Cindy Sheehan

[theknife]

the Prez is back on a five week vacation at the ranch in Crawford Texas for his 50th vacation of his presidency, making him the most leisurely, well-rested president in history. while he attracts many protesters along his travels, he's got one outside the gates of the ranch that just won't go away:

Soldier's mom digs in near Bush ranch
CRAWFORD, Texas (CNN) -- A mother whose son was killed in Iraq says she is prepared to continue her protest outside President Bush's ranch through August until she is granted an opportunity to speak with him. Cindy Sheehan's 24-year-old son -- Army Spc. Casey Sheehan of Vacaville, California -- was killed in Baghdad's Sadr City on April 4, 2004.

Mrs. Sheehan is an angry and distraught mother but she's got some legitimate and relatively straightforward questions for the President and she says not leaving until she speaks to him. the Bushies, sensing the unfolding PR disaster, trot out some fairly high-level aides to talk to her:

Joe Hagin, White House deputy chief of staff, and Stephen Hadley, national security adviser, met with Sheehan for about 45 minutes Saturday, according to White House spokesman Trent Duffy.

Sheehan said that the two men "were very respectful."

"They told me the party line of why we are in Iraq," she said. "I told them that I don't believe that they believed that."

i'll bet they don't believe that either. but apparently the Prez and Mrs. Sheehan have had at least one choice exchange on a previous occasion:

she and her family met with him in June 2004 at Fort Lewis. Mr. Bush, she said, acted as if he were at a party and behaved disrespectfully toward her by referring to her as "Mom" throughout the meeting.

By Ms. Sheehan's account, Mr. Bush said to her that he could not imagine losing a loved one like an aunt or uncle or cousin. Ms. Sheehan said she broke in and told Mr. Bush that Casey was her son, and that she thought he could imagine what it would be like since he has two daughters and that he should think about what it would be like sending them off to war.

"I said, 'Trust me, you don't want to go there'," Ms. Sheehan said, recounting her exchange with the president. "He said, 'You're right, I don't.' I said, 'Well, thanks for putting me there.' "

ouch. no wonder Bush is ducking her.

but he may not be able to do so for long, as her story snowballs. and as it does, watch the GOP smear machine begin to target her, questioning her patriotism, her motherhood, her son's service etc. right out of the Rove playbook. but you might think that our bring-em-on, smoke-em-out, tough-talking commander-In-Chief could handle a one-on-one with a 48 year-old California housewife and answer a very basic question:

"I want to ask the president, why did he kill my son?" Sheehan told reporters. "He said my son died in a noble cause, and I want to ask him what that noble cause is."

[multi]

throw her in a jail until the pres finishes his vacation...

[Mazer]

"Why did you kill my son?" is a loaded, politically charged question to begin with, which is why the president doesn't want to answer it. And by all accounts, the president isn't a suspect in her son's death, he wasn't in Iraq at the time it occured and the perpetrator was most likely an arab. We all know she just wants to talk to the president so she can argue with him in front of a bunch of reporters, so can you blame him for sending out his aides with whom she has no personal grudge?

Sheehan, 48, didn't get to see Bush, but did talk about 45 minutes with national security adviser Steve Hadley and deputy White House chief of staff Joe Hagin, who went out to hear her concerns.

Appreciative of their attention, yet undaunted, Sheehan said she planned to continue her roadside vigil, except for a few breaks, until she gets to talk to Bush. Her son, Casey, 24, was killed in Sadr City, Iraq, on April 4, 2004. He was an Army specialist, a Humvee mechanic.

"They (the advisers) said we are in Iraq because they believed Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, that the world's a better place with Saddam gone and that we're making the world a safer place with what we're doing over there," Sheehan said in a telephone interview after the meeting.

"They were very respectful. They were nice men. I told them Iraq was not a threat to the United States and that now people are dead for nothing. I told them I wouldn't leave until I talked to George Bush."

Link

The media is going to take this woman's grief and turn it into a crusade against the president, which will do nothing but prolong Ms. Sheehan's mourning period. The media's obsession with turning tragedy into entertainment sickens me to no end.

[albed]

I think you've got that backwards somewhat Mazer. She's using the media for her own purpose just like Terri Schiavo's parents did recently. Without media attention and support she'd be just another lying loonie whose slander would get her sued if it was directed against a private citizen. You can bet she's contacted them with information as to when and where she'll be performing.

Of course the media is quite happy hyping her performance into a national sideshow.

[daddydirt]

Cindy Sheehan in 2004

"I now know he's sincere about wanting freedom for the Iraqis," Cindy said after their meeting. "I know he's sorry and feels some pain for our loss. And I know he's a man of faith."

Cindy Sheehan in 2005

she and her family met with him in June 2004 at Fort Lewis. Mr. Bush, she said, acted as if he were at a party and behaved disrespectfully toward her by referring to her as "Mom" throughout the meeting.

By Ms. Sheehan's account, Mr. Bush said to her that he could not imagine losing a loved one like an aunt or uncle or cousin. Ms. Sheehan said she broke in and told Mr. Bush that Casey was her son, and that she thought he could imagine what it would be like since he has two daughters and that he should think about what it would be like sending them off to war.

"I said, 'Trust me, you don't want to go there'," Ms. Sheehan said, recounting her exchange with the president. "He said, 'You're right, I don't.' I said, 'Well, thanks for putting me there.' "

someone needs to ask Cindy to explain her different takes on the meeting with Bush, or would that be "smearing" her?

[albed]

You left out the best part dd.

For the first time in 11 weeks, they felt whole again.

"That was the gift the president gave us, the gift of happiness, of being together," Cindy said.

Originally Posted by daddydirt

someone needs to ask Cindy to explain her different takes on the meeting with Bush, or would that be "smearing" her?

It won't be the liberal mass media.

[JackSpratts]

Originally Posted by Mazer

"Why did you kill my son?" is a loaded, politically charged question to begin with, which is why the president doesn't want to answer it.

The media's obsession with turning tragedy into entertainment sickens me to no end.

hmmm. so you know what bush is thinking.

the entire affair of war is loaded and politically charged and bush has spared no effort putting his loaded and politically charged points across at every opportunity. either in person or by proxy, with the full acquiescence of the media. how did americans gather basic information, or misinformation about iraq? how was it that you heard about wmds and 45 minute nuclear windows? about uranium purchases and missions accomplished? unless bush came to your home and told you personally - and he didn’t tell me - you heard his spin from the press. he told them and they passed it along, relatively verbatim with little in the way of modifiers. “here’s what the president said today.” it’s part of their job. did that sicken you too, or are you sickened only when distraught moms get attention grieving unbearable losses that this president – who ordered this war - will never experience, let alone comprehend? if so such rigid one-sidedness borders on the pathological.

- js.

[Mazer]

Originally Posted by JackSpratts

“here’s what the president said today.” it’s part of their job. did that sicken you too, or are you sickened only when distraught moms get attention grieving unbearable losses that this president – who ordered this war - will never experience, let alone comprehend? if so such rigid one-sidedness borders on the pathological.

Most of their job is turning "Here's what the president said today" into a form of entertainment. Being informative is one of their primary concerns, I'm certain, but each news agency faces stiff competetion. They over hype most everything to keep their audience watching, and unfortunatly that leaves enough air time for only half the story. Everything is fair game, from the nameless dead in the war to the personal tragedy of a mother. I think I've mentioned before that I don't watch cable news channels anymore, and lately I've stopped watching the local news as well. The news has lost all credibility with me. Whereas once the free press was responsible for holding public figures accountable, now all they do is try to make them look as bad as possible in every circumstance. This poor lady is their weapon against the president, whether she likes it or not, and they won't release her until they've trashed the his reputation. And like any gun, she'll walk away from this experience empty, feeling dirty and used.

[theknife]

it's not that complicated, fellas...and it doesn't even need to be that political.

the Prez could take all the wind out of this story today by stopping by her little encampment outside the ranch on his way to wherever, simply sitting down with this woman privately, and letting her vent for 10 minutes. end of story.

but i don't think he has the heart...this is the same president who is never ever allowed to be in any kind of unscripted situation, with members of the public, where all the questions and answers aren't carefully orchestrated. this president is only capable of discussing his actions in front of carefully screened audiences, each of whom has signed a loyalty oath, who are guaranteed not to ask any uncomfortable questions. citizens with the wrong t-shirts or or bumper stickers are dragged away from his events by force, even arrested.

this president loathes accountability, neither he or his handlers will ever put him in a situation where he might have to personally account for his decisions to someone who didn't drink the kool-aid. he just doesn't have the balls.

it's not about what kind of president Bush is - it's about what kind of man he is.