VOCAL PROTESTS GREET BUSH Police officers watch over a group of critics of President Bush outside of the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, Calif. on Thursday, March 4, 2004. The President is in town on a fundraising visit. (Marcio Jose Sanchez)

The demonstrators' goal was to be seen and heard, but once you pull people away from the crowd, you find out what's really important to them.

"What is really frightening about this administration is the blatant attacks on the constitution and the Bill of Rights," said Carol Brouillet of Palo Alto.

Buddy Gill of San Jose said, "The guy is destroying our country. He's bankrupting us. He's spending up right into bankruptcy in, what, four more years? We won't have a country left."

A woman with a son in the Marines says the administration turned the Iraq war into a quagmire.

"I think trust is a very important issue," said Judith Ross of San Francisco. "Many of us in military families have lost trust in Bush."

Margaret Stein of Stanford said, "He's been lying to us. There were no weapons. He's cut out everything reasonable. He's made it a police state."

A group called the Peninsula Raging Grannies believe more and more people are getting disenchanted with the impact of Bush's foreign policies at home.

"We are neglecting our social services here at home -- education and health," said Betty Ortez of Sunnyvale. "All the things were should be spending money on are being neglected."

A software engineer says the administration's support for outsourcing of jobs overseas will soon hit people where they live.

"There's going to be no entry-level jobs left," said Kristina Pereyra of Mountain View. "All those entry-level jobs are being shipped overseas. So our next generation of workers is not going to be able to gain the experience they need to compete for the new, high-skill jobs that are supposedly going to be staying here."

Jobs, trust, the economy and the response to September 11th are the issues that engage those opposed to George Bush today, and may more clearly become part of our national dialogue as the presidential election approaches.

Copyright © 2004 KPIX

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