Cindy Sheehan

Several people have asked for my thoughts on this, so I figured I'd give it a go. This is one of those ugly subjects that nobody likes to touch, for fear of coming across as callous, cold-hearted, insensitive, etc. Not fun, but it's a subject that needs to be dealt with...

Cindy Sheehan has a right to voice her opinion, and I respect that. If she wants to go to the Crawford Ranch or the White House lawn and claim that President Bush killed Casey Sheehan (her son), then so be it. I have no problem with her. I'll disagree with her (I think Islamofascists killed her son), but I won't argue with or question the actions of a grieving mother. I couldn't even fathom what she's going through...

My problem is with the media vultures who descend on her like a cash cow from heaven. They give her all the credibility in the world (despite some serious credibility issues) and make her the face of the "mourning mother" in America. But why does she get all the attention? Why not give some equal press to the mothers who still support the cause that their son or daughter died for? Clearly the family members who support the war make up the vast majority of those who have fallen loved ones. Just look at Casey Sheehan's other family members.

I'll tell you why these people don't get equal coverage- because it wouldn't sell. It wouldn't stir the "emotional pot" the way Cindy Sheehan's story does. It wouldn't get the big ratings and all those key demographics that the networks so desperately covet. And so now Cindy has become a pawn for terrorist apologists like Michael Moore to exploit beyond the limits of their wildest imaginations. People will listen to Cindy, they gloat to themselves- her son died in the war! Yay for us! We have a ringer! It's sickening.

The one thing we need to remember here is that Cindy's opinion is more controversial than what we typically see from families of the fallen- not more credible. She is using her son, a fallen hero, as a prop in a misguided campaign against her own country- that is her right and she has to live with her actions.

Congrats, Michael Moore- you got yourself another one...