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Democrats and other opponents hoping to steal Bush's thunder staged several demonstrations throughout the day.
About 1,500 gathered for a 4 p.m. "Say No to Bush" rally at the courthouse, where speakers decried Bush's handling of the war, his economic policies and what they called restrictions on freedom in the name of security.
"You lied to us about why we went to Iraq!" Mary Theurer, a coordinator for the AFL-CIO, shouted. "You did it to serve your base -- the haves and the have-mores!"
Bush supportersStormi GreenerStar TribuneA group of a half-dozen men and women calling themselves "Billionaires for Bush" milled through the crowd costumed as fat cats in tuxes and gowns, carrying champagne glasses.
After the rally broke up, hundreds of attendees joined a crowd outside the arena. "No more Bush!" they shouted.
Before the rally, attendees lined Bush's motorcade route to express their displeasure. As the motorcade passed, five young men proudly thrust out their naked chests, on which each had a large red letter painted, together spelling out the word, "K-E-R-R-Y."
Bush shakes hands.Jeff WheelerStar TribuneEarlier in the day, a coalition of environmental and labor groups called the Blue Green Alliance met at the base of the city's Aerial Lift Bridge to signify the bridge they're building between blue-collar workers and environmental activists.
Several speakers said the Bush administration's economic, health and energy policies are hurting workers and wrecking the environment.
Elsewhere, a group of two dozen or so Kerry supporters, including a doctor and a nurse and area legislators, chose a street corner near St. Luke's Hospital to decry what they called a health-care crisis in America, with skyrocketing costs and little or no help from the Bush administration.
From the Minneapolis Star Trib today:
Police said the demonstrators arrested outside the arena were arrested for refusing to stay inside an area designated for protesters or for acting disorderly when they confronted Bush supporters.
At least one of those arrested was a Bush supporter who got into a tussle with a demonstrator.
Secret Service agents asked protester Cole Maki, 22, and her two friends for their tickets to the speech and then asked them to leave.
"He said this was a private event for supporters," said Maki, who was wearing an anti-Bush T-shirt. "I said I thought this was a democratic society, and I said I was going in."
She said she was surrounded by Secret Service agents, handcuffed and taken into custody, then ticketed for trespassing and obstruction of justice.
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