By Glenn Kessler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, April 2, 2006

BLACKBURN, England, April 1 -- If nothing else, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice learned why the Beatles once sang about the 4,000 potholes here.

Rice on Saturday spent a second day touring the town made famous in the Beatles' "A Day in the Life" for its "4,000 holes," dogged, as she was Friday, by people protesting the war in Iraq. As she met with a small group of Muslim leaders in Blackburn's town hall, the raucous shouts of the 300 demonstrators outside could be heard through the windows. The leaders said they gave her an earful on U.S. policy in the Middle East.

Rice's tour guide was British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who represents Blackburn in Parliament and who had visited Rice's home town, Birmingham, Ala., last fall. The idea behind the gesture was simple -- to get beyond the stale meetings of diplomats in foreign capitals and learn more about each other's countries and common histories. Birmingham had once been in the heart of the Confederacy; Blackburn was a 19th-century boom town with textile mills churning out garments made of imported cotton picked by Southern slaves.

But the visit appeared to have exacerbated bad feelings about the Iraq war. About a quarter of the population is Muslim, and many of the protesters carried signs that called Rice a war criminal and denounced the "war on Muslims." A visit to the town's Masjid al-Hidayah mosque was canceled because of the protests.

Locals say there is little mingling between the Christian and Muslim populations. Some have even tagged the pejorative label "Black Jack" to Straw because they believe he tilts too much toward the Muslims.

Some of the protesters in the street denounced the Muslims who met with Rice as sellouts. An impromptu rally -- smaller and mostly white -- soon sprang up outside the town hall to express support for Rice.

Yusuf Jan-Virmani, a Muslim and the mayor of Blackburn, who fled Uganda in 1972 when Asians were evicted, said he was against the war but was honored that Rice had come to visit. He took the attitude that any publicity is good publicity. Rice's trip "is very good for the economy," he said.

During a tour of the town's Gothic cathedral Saturday, Rice lit a candle after the dean, the Very Rev. Christopher Armstrong, offered a short prayer. "We hold before God all those who have a responsibility to make good and far-reaching decisions whilst listening to different views of how peace and justice may best be promoted," he said.

The British press has had a field day with the controversy, dredging up nearly every possible Beatles cliche. The visit was called Rice's "magical mystery tour." The Times of London ran an editorial cartoon of Rice and Straw holding up a hole-ridden sign labeled "The Case for War." The caption said: "The four thousand holes of Blackburn, Lancashire."

In "A Day in the Life," John Lennon sings, "I read the news today, oh boy, 4,000 holes in Blackburn, Lancashire."

After Rice appeared stumped when a reporter Friday asked her about the song, Straw explained that the roads were once rather poor in Blackburn, and Lennon had seen a newspaper article about a man "with a clipboard" who had counted every pothole in the town.

Rice smiled at every turn and seemed unperturbed by the fuss, prompting one British journalist to dub her ability to quickly turn on the charm "Insta-Rice." She argued that "the protesters make my point -- that democracy is the only system that allows people to be heard and be heard peacefully."

Straw, a supporter of the Iraq war who was a liberal activist in his youth, said he "was not embarrassed in the least" by the reception Rice received in his district. He noted the anti-Rice organizers had promised to bring in "busloads and busloads" of protesters but failed to do so.

"I didn't think they did very well," Straw said, adding, "If they'd asked me, I could have done better for them."

Rice interjected, "I'm glad they didn't ask you."