Bush drops by Emerald City
Fans, foes turn out for Seattle visit
President
Bush made a brief visit to the Seattle area Friday to raise money for
Republican candidates in Washington, stopping at the home of a
Microsoft executive on the Eastside in what was once solid GOP
territory but is now seen as up for grabs.
About 400 people attended the Medina event, raising about $800,000
for Rep. Dave Reichert and local Republicans, party officials said.
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GERALD HERBERT / AP | |
| Seattle’s weather lives up to its reputation Friday as President Bush prepares to leave Boeing Field for a fundraiser for Republican Rep. Dave Reichert in Medina. Among those who greeted him at the airport was the mother of three soldiers. |
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Even before Air Force One touched down at Boeing Field at 9:45 a.m.
through low clouds, more than 100 protesters had gathered at Bellevue’s
Downtown Park and at an intersection where Bush’s motorcade would later
pass.
Many carried signs denouncing the president and the Iraq conflict, such as “Impeach Bush” and “War sucks.”
“I’ve been against the war since we invaded. Our goal should not be
nation-building,” said Elizabeth Franklin of Seattle, who believes the
United States has squandered international good will and ignored other
trouble spots, such as genocide in Darfur, Sudan.
By contrast, the greeting party for Bush at Boeing Field included
Issaquah resident Sheryl Sheaffer, whose three soldier sons, and only
children, now serve in the Army in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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MIKE KANE / P-I | |
| The president kisses Norma McQuiller of Renton after giving her the President’s Volunteer Service Award at Boeing Field. She is a volunteer mentor with Communities in Schools in Renton. |
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One of her sons, Army Spc. Dylan Sheaffer of the 10th Mountain
Division, was back stateside from Afghanistan during a midtour break.
He said he’d met Bush once before when the president made a surprise
visit to troops in Afghanistan. Even so, “I was slightly nervous. Only
a few people get the opportunity to meet someone of that stature. It’s
an outstanding experience.”
The president also met later with Brian and Shellie Starr of
Snohomish, whose son, Marine Cpl. Jeffrey Starr, was killed in Iraq on
Memorial Day last year.
Bush spent at least 20 minutes in a private meeting with the Starrs.
Their son left behind a letter for his fiancee that he intended to be
read should he die. The emotional and inspiring letter supporting U.S.
efforts in Iraq eventually came to Bush’s attention and was quoted by
the president in a speech at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., on
Nov. 30.
“The president said he had a hard time getting through that letter”
and was as affected by it as thousands of other Americans have been,
said Brian Starr.
Starr, his wife, daughters Hillary and Emily, all of Snohomish, and
Jeff’s fiancee, Emmylyn Anonical, of Seattle’s Green Lake neighborhood,
met with Bush, who also stood for photos with them.
“It meant a lot to us that he took the time to meet us. It was a
very good meeting,” Brian Starr said. Before the president’s arrival,
the family was given a tour of Air Force One by the pilot, Col. Mark
Tillman.
Brian Starr said there was no announcement as they waited in a room at King County Airport.
“All of a sudden the president walked into the room,” Brian Starr
said. “He said, ‘I’m George W. Bush,’ and looked at Shellie and said
‘you must be Mom’ and gave her a hug and kiss on the cheek. Then he
turned to me and shook my hand.”
The family gave Bush a copy of a book called “The Faith of the
American Soldier” by Steven Mansfield that includes a section about
their son. They also gave him a photo of Jeff with Iraqi children
detailed with a quote from his famous letter, all designed by Starr’s
uncle, Timothy Lickness of San Diego.
While he can’t, as a public official, accept gifts for himself, he
told the family they would be displayed in his presidential library
after he leaves office.
Starr said Bush told them that “he believes there is hope for Iraq and that Jeff would not be forgotten.”
Bush also attended a private reception in Medina to raise money for
the re-election campaign of Reichert, the Republican who represents the
suburban 8th District.
A sign planted along the sidewalk near the house, handwritten in red
and blue ink on white paper, greeted Bush: “Thank you Mr. President for
your leadership.”
The midmorning reception, the president’s only stop in this state,
was at the 8,000-square-foot, $10.3 million mansion of Peter Neupert, a
Microsoft Corp. corporate vice president and former chief executive of
Drugstore.com.
Proceeds from the $1,000-a-head reception will go to Reichert, who
is facing an aggressive challenge from Democrat Darcy Burner, a
political newcomer and former Microsoft manager. On Friday, Burner held
a rally at Westlake Center and again assailed Reichert for being too
close to the Bush administration.
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Paul Joseph Brown / P-I | |
| Demonstrators, from left, Carol Weber, Carl Ferguson, John Teske and Julian Beldotti invoke U.S. Marines’ alleged massacre of civilians in Haditha, Iraq, while protesting President Bush’s visit to Medina. |
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While Seattle has long been a lock for Democrats, until recently
Reichert’s 8th District was a shoo-in for Republicans. Since its
creation in 1982, no Democrat has won the district, but this fall
Reichert is seen as the only vulnerable incumbent congressman in this
state. His district voted for John Kerry in the 2004 presidential
election, and Burner is trying to use Reichert’s ties to an
increasingly unpopular Bush against him.
But despite low approval ratings Bush is still his party’s most
capable fundraiser. And money from a $10,000-a-person photo opportunity
with the president during the same event will go to the state
Republican Party for campaign activities.
Most of Friday’s protest began at the Downtown Bellevue Park, where the energy level ebbed and flowed.
“Let’s make some noise. Let’s scream loudly,” said Angela Omulepu of Washington Citizen Action, a citizen advocacy group.
The demonstration started and ended with criticism of the Bush
administration — “The largest militant, fascist state to ever rule the
world,” a student said — and the “dumb” Iraq war.
In between, speakers also criticized Bush’s Medicare plan for prescription drug benefits.
AFSCME Local 2083, the union of Seattle Public Library employees,
passed a resolution calling for Bush’s immediate removal from office,
member Lynn Lorenz said.
“What happens in the (fall congressional) election will be
determined by what we do in the streets,” she said. “This needs to be a
long, hot summer of resistance.”
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MIKE KANE / P-I | |
| Top presidential aide Karl Rove hurries across the Boeing Field tarmac to his waiting limo after arriving with President Bush. | ||
Many of the protesters then drove or marched to Medina to join
demonstrators along Bush’s route at the intersection of 84th Avenue
Northeast and Northeast 24th Street.
“I came mainly for myself because I’m so angry about what’s
happening to this country,” said Sharon Kasahara of Bellevue as she
pumped a “Bush Uncovered” sign. “It helps me mentally because I can
blow off steam.”
Passing motorists occasionally honked in appreciation of the
protesters, but others supported Bush, with one woman displaying a
“Freedom Isn’t Easy” sign and a U.S. flag.
Bush left the state shortly after noon. He traveled to Albuquerque, N.M., for another fundraiser.
