marked by silence

Leigh Kupersmith stood calmly by herself Wednesday night as a crowd of apporoximately 100 people lined the sidewalks of the Monroe County Courthouse for a candlelight vigil commemorating the death toll of American soldiers in Iraq reaching 2,000.\n"It is just a very sad day," she said.\nThe candles lit the faces of the protesters as they stood and chatted quietly amongst themselves. It was a half an hour before activists started passing out signs. \nA political action committee against the Iraq War, \nwww.moveon.org, sponsored the vigil. The Bloomington vigil was just one of the many Moveon.org-sponsored vigils across the country.\n"It is a time to reflect on the human costs for (the soldiers') families and communities," said Cindy Hoffman, the local organizer for the event.\nThe goal of the vigil was to convince the administration to set a timeline and have a plan to bring the soldiers home, Hoffman said.\nThe death toll reaching 2,000 is no more important than it reaching 1,999 or 2,001, Hoffman said, but it is a moment to call attention to the people who are dying in Iraq.\nThis vigil was a turning point for Bloomington resident Leigh Kupersmith. She used to come to the weekly protests held by the Bloomington Peace Coalition, but she has not been for awhile. She said she will probably start coming to the weekly war protests again because of the vigil.\n"There is a good feeling around these people," she said.\nThe vigil, Kupersmith said, is not only for the soldiers who have died, but also for the thousands of Iraqi citizens who have died.\nAs the death toll neared 2,000 Tuesday, President Bush tried to begin reviving public support for the war in Iraq.\n"I know this is a trying time for our military spouses," Bush said at a Joint Armed Forces Officer Wives' luncheon at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington. "We've lost some of our nation's finest men and women in the war on terror.\n"And the best way to honor the sacrifice of our fallen troops is to complete the mission and lay the foundation of peace by spreading freedom." \nPublic support for Bush's handling of Iraq is at its lowest point, 37 percent, roughly where it has been since early August, according to The Associated Press-Ipsos polling.\nCoincidentally, the vigil was held on the same night the BPAC holds its weekly anti-war protest. Most of the regular protestors stayed for the candlelight vigil, but they were joined by more than a hundred others.\n"Somehow these sort of morbid milestones impact people, and they want to come out and do something," said Timothy Baer, organizer of BPAC.\nHe said he wished more people would come out to the weekly protest, and if more people would get involved in the national anti-war protest, then the war could end.\n"The only thing that can make Congress wake up is people," said Bill Breeden, minister at the Bloomington Unitarian Universalist Church.\nMany of the people at the vigil had family members in the military, and at least one had been in Iraq.\n"You can be against the war and still support the troops," said Kate Schroeder, a Ph.D. student in history.\nSophomore Anthony Onesti was in Iraq in 2003. He didn't know much about the war when he went there, but he was against it. When he was there, nothing changed his mind, he said.\nWhile he doesn't know exactly why he is against the war, Onesti said he felt like he needed to come to the vigil. \nThose in attendance came together for many different reasons, and most agreed it was important to recognize the soldiers who died in Iraq and those who are overseas now.\n-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.