Sending a Message, With Unimpeachable Clarity

By Paul Schwartzman
Sunday, April 29, 2007; A04

The protesters assembled on the Mall yesterday with a plan to voice their less-than-generous views about a certain president and his vice president. They would form a human chain to spell out I-M-P-E-A-C-H, even including an exclamation point.

But only 150 or so showed up, far fewer than the 1,000 organizers had hoped for. As their photo opportunity approached, they knew they'd be lucky to spell I-M-P.

"We're going to have to scrap the big plan," George Ripley, the protest's leader, announced. He advised his allies to rearrange everyone. They would still form I-M-P-E-A-C-H-!, he insisted, only on a tad smaller scale.