Local residents were among hordes of protesters gathered Sunday on the narrow streets and in the tiny village green of Kennebunkport to use Russian President Vladimir Putin’s meeting with President George W. Bush as an opportunity to get their message to a national audience.

Among the large crowd gathered on the narrow streets and in the tiny village green of Kennebunkport was Sally Bowden-Schaible, a Buxton resident who works in Westbrook. Bowden-Schaible wore a small collection of political buttons on her blue sweater, with slogans like “an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind” and “a war economy leaves all children behind.”

“I think it’s just horrendous what Bush and his administration are doing,” said Bowden-Schaible. “He’s really destroying our country. He’s promoting terrorism rather than preventing it.”

Putin arrived in Maine Sunday evening for informal talks with Bush and left a day later. The two were there to discuss strained relations between the two countries, including U.S. missile defense in Europe, which Putin is concerned will be directed towards Russia, and Russia’s involvement in Chechnya.

“There will always be those people who support the president, right or wrong, but I know staunch Republicans who think Bush is the worst president,” said Bowden-Schaible.

Sally Breen, a Windham grandmother, said while she tells her kids she’s an “abolitionist” because she is president of Peace Action Maine – an anti-conflict organization dedicated to eradicating nuclear weapons. Breen had some concerns about Putin, but she said the rally was focused on impeaching President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. Breen is also a member of the Raging Grannies – an international group of women who write and sing songs of protest.

Wearing a pink tie-dye peace shirt and a cowboy hat laden with protest stickers, Breen gave a speech to the gathering audience denouncing the Iraq war, and sang with other Raging Grannies who had come in four car loads from Vermont and Massachusetts to support the impeachment of Bush and Cheney.

Before the rally began, Breen was worried there might be a low turnout. “I think people are complacent. The war has not hurt them in any way, except gas prices,” Breen said, adding that if there was a draft, more people would feel affected by the deaths in Iraq and would likely show up.

According to the Kennebunkport police, around 1,700 people showed up for the rally and march, organized by the Kennebunk Peace Department and the Maine Campaign to Impeach – an organization working to impeach Bush and Cheney. Organizers were hoping for 3,000 attendees.

Other protesters were of a sentiment similar to Breen’s, including Bowden-Schaible. “If there was a draft, more people would come,” she said, noting that many people – often younger people – only care about what affects them directly.

The crowd on Sunday appeared to be made up mostly of middle-aged people. The buses that shuttled protesters from the parking lot at Kennebunk High School down to Kennebunkport were filled predominantly with baby boomers and older generations, with a few younger parents and their young children.

“Older people need to be talking to younger people, sharing their experiences,” Bowden-Schaible said. “The majority of the peaceniks,” she added, looking around, “are from the ’60s and ’70s.”

The event was the first time at a war protest for Phil and Sue Poland, of Westbrook, though they have been to rallies for other causes. They said they were attending because of torture, Scooter Libby and the move to impeach on charges of “an illegal and immoral war,” Sue Poland said.

“And for lying to get us into war,” Phil Poland added.

Asked what they thought of the age of the crowd, Sue responded, “I think younger people just don’t pay attention. They play with their Nintendos and their iPods and their cell phones. It’s too distant for them.”

Bowden-Schaible said it’s the younger generations that weren’t so numerous at Sunday’s rally that will be paying for the current war, and that debt will lead to other problems. “The whole thing about the American Dream, about your children having a better life than you, we’re not heading in that direction,” she said.

A counter-protest was also staged by Gathering of Eagles, though at the height of that protest only about 30 people were gathered, most of them from out of state. Gathering of Eagles is a recently created group, originally started to protect veteran memorials from being defaced by anti-war protesters.

Byron Grant, the Maine state coordinator of the group, said Gathering of Eagles has been at a number of protests since March 17, where the group counter-protested the March on the Pentagon. “The silent majority is silent no more,” Grant said.

Grant, who is from Eliot, said the group isn’t a pro-war group, but a supporter of the troops. “The only way to peace is through victory, not withdrawal,” he said. “Never again will our troops come home faced with what they faced with after Vietnam.”

“Everyone here knows exactly what they’re here for,” Grant added, commenting on the number of different campaigns that made up the much larger group of anti-war protesters. “We’re here to support our troops and to bring them home with honor.”

The main thrust of the anti-war protest was against the Bush administration’s war in Iraq and a desire for impeachment based on what they believe to be violations of international and federal laws, breaches of the Constitution and gross negligence in dealing with Hurricane Katrina. However, a number of other organizations were also in attendance, including Save Darfur, the March to Abolish Poverty and presidential candidate supporters for Democrat Dennis Kucinich and Republican Ron Paul.

Police said Sunday evening that two people were arrested for criminal trespassing after crossing a security barrier set up to keep protesters from nearing Walker’s Point, where the Bush family has their summer home and where Putin was expected to meet with President Bush. Protesters could not see Walker’s Point from where the march ended.

Around 1,700 anti-war protesters arrived in Kennebunkport on Sunday, taking advantage of the international media covering Russian President Vladimir Putin’s meeting with U.S. President George Bush. The protesters were calling for the impeachment of Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. A small group of counter-protesters were also present to send a message that troops should not be brought home until they are victorious.

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