By:Jerry Burke
"I'm here to root for the president," said Kathleen Scalice of Franklin Square, holding a sign saying, "Four more years." She and friend June Potthoff both agreed that the president's visit was a wonderful opportunity for Long Island.
"He's doing a great job," said Potthoff. "I just wanted to come out and show my support for the integrity, character and leadership he has brought to the White House."
Aliza Rozman of New Jersey couldn't have disagreed more. "All he has shown is that he can't handle the job," said the college student. "He's not here for anything more than self-promotion."
While both sides were equally represented when the rally began around 3:30 p.m., Bush supporters quickly found themselves outnumbered by protesters of all ages as the afternoon wore on. At the protest's peak, about 200 people crowded the small patch of lawn cordoned off by members of the Nassau County Police Department.
Pro-Bush chants of "Let's go Bush" and "Four more years" were met with chants of "Send Bush home" and "Four more wars." While the debates between the two sides became heated at times, the event remained relatively civil.
"It's a joke that he's here," said Terry Lehn of Central Islip, an unemployed resident who was protesting the number of jobs lost in the past three years. "He's here to raise money, otherwise why else would he bother?"
While the two sides obviously didn't agree on much, very few on either side were opposed to Bush's presence at the groundbreaking of the Nassau County Sept. 11 memorial. "He's the president; that's what he should be here for," said Barbara Knightly of Huntington, who came out in protest of the administration's environmental policies. "I personally could do without the fund-raiser right across the street, but we have bigger issues to deal with."
Both sides were also disappointed that the president's motorcade entered through the other side of the park instead of passing by them. "Yeah, I would have liked to show him my support," said Harold Benson from Queens, holding up a "Vote Bush" sign. "But I know these are weird times and they have to watch where he goes carefully."
"It's too bad, but it's not like he ever sees or hears from anyone who thinks differently from him," said Kelly Wallace of the Long Island Coalition for Peace. "We've got real problems on Long Island, like the fact that young people can't afford to live here anymore, and he's sitting at a $2,000-a-plate dinner instead of discussing the issues that affect us."
Among the crowd were members of a grass-roots organization called "Billionaires for Bush," a mock-support group "praising" President Bush's tax cuts as a boon for the wealthy. Decked out in evening wear, the group, led by a man calling himself "Phil T. Rich," stood with Bush supporters for almost an hour before many on both sides finally got the joke. One woman took exception to their presence, calling them "sick" for making fun of the president while he was breaking ground for the monument.
One of the Billionaires, breaking character, took the woman aside and explained his position. "That's definitely not what we are here to mock," he explained to some avail. "We have other differences of opinion that have nothing to do with that."
By sunset, as the pleasant afternoon gave way to a nippy twilight, about 40 protesters remained, holding up signs for the traffic along the turnpike, occasionally cheering in response to supportive car horns. "It's good to see young people and older Americans come out together like this," said Heather Cottin of Freeport. "We need to figure this out together."
