A finger-wagging Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D., was caught on video last week as he angrily denounced two anti-war activists and referred to President George W. Bush as a "clown."

The video, shot July 23 on the streets of Washington, D.C., has been circulating on the Internet and can be seen below:

It gained wider attention Wednesday as the subject of a front-page story in the Fargo Forum.

In the video, Pomeroy is talking on his cell phone when he's confronted by two women asking him to vote for Bush's impeachment. Pomeroy ignored them at first, but then turned around and told the women exactly what he thought of their idea.

"The district I represent ? most of the people I represent think that's a horrible idea," he tells them.

"I'm a Democrat, and I'm here to represent the people that I represent, and they are against impeaching the president."

Later, when making the same point, Pomeroy referred to Bush as "this clown."

The 1-minute, 32-second confrontation was taped by a member of http://www.whynotnews.org.

Pomeroy said in an interview Wednesday that he didn't know he was being videotaped and that he regrets what he said, especially the "clown" comment.

"I really regret that. I should not have said it," Pomeroy said.

He said the confrontation came during the middle of an intense week of negotiations on the farm bill, and that his message - that his district is opposed to impeaching Bush - remains valid.

But to some viewers of the video, Pomeroy's attitude and approach far overshadowed his message.

Sharon Barnhardt, a finance associate from Mandan, reacted with surprise after a reporter showed her the video Wednesday.

"You think he'd be more reserved in his response," she said. "He has the right to express his opinion, but I don't think he needed to do all the finger-pointing and such."

Barnhardt, who said she was an independent voter, said she previously viewed Pomeroy as "a very nice person" but now wasn't so sure. She said issues, and not personality, would determine her future decisions at the polls.

Ellery Agard, a construction worker from Selfridge, had a similar reaction when viewing the video.

"You would think he would handle himself a little better," Agard said.

Agard, who also identifies himself as an independent voter, said he voted for Pomeroy in the last election but would be much less inclined to do so in the future.

Naturally, Republicans were also critical of Pomeroy's reaction in the video. Gary Emineth, chairman of the North Dakota Republican Party, said, "It's small of him to be calling the president names like that.

"When you have somebody going on and making those kind of comments, it's embarrassing to the whole state," he said.

Pomeroy said Wednesday that, the next time he's confronted by activists on the street, he intends to smile and walk on by.

(Reach reporter Jonathan Rivoli at 223-8482 or jonathan.rivoli@;bismarcktribune.com.)