RIGHT AT HOME:

Bush Praises Georgians' 'Courage': The president promises support for democracy in the ex-Soviet republic. The Secret Service says a hand grenade may have been thrown. (Peter Wallsten, May 11, 2005, LA Times)

Tens of thousands of citizens in this former Soviet republic waved American flags Tuesday as President Bush pledged to support their progress toward democracy in a land that he said once suffered "under Lenin's steely gaze."

The scene in Tbilisi's Freedom Square made for a dramatic final act of a nearly weeklong European trip in which Bush sought to build international support for his goal of promoting democracy worldwide.

The overflow crowd crammed the square hours in advance in a scene reminiscent of Georgia's Rose Revolution of 2003, when Georgian protesters fed up with government corruption and economic woes stormed the nearby parliament building bearing flowers as a symbol of peaceful regime change. President Eduard A. Shevardnadze was ousted and replaced by Mikheil Saakashvili, who hailed Bush as a "freedom fighter."

Not "an oil-grubbing imperialist"?

Posted by Orrin Judd at May 11, 2005 8:39 AM