As President Bush prepared to deliver his State of the Union speech on Tuesday, protesters gathered in St. Louis University City on Delmar to protest the war, the president, and anything else that came to mind. Members of "Code Pink" and "World Can't Wait" showed up to propagate their opinions but they were few in numbers and timid in their approach.

While the local St. Louis news reported that over 50 people showed up to protest, the actual number was significantly less by my count.  Our group of observers showed up just before 8:00pm, when the protest was supposed to be at it's peak. At that time, we saw the local news crew leaving. Unfortunately, it appeared as though most of the protesters left also... perhaps to go watch the State of the Union speech. By my count, there were no more than 20 protesters present. Thankfully, my Media Center was recording the SOTU for me.

There were only 4 or 5 signs held by protesters, and everybody's behavior was respectable.  No laws were broken and there were no visits from the police. Most people were polite and responded kindly when I asked to photograph them.  One woman shared with me her ultra left-wing views by asking me to read and sign a letter to Hillary Clinton. I read the letter and was overwhelmed at the number of vulgar and unintelligent attacks directed a Hillary for apparently being too much in agreement with conservatives. I politely told her that I was not going to sign the letter, which had about 4 signatures on it.  Apparently, a pink flashlight was being sent with the letter... to help Hillary find a clue, or some such nonsense.

The height of the evening was, no doubt, the banjo music. (if you are into that sort of thing) One banjo and one Sousaphone were providing patriotic musical entertainment throughout the protest. The musicians were also the friendliest protesters on site. One observer suggested that the crowd reminded him of a small clique of college-hippies he once knew.

 Still, the exceptionally small turnout underscores the apathy and general lack of support for the ultra left wing agenda in St. Louis.  Not a bad thing by any means.  But if you must protest, leave your Sheehan shenanigans behind, and use St. Louis protesters as an exceptional model of first amendment expression.

Photos and comments of the event are here.

W.S.