Stumping with Bush and Kerry in Portland

Tale of two cities

Tale of two cities
by George Ochenski
Stumping with Bush and Kerry in Portland

Last week both John Kerry and George W. Bush hit Portland, Ore., for campaign stops. The manner in which these two men met the people they seek to lead as president—and the manner in which the people met them—says far more about the candidates, their campaigns and the state of the nation than the endless and senseless debate centered on, of all things, John Kerry’s Vietnam War experience.

To understand the “special relationship” that President Bush has with Portland, you would have to recall what happened the last time he dared show his face there. It was almost exactly two years ago, in the run-up to the Iraq War, and the streets were filled with some of the largest crowds of protesters in the city’s history. The streets were also filled with thousands of cops in full body armor and riot gear.

The result, called “The Battle of Portland” by the city’s newspapers, was an ugly scene that was fortunately captured on-camera so the world could see how America handles freedom within its own borders. Perhaps you recall the photos of grandmothers holding “No War” signs being choked by black-armored police officers with their nightsticks. Or mothers with babies on their backs being drenched with dense clouds of pepper spray while students and citizens were clubbed to the ground for doing nothing more than trying—trying mind you—to exercise their Constitutional rights to free speech and assembly.

President Bush was, as is his habit, carefully sequestered from the mass protests of his policies. Nonetheless, he had the nerve to dub Portland “Little Beirut” because of the protests.

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