A First Amendment Moment, as citizen criticizes Bush in Charlotte

The Associated PressCHARLOTTE, N.C.

It was a moment brought to you by the First Amendment.
Minutes after finishing a face-to-face verbal assault on President Bush, Harry Taylor was talking about the experience with reporters who covered the president's visit Thursday to Charlotte.
Speaking from the balcony of a theater at Central Piedmont Community College, the 61-year-old commercial real estate broker had laced into Bush for his conduct of the war on terror, his environmental record and his opposition to legalized abortion.
"In my lifetime, I have never felt more ashamed of my leadership in Washington," Taylor told the president. "And I would hope from time to time that you have the humility and grace to be ashamed of yourself."
Afterward, Taylor was approached by Barry Richards, a 42-year-old town manager from nearby Cabarrus County. Richards shook Taylor's hand and told him how glad he was that Taylor had spoken.
Then came the punchline.
"I 100 percent disagree with everything you said, but I'm glad you said it," Richards said.
Not everyone in the audience felt that way. Some booed as Taylor listed the president's perceived sins. But Bush shushed them, telling the crowd to let Taylor finish.
"I'm not your favorite guy," the president joked. "Go ahead."
Afterward, Taylor said he thought it was important for Bush to hear his perspective.
"Despite him being in a room with a thousand people who love him, there's plenty of people out there who don't agree with him in any way, shape or form," Taylor said. "He's a nice guy, steered by bad people."
Taylor, who said he does not have a party affiliation, said he has participated in several recent protests outside the Charlotte office of U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick, a Republican supporter of the president, and has written letters and signed e-mail petitions protesting administration actions. He said he was surprised to even be given a ticket to the president's appearance, which was sponsored by the World Affairs Council of Charlotte _ let alone being allowed to address the president.
"I was astonished to be given that opportunity," he said.
In an effort to revive public support for his leadership and the increasingly unpopular war in Iraq, Bush has begun taking questions from the audience during public appearances. Unlike past Bush appearances in Charlotte, where tickets were distributed by the Republican Party, admission to Thursday's even was handled by the nonpartisan World Affairs Council, of which Taylor is a member.
Richards, the man who shook Taylor's hand, said he thought Bush's speech defending the war on terror and his decision to go to war in Iraq was one of the strongest he has heard from the president.
He also praised Taylor for his courage in taking on the president: "I thought the guy was way off-base, but I'm glad he got to say what he said."
Bush ought to be able to handle a little criticism, Richards said. "I know he probably likes the warm, fuzzy campaign appearances, but it's OK to get a cold prickly too."