SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - After more than a week out of the public eye, President Bush left the seclusion of his Texas ranch Monday to remind Americans why he thinks they must not give up on peace and stability in Iraq.
Bush chose the national convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Republican-friendly Utah as the site for the first of two speeches this week, both to reaffirm his plan to stay the course despite the recent focus on problems in Iraq. The second comes Wednesday to a National Guard group in Idaho.
Bush has not left his ranch since Aug. 13. Meanwhile, anti-war protesters camped nearby took the limelight, complete with a Sunday evening concert by folk singer Joan Baez.
Also, a leading Republican senator and prospective presidential candidate - Nebraska's Chuck Hagel - said the war in Iraq has destabilized the Middle East and is looking more like the Vietnam conflict in which he fought a generation ago.
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