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Two of America's most powerful leaders sought to curb criticism of the Iraq war and bolster the fight against terrorism Tuesday, just before President Bush's scheduled address Thursday to the same crowd of veterans.
Each was painting the same scene - America, engaged in an epic struggle against terrorism on par with noble battles against fascism, Nazism and communism - but used vastly different techniques.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice wielded a delicate brush.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld brought a can of spray paint.
"Some seem not to have learned history's lesson," Rumsfeld said at the American Legion national conference held at the Salt Palace.
Americans suffering from "moral confusion" ignored or even ridiculed those who heralded the rise of fascism after World War I. Now with "a new type of fascism" emerging, Rumsfeld took aim at the news media and the growing chorus of Iraq war critics.
"It seems in some quarters there is more of a focus on dividing our country than acting with unity against the gathering threats," he said.
In contrast, Rice described protests "as natural a part of democracy as breathing," in an interview with The Salt Lake Tribune and said she understands the feelings of those who are concerned or even frustrated about the Iraq war.
"We've all seen stories about Iraq that are disheartening. I know that Americans are concerned about the course and the future of Iraq," she later told conventioneers at the Salt Palace. "I know that the struggle before us sometimes seems daunting. I know it. I feel it. I see it in the eyes of Americans across this great country."
"But I know, too, that America has a proud tradition of struggling with others and helping them to secure their freedom," Rice added. "We stood strong then, and we must stand strong now."
Both Cabinet members drew standing ovations from a crowd of Legionnaires, though many said afterward that they preferred Rice's approach.
Hers was a speech short on pointed rhetoric and longer on context.
"Consider the progress we've made," she said, noting that Iraqis of all races and sects "volunteer by the tens of thousands" for the country's new army. Many times more turned out to vote in the country's first democratic elections. And she highlighted an agreement last weekend, a "Pact of Honor," between 100 Iraqi tribal leaders who pledged to try to stop sectarian killings.
"We are waging a global war on terrorism, and we are breaking the backs of the al-Qaida network," she said. "America's safer. But we are not yet safe. We should not assume for one minute that those terrorists will not continue to come after the American heartland."
Rice's and Rumsfeld's dramatically different styles and comments raise expectations about Bush's upcoming speech. As the White House goes on the offensive in the runup to the 2006 mid-term elections, the administration has two objectives, according to Kirk Jowers, director of the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics: "to give red meat to those who still support the administration and to bring back . . . some of those people who used to support the president."
He said Rumsfeld feeds the loyalists and therefore spurs division, while Rice lures the former supporters and is more beloved.
"So President Bush will lean toward the Rice approach," Jowers predicted. "I don't expect him to go negative or too hard-hitting."
The differences between Rumsfeld and Rice were evident in more than just their prepared speeches. Rice, who stayed overnight, set aside time Tuesday to meet one-on-one with Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., members of the Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy and a trio of students who painted a violin as part of the council's "Strings of Diplomacy" initiative.
She spent about an hour talking to local newspaper, radio and television reporters.
Rumsfeld, whose quick stop in Utah was part of a multiple-stop trip to Western states, appeared annoyed when confronted by journalists at an appearance at a local charity. He brushed off questions there save one regarding the meeting he held with the parents of Marine Adam Galvez, who was killed in Iraq on Sunday.
Rumsfeld - who long has contended the American media is failing in its reporting of the so-called global war on terrorism - used his speech to itemize his discontent with journalists, who he says deliberately exaggerate negative news about Iraq. He ripped the media for focusing more attention on the misdeeds of some troops than on the first soldier to receive the Medal of Honor in this now three-year conflict.
He also slammed Amnesty International for criticizing the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, calling it "inexcusable."
And he asked members of the American Legion to join him in a campaign to set the record straight.
"Our roles are not to allow distortions and myths to be repeated without challenges," he said. "So at least the second and third draft of history will be more accurate than the first quick allegation."
While acknowledging that every war has its setbacks, Rumsfeld said Iraq will become a democracy.
"Iraq, a country that was brutalized by a cruel and dangerous dictatorship, is now traveling the slow, the difficult, bumpy, uncertain path to a secure new future," he said. "The question is not whether we can prevail, it's whether we have the will to persevere to win."
But he warned that fluctuations in public opinion, spurred by what he considers media manipulation, harm the war effort.
"Any kind of moral and intellectual confusion about who and what is right or wrong can weaken the ability of free societies to persevere," he said. "Our enemies know this. They design attacks and manipulate the media to try to demoralize public opinion."
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, responding to Rumsfeld's speech in a statement Tuesday, said, ''The Bush White House is more interested in lashing out at its political enemies and distracting from its failures than it is in winning the war on terror and in bringing an end to the war in Iraq.''
Rice made the case for patience and historical perspective. She said, "America's stake in this struggle is very clear," particularly after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. "The security of our country is inextricably linked to the spread of freedom and moderation and, yes, democracy in the Middle East," she said.
Rice put Iraq in the context of America's historical struggle to spread democracy - including World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam. She noted that after the Soviet Union had colonized much of Eastern Europe, few would have envisioned the fall of the Berlin Wall. But no one doubts the results of the Cold War in retrospect, Rice said.
Now, the secretary of state said, Americans must be steadfast.
"If we stay strong, if we stay committed, and if we remain true to our values, people will look back and say, 'Who could have ever doubted that the universal values of democracy and freedom would take hold in the Middle East?' '' she said.
Future generations will thank those fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan today. "They will look back and say, 'Thank God America stayed the course.' ''
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The Baltimore Sun contributed to this story.
Key points of Rice speech:
Sept. 11, 2001, transformed America's foreign policy. The country's security is inextricably linked to spreading freedom and democracy in the Middle East. Otherwise, America runs the risk of leaving the kind of totalitarian vacuum that allowed the Taliban to flourish in Afghanistan and made that country the launching pad for 19 hijackers.
News from Iraq is "disheartening." But the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are making progress. Thousands of citizens of both countries have voted in elections and volunteered for military service.
The war on terror is a continuation of America's historical struggle for democracy - including World War II, the Korean and Vietnam wars and both Gulf wars. Americans need to be patient and steadfast. History will prove that the Bush Administration's crusade for democracy was a success.
Key points of Rumsfeld speech:
Sept. 11, 2001, demands a response "to bring the enemy to justice or to bring justice to the enemy" wherever that enemy may be. America is at a pivotal junction in history, where those who cannot see the rise of a new kind of fascist enemy are suffering from moral confusion.
News from Iraq is often divisive, often wrong and misleading about successes in Iraq. And bad news from Iraq "can weaken the ability of free societies to persevere."
The war on terror is not unlike the war against fascist nations during World War II. Americans need to stand strong and be resolved to fight a long war. History will look favorably upon those who stayed the course during these difficult times.
Today's events
9:55 a.m.: Veterans Affairs Secretary R. James Nicholson speaks to convention.
8:55 p.m.: President Bush arrives on Air Force One at the Utah Air National Guard base. A limited number of general admission tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis through Utah congressional delegation offices to greet Bush at the airport. The president's schedule calls for him to spend the night at the Grand America Hotel. (KTVX Channel 4, KUTV Channel 2, KJZZ Channel 14, KSL Channel 5, KSTU Channel 13 and KSL Channel 5 will cover the president's arrival live.)