SEATAC, Wash. - Angry protesters gathered outside the Hilton Seattle Airport and Conference Center, where chief White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove is attending an event on Saturday.

Dozens of people stood outside the Hilton on Saturday, carrying signs that labeled Rove as a "war criminal" and demanded the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

Rove is the keynote speaker at the annual Lincoln Day Dinner for King County Republicans.
It is not known what Rove plans to address in his speech, but King County GOP Chairman Michael Young said he expects Rove to focus on the future of the Republican Party.

Before coming to Seattle, Rove stopped in Tigard, Oregon on Friday to attend a fundraiser, where he also drew a crowd of protesters.

Rove rallied state Republican Party members in one of the suburban Portland counties considered pivotal for the 2008 election and defended the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

During a 30-minute speech before a modest crowd of about 150 people, the chief political adviser to President Bush ripped into Democrats for "trying to run the war from Capitol Hill."

He said Democrats were sending "irresponsible" bills to the president that "handcuffed" U.S. generals in Iraq.

Rove's visit to fast-growing Washington County was part of a Republican effort to expand influence in a Portland suburb that is more evenly divided politically than the Democratic stronghold of Portland in neighboring Multnomah County.

Rove said a grassroots efforts by GOP party members to reach out to undecided voters will be crucial in winning the next election.

"The year ahead is going to test us politically as a party and it's going to test us as a nation. We need to demonstrate our will and resolve," Rove said. "It's our responsibility to show that we are up to the task."

But the high-profile Bush aide - who has come under increased scrutiny because of his possible role in the outing of CIA spy Valerie Plame - also charmed the crowd with stories from his childhood as he greeted aunts and cousins who were in the audience.

He also made light of his dance moves at the Radio and Television Correspondents' Association dinner last month in Washington, D.C., when he joined in performing an improvised rap song that since has been lampooned on television and Web sites.

"Long after I'm dead there'll be only one memory of me," said Rove. "Me on YouTube making a fool of myself."

Washington County, home to the headquarters of Nike Inc. and the largest U.S. division of Intel Corp., was once a bastion of moderate Republicanism.

Rove's visit was expected to be the first in a series of high-profile Republicans sent to the region in advance of the 2008 presidential election.