Presidential rally sparks emotions

TAMPA -- As President Bush thanked the troops, their families and the country for wartime sacrifices, Jennifer Light stood amid the people packed into Hangar Three with one thought on her mind.

Her husband.

Benjamin Light, an Air Force staff sergeant, is somewhere in the Middle East.

"What is he doing at this moment?" she wondered aloud. A tear rolled down her cheek, and her 11-year-old daughter rubbed her back.

Like the other 5,000 people gathered to hear Bush speak Wednesday, Light found inspiration and consolation from the president's words.

"It's comforting to know that he's thinking of everybody," said Light.

With the exception of a few local dignitaries, the crowd was a sea of desert camouflage.

Hundreds of military wives and children stood in the crowd, and the echoes of gleeful toddlers punctuated the president's speech.

Some wives, like Lauralyn Purdham of Lithia, are pregnant. Her husband, Lt. Col. AldonPurdham, is in Qatar at CentCom's forward headquarters. She brought two of her three children to the rally and videotaped the event for her husband.

Raul Zayas, a civilian Department of Defense employee at MacDill, has a son who is an Army helicopter mechanic based in Qatar. Bush's speech was a "battery charger," Zayas said, especially after a week of intense fighting and casualties in Iraq.

"We're really proud of our president," said Zayas, who lives in Brandon. "I am very reassured that everything is going to be okay."

Light, who has four children, said she has been forced to fib to her 5-year-old daughter about the war. She tells her little girl that her daddy "is not in the middle of everything."

"I don't know if that's true," she said with a sigh.

Her son Jeffrey, who turns 9 next week, drew a picture of an American flag while waiting for the president to speak. He knows exactly what he wants for his birthday:"I want my dad to come back."

Not everyone welcomed the president to Tampa. About 250 protesters gathered on Bayshore Boulevard in a rally organized by Florida Alliance for Peace and Social Justice.

They waved signs -- "No Blood for Oil" "W stands for Warmonger" "War is not the answer" -- and chanted through bullhorns: "George Bush, you cannot hide. We charge you with genocide."

Cars zipped by, some drivers waving two-finger peace signs. Others used one finger to make their point. No one was arrested during the three-hour protest, police said.

President Bush acknowledged local dignitaries Wednesday, including Tampa Mayor Dick Greco ("My old buddy!" Bush said.) Here are some of the other notables who attended:

-- Gov. Jeb Bush. ("Of course, I'm really proud of the governor of Florida," the president said of his brother.)

-- Country singers Toby Keith and Darryl Worley

-- U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young, R-Largo, who heads the House Appropriations Committee

-- U.S. Rep. Jim Davis, R-Tampa, whose district includes MacDill Air Force Base

-- U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris, R-Sarasota

-- U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Bartow

-- U.S. Rep. Mike Bilirakis, R-Palm Harbor

-- Former Gov. Bob Martinez

-- St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker

-- Clearwater Mayor Brian Aungst

-- Tampa Mayor-elect Pam Iorio

-- Tampa City Council member Bob Buckhorn

-- Hillsborough Commissioner Ronda Storms

-- Tampa Fire Chief Pete Botto

-- Air Force Gen. Charles Holland, commander of Special Operations Command, based at MacDill

-- Lt. General Michael DeLong, deputy commander of Central Command, based at MacDill

-- Col. Tanker Snyder, commander of the 6th Air Mobility Wing, based at MacDill. ("He told me that's his given name," the president joked. "That's a heckuva name, Tanker."

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