FROM THE ANTI-BUSH RALLY AT THE CITY-COUNTY BUILDING...

In a throwback to the beginning of the Iraq War, hundreds* of Utahns again turned out to protest the war and, this time, to celebrate the impending end of George W. Bush's administration. The president was raising money for John McCain's campaign nearby.

The real hero here, of course, is Rocky Anderson, who came out early against Bush and the War and, for all his shortcomings and personality quirks, never backed off. He was lustily cheered as he approached the stage.

This crowd, though, is angrier than it was a few years ago. Then, people held wry signs, such as, "Another Nutcake for Peace."

Now, they shout, "Cheney's a fascist!" A red, white and blue sign says, simply: "F*** Bush."

Warming up the crowd for Rocky, Marshall Thompson an Army veteran of the war who walked the length of Utah to protest it, reminds the Utahns that Mitt Romney, who is in town raising money for McCain, defended torture as merely "extreme integration techniques."

The crowd screams: "Shame on Mitt."

*Estimates on the crowd size differed from about 500 to 2,000.