 1,000 people were able to march together to show solidarity," said Rosales, who said he wasn't even aware of the event until the evening before.
While the president last week declared major combat in Iraq over, the war is still an open wound for some who feel that the administration went too far.
"He thinks he can do whatever he wants, and that includes violating all norms of international law," said Jake Eschen-Pipes, who came for the day from Santa Cruz.
Some in the crowd voiced support for A day after returning home from the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, the president used the opportunity to thank workers at United Defense and emphasized the human side of an economic downturn. Bush pointed to recent unemployment figures-as high as six percent-as a reason to push for such an economic package.
"We need robust tax relief so our fellow citizens can find a job," said Bush.
United Defense produces Bradley fighting vehicles and the Hercules tank, which the world saw weeks ago tear down a statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad.
Similar to recent anti-war protests in San Francisco, protesters mostly were those of younger generations, some with young babies in strollers. Yet older citizens gathered for the event too, including a veteran who marched across the bridge with American flag.