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Tuesday, September 03, 2002

By Milan Simonich, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

Plenty of people worked extra hard on Labor Day to catch one glimpse of President George W. Bush.

	The president takes a moment to hold a baby in the crowd on Neville Island yesterday afternoon. (Lake Fong, Post-Gazette)

Sis Butera was one of them. She dressed in red, white and blue, picked a shady spot on Grand Avenue in Neville Island, and waited almost seven hours until Bush's motorcade passed her.

Butera did not vote for Bush and she had no ticket for his appearance yesterday in her neighborhood. Even so, she thought the patriotic thing to do was to stand on a corner and salute the president.

"I'm excited, even though I'm a Democrat," said Butera, who eventually was joined by her 12-year-old grandson, Travis Post. "This is big doings in our little town."

Butera said Bush waved at her as he passed by, so she went home satisfied.

Nearly a year after the terror attacks, Bush seemed to be riding a crest of popularity, fed by people who once opposed him politically or were indifferent to him.

"I've gained a lot of respect for him since September 11th," said Wendy Sisley, also of Neville Island.

Sisley's home is near the staging area where Bush delivered a speech sponsored by unionized carpenters. She said police on a security detail for the presidential visit checked her home as part of a routine sweep, then offered her tickets to Bush's appearance.

"I said, sure, why not? This is really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," said Sisley, 31. "I've never seen a president."

Her only regret, she said, was that her 2- and 3-year-old children were too little to stand in the searing sun for a look at the president.

Wally Magno, a union carpenter from New Castle, is a Republican who said he likes Bush's "conservative, Christian values."

"I'd love to hear some of his personal views on where he stands on labor," Magno said.

Fellow carpenter Gary Tierno, of Hermitage in Mercer County, said it was time for Bush to embrace average, hard-working people, as they have embraced him since the terror attacks.

"I want to ask him, 'Why are you not for organized labor, which gives a fair wage to people who give a fair day's work? Where's your heart on this?' " said Tierno, a Democrat.

Gordon Giffin, chief executive officer of an interior construction company in Bridgeville, said he was impressed with the unionists who brought Bush to the Pittsburgh area for Labor Day.

Giffin, who voted for Bush, said he thought it would make sense for union workers to back the Republican president. "What's good for corporations is what's good for the working man," he said.

Politics and labor aside, plenty of people wanted to see Bush for the sheer thrill of it.

Linda Birko of Kennedy was so interested in the president that she visited Neville Island a day ahead of time to check out the elaborate preparations for his appearance. In turn, a member of the White House staff was so impressed with Birko's enthusiasm that he gave her tickets for her and her family.

"It's history," Birko said. "He's the most powerful man in the world."

Lydia Casmer of Neville Island had no ticket to see Bush, but like her friend Sis Butera she was drawn to the event anyway.

"I'm standing here waiting for him, and I didn't even vote for him," Casmer said.

When Bush rode by she was unsure if he acknowledged her, given the smoky glass of his car windows and the crush of people vying for his attention.

Even so, Casmer was glad she put in the effort. "The office must be respected," she said.

Then Casmer hurried home so she watch Bush's speech on television.