KBCI Channel 2, the CBS affiliate in Boise owned by Seattle-based Fisher Communications, did not air the commercial by Gold Star Families for Peace on Tuesday and Wednesday, arguing the ad was not "factually accurate."

The commercial features Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq who is keeping vigil outside Bush's Texas ranch, pleading with the president to withdraw U.S. troops. It also accuses Bush of lying to the public about weapons of mass destruction and Iraq's connection to al-Qaida.

"It's calling the president a liar," said KBCI general manager Jeff Anderson. "Was he wrong about the weapons of mass destruction? Well, perhaps. But did he know that before the war?"

Anderson cited station policy that disallows commercials that may make false claims.

"The spot sent to us was inconsistent with our company policy that requires they be factually accurate and be presented in a responsible manner," Anderson said.

Last week, KTVX Channel 4, owned by Texas-based Clear Channel Communications, banned the commercial because "it could very well be offensive to our community in Utah," according to a statement by KTVX general manager David D'Antuono. He said the decision was made by local managers and not by Clear Channel executives.

Messages left for D'Antuono and Clear Channel's director of corporate communications were not returned.

While KSTU Channel 13 general manager Tim Ermish characterized advocacy ads as a sensitive issue, his station elected to air the commercial over the weekend and during Bush's visit to Salt Lake City on Monday because "we do believe in the First Amendment and this is not an ad we would take sides on. That's not our responsibility," he said.

"That's a very sensitive issue that we look at closely, but when you start picking sides, that's the beginning of the problems," he said.

All three other broadcast affiliates in Salt Lake City approached by Gold Star did air the spot, including KSL Channel 5 and KUTV Channel 2. Boise's three other affiliates also ran the ad during Bush's visit Wednesday.

KUTV's general manager David Phillips chose to air the commercial because "we as broadcasters need to be careful that we're not deciding what's right for the market and what's not," he said. "It's not our job to censor. Our job is to be fair and unbiased."

All stations reserve the right to reject advertising. While Phillips has said KUTV will not ban ads simply because of their political message, his station and most others, for example, will not run commercials they deem indecent or that make false claims about a product.

"We try to make sure they're honest and not misleading," he said.

It was unclear what reaction KTVX generated by refusing to show the commercial, but Park City freelance journalist Roger Toll was so riled, he fired off an e-mail to the station, condemning the decision.

"I would hope that people who run the media would have enough courage and understanding of the responsibility they bear and not constrain the free and open discussion so crucial to our country," he said.

Phillips said he received the expected number of phone calls and e-mails in response to airing the commercial. "I would say there were a few more on the negative side that said we shouldn't have aired it," he said. "But there were almost an equal amount that were glad we did. Our job should be to be somewhere in the middle."

A spokesman for Washington D.C.-based Fenton Communications, which paid for the ad, said it is not scheduled to air again in the immediate future, although it eventually may run on national cable news networks.