Takin' It To The Streets

Protesters by the thousands peacefully swarmed through Manhattan's streets Sunday to protest the war in Iraq and demonstrate against other Bush administration policies on the eve of the Republican National Convention.

Flanked by police in riot gear and led by a line of celebrities including Jesse Jackson, actor Danny Glover and filmmaker Michael Moore, the protesters moved through the fortified city, loudly and exuberantly chanting slogans such as "No more years." They accused the Bush White House of prosecuting an unjust war in Iraq, making the country poorer and undermining abortion rights.

There were no immediate reports of violence and only scattered arrests: in the largest incident, some 50 protesters on bicycles who stopped near the parade route were carted away in an off-duty city bus.

Police did not give a crowd estimate for the demonstration, which snaked in a circular route around midtown Manhattan, shutting down dozens of blocks and bringing out hordes of police in a city already girded against terrorist attacks. Organizers had claimed up to 250,000 people would participate in what was expected to be the largest protest of the week. At its height, the march filled much of the route, forming an enormous horseshoe of dissent in the heart of an overwhelmingly Democratic city.

"We are the majority of this country. The majority of this country opposes the war," said Moore, a vocal Bush critic, who addressed thousands of people before the march.

Karen Nicholson, 67, of Charlotte N.C., said she and her 34-yr-old son flew up to New York just for Sunday's rally.

"You've got to do something," she told CBSNews.com's Jarrett Murphy. "You do what you can. It just makes a statement of the groundswell that is against this administration and its policies."

Laura Trainor of New Jersey was with a group of about 40 people carrying flag-draped coffins meant to represent U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq.

"I think sometimes you need a visual representation of what's going on over there," said Trainor. "A lot of people dying over there might not have the voice to speak out against something. This gives those people a voice."

The protest organizers, United for Peace and Justice, sued to force the city to allow a rally in Central Park, but a judge rejected the lawsuit. By late afternoon, however, several hundred protesters had made their way to the park. Police indicated they would take a "flexible" approach to the park gathering.

Unfolding in sweltering heat and humidity, the march followed several days of protests by an array of activist groups, with more than 300 people arrested so far.

The causes varied as much as the people shouting support: immigrants' rights, gay rights, universal health care, the Palestinian cause, an end to the killing in Sudan. Tracy Blevins, a biomedical researcher who lived in New York recently, died her Maltese pink and carried the little dog in a baby pouch to advocate peace.

Sunday's protest followed several days of demonstrations throughout the city, staged by an array of activist groups.

The most rancorous was Friday, when 264 people were arrested for disorderly conduct in a protest bicycle ride that snaked through the city and passed by Madison Square Garden — the first major clash between police and demonstrators converging on the city for the convention.

On Saturday, 25 people were arrested in convention-related incidents, bringing the total for the three days to 311, police said.

But the previous three days were a mere prelude to Sunday's demonstrations.

Besides the United for Peace and Justice march, a number of other events were planned, including a gay rights demonstration and a vigil in Central Park by a group of Sept. 11 families opposed to the Iraq war.

"I hope we show a strong dissent," said Laura Pessieri, 27, a protester from New Jersey who carried a sign showing President Bush alongside the slogan, "An Imminent Threat to Democracy."

The New York Daily News made a pitch for calm on Sunday, publishing a front-page editorial with the headline, "Play Nice." On the city's subways and regional commuter lines, security was tight and visible, with police making frequent walks through train cars and eyeing passengers up and down.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, in a radio address Sunday, acknowledged the intense feelings on both sides but said the convention was an important event for New York. He promised all-out efforts to ensure safety.

"We've put in place a security plan that is thorough, measured, and that protects the rights of convention-goers and protesters without unnecessarily getting in the way of New Yorkers as we go about our daily lives," Bloomberg said.

With 37,000 officers on duty, and a year-and-a-half of special training, the New York Police Department plans to be ready, wherever the protesters go.

"Some of the events that people may want to carry out or talk about doing, they simply may not be able to do," said Police Commissioner Ray Kelly on Saturday.