While fundraising is a critical part of any presidential campaign, so is a discussion of the issues facing the nation. The close to 40 protestors outside of the hotel’s main entrance wanted to remind the McCain campaign that the Iraq war is a question that will not go away going into the November election and beyond.

For protestors, issue hits close to home

Despite the complexities of the situation in Iraq, Rogovin believes that the answer to the problem is simple.

"We feel that bringing the troops home is the only solution," she said, noting that members of peace activist groups such as Military Families Speak Out and Veterans for Peace were in attendance at the protest. "I have a son who is a Marine in Iraq. This is his second deployment. I’m proud of my son, but I think our military is being misused. This is a war for oil, not a war against terrorism."

Although McCain’s military service record is well known and well respected, Rogovin questioned his voting record regarding veterans.

"McCain says that he supports the troops, but on repeated occasions, he has voted against money for veterans’ medical care, including funding for expanded medical and mental health care for returning troops," she said. "Money should be used for people’s needs here in the U.S.: for housing, for education, for schools, and for health care. We feel that McCain and Bush don’t have these priorities."

For some, Iraq war echoes another

Teaneck resident Walter Nygard, 58, served as an U.S. Marine in the Vietnam War. His decision to protest the Iraq war outside the Marriott was rooted in his memories of his military experience.

"Both wars were founded on a lie," he said. "And both wars would have gone on forever if the people who made those wars were allowed to have their way. I’m here because I want the war to end, and I want the United States to become the country that it once was. The world’s only superpower should own the moral high ground, and George W. Bush has flushed morality right down the toilet."

Nygard protested with his wife Nancy, 59. Her concerns about the Iraq war are inextricably intertwined with the feelings born of a mother’s love.

"We have a son who served in Afghanistan," she said. Joseph Nygard served with the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division and is now home safe, although 71 soldiers out of 3,000 soldiers in his brigade died in combat. "He’s a large part of why we started getting involved. He’s still on the individual ready reserve list, so he could be called back. Right now, the U.S. is telling Russia that they shouldn’t be going into Georgia, but we did the same thing in Iraq. We have some nerve telling people what to do."

The Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts touch a nerve with much of the American public. As irked about recent events as he is, Walter Nygard made an important distinction.

"I’m a military brat, and I have a ton of respect for military service," he said, noting that his father was a World War II U.S. Army veteran. "Every culture has had people who stood up to protect it. But to be used by someone who does not have a mandate from the people to invade Iraq, a country that has done nothing to us, and whose ulterior motive is to get oil is just wrong. I’m against a war that is based on a lie."