<p>Like the rest of America, Berkeley and Oakland were talking yesterday about the events of last week. But unlike the rest of America, these two bastions of liberal thought hold the distinction of being represented by Barbara Lee -- the one and only member of Congress to vote against President Bush's call Friday for a war on terrorism. How is her vote playing in the coffee houses, streets and churches of her district? Here's a sample of what we found. "I honestly didn't even know who she was before that vote, but I do now -- and I agree with what she did," Oakland resident Tom McQuown said as he worked behind the counter of Amoeba Records on Berkeley's Telegraph Avenue. Two blocks away, feelings were more mixed. Outside the First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley on Channing Way, 65-year- old Janet Thompson, 66-year-old Joann Adcock and 71-year-old Lois Von Hoff offered different opinions on Lee's historic "no" vote. "I'm thankful she did it," was Thompson's take. "It was awful," said Adcock, who was wearing an American flag scarf. "This is a time when we need to stand together." "I don't know," said Von Hoff. "I thought about it, and thought about it for a long time. I still think she has the right to vote the way she believes - - otherwise you have a rush to judgment." Theirs wasn't the only division of opinion. Across town in the Elmwood district, Michael Alvarez Cohen -- who was holding a garage sale -- sat in his front yard reading a story in The Chronicle about about Lee's vote. "She's wrong -- and I'm a Democrat," Alvarez-Cohen said, adding, "I voted for her the last time, but I won't vote for her again" "Aren't you going a bit overboard?" his wife, Lisa, asked. "You can't judge someone's entire political career on one vote. Besides, It wasn't a swing vote. It was a statement vote," she said. And indeed, if there was any overall conclusion to be drawn from our admittedly informal sidewalk survey, it's that most of the people we talked to yesterday -- even those who disagree with Lee's vote -- still feel she had the right to make it. And no matter what the rest of the country may be thinking, they weren't going to hold it against her. "This would be a sick country if everyone wanted to fight. We don't want just a bunch of hotheads wanting war," said 48-year-old Eartis Beck, as he stood outside the Merritt Bakery in downtown Oakland. Fanshen Thompson, 27, a social service worker awaiting a table outside the Royal Cafe on Broadway, also supported Lee: "My gut feeling is this was a very brave thing for her to do." James Handelin, 33, a computer systems administrator having coffee outside outside the Market Hall in Rockridge, couldn't disagree more: "I was angry when I heard about her vote," Handelin said. "We can't just sit around and light candles." But it was Helene Gryfakis, 29, who said the one thing we all can agree on, no matter how we feel about Lee's vote: "I'll be paying more attention to what she has to say now." Won't we all. WHAT'S NEXT?: So where do Bay Area leaders think we're headed in the aftermath of last week's wave of terrorism? San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown: "San Francisco -- in fact, the whole Bay Area -- is a very attractive target, and not only because of its high visibility. Doing something to an Oracle or Cisco or Hewlett-Packard would generate the same kind of worldwide attention as the attacks back east. And I don't think that's lost on the terrorists." Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown: "Everyone should increase their awareness." What can we do to minimize the danger? Willie Brown: "We can take every precautionary step there is, but in the end we can't absolutely guarantee anything." So where do we go from here? Jerry Brown: "If there are more attacks, there will be more stringent measures taken, but we are still early in the process." Pulling the lens back a bit, what should the U.S. reaction be? Former White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta: "That's President Bush's biggest challenge. He's asking for patience, but I suspect American people are not going to be that patient." "I'm sure Bush is going to feel pressure to bomb the hell out of somebody, but he could make a terrible mistake if he just responds to political pressures without figuring out who the targets are and what the mission is." Rep. Nancy Pelosi: 'To be frank, bringing (Osama) bin Laden to justice is not enough -- the point is not to get bin Laden, but to make sure this never happens again." Former Secretary of State George Shultz: "I don't like the phrase 'bring them to justice.' It implies some sort of legal procedure, and that brings in a whole other frame of mind. "The president says this is an act of war -- and in war you go after the enemy." Jerry Brown: "But you need to be careful not to make the wrong steps. You can't just indulge your anger -- you have to exercise your intellect."</p>
