Originally Posted by
Pete Hanlin
Did Cindy S "deserve" a second mtg with Bush? No. Would he have been wise to give her one. Absolutely.
From a "neutralizing the issue" stance, I tend to agree. Also, had it been me, I would have walked on out when she set up camp, and let her have her say.
I don't really envy either side on this one. In my opinion (opinion being the key word), Cindy Sheehan has exposed herself to a lot of baggage from the camps on both sides of the issue. Personally, I think it would be hard enough to recover from the loss of a child. Perhaps this was her way of dealing with it, however. I mean, I think her initial motivation was she probably felt she didn't really express her true feelings to the President during her first meeting and wanted the opportunity to let him know that no- she really doesn't approve of the way he has managed this war. That's a natural inclination, I suppose. At some point, however, I would have been satisfied that my opinion had been given a pretty decent hearing in the media (much better than if the President had simply met with her, in fact), and gotten on with life- again, perhaps she just deals with loss differently.
On the President's side, I think he is doing what he feels is right. I would disagree with the assessment that he "doesn't want to hear" opposing views, or that he doesn't think about decisions before reaching them. I think he is probably one of those people who comes to a conclusion and feels an obligation to be true to it. Whether his conclusions on whether we should have invaded Iraq are correct is a matter for a different debate (arguments could be/have been made either way). One thing I admire in the guy is his ability to make a decision and stick to it- popular or not. One could argue this may not be a good quality in the leader of the free world, but I think leadership sometimes does involve determining a course of action and seeing it through.
Anyway, I don't think Cindy Sheehan is "on meds." I think she is a grieving mother who set out to make a statement and was victimized a second time by individuals who used her situation to their advantage (that would be the folks from the left). She's been victimized a third time by individuals who disagree with those who victimized her the second time and have sought to slander her (that would be the folks on the right).
The disappointing thing is, the "Sheehan Scenario" is becoming all too familiar in the media (the left AND right media). It happened to the Schiavos as well- folks with less interest than the actual plight of the person- and more interest in promoting their agenda- push these people into spotlights (and positions) that they are ill-equipped to handle.
We are dangerously close to doing the same thing with the victims of this horrific hurricane...
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