Jim Jurgensen (who doesn't capitalize his name but I will) writes…
1. Cindy Sheehan seems to yuck it up quite a bit for a person who had her son killed.
2. Seeing her holding a Pro-Palestine sign bobbing it up-and-down like she's at a political convention with a big smile on her face makes me think twice about her motives…or someone else's agenda she's been sucked into or milk it long enough for a nice book deal.
I guess what it comes down to for me is that though I'm sorry Ms. Sheehan lost her son, ultimately I don't think her motives or personal integrity matter that much. In my e-mailbox and when I go to certain websites, I am assaulted by arguments that there's something wrong with the woman…that she's nuts or a Communist or someone's puppet or lying or whatever. Many of the assailants seem to want me to leap from that to the notion that there's something wrong with all criticisms of the current U.S. effort in Iraq.
This is not to suggest Cindy Sheehan is everything (or even anything) her detractors say she is. But even if she is, so what? At worst, she's one human being who's getting way too much media attention. Someone else wrote me that what she's doing is a "stunt." Okay, fine. It's a stunt. All protest demonstrations are. The idea is to call attention to your cause, and in that she seems to be succeeding, which is why I think she's generally been a positive force. She's caused a few more people to begin thinking and talking about Iraq.
Which is good because we need to talk more what's going on Iraq. I spend more time following the news than most people and I'm getting foggier and foggier on why we're there, what will constitute a genuine success that will justify the costs (both human and financial) and just how our leaders think we're going to get to that. If I sound forgiving of Ms. Sheehan's evident confusions, it may be because I'm confused about Iraq, myself. I don't think George W. Bush should go down to Camp Casey (or whatever they're calling it) and explain to her what Americans are dying for. I think he ought to go on TV and tell us all…and on a level that goes deeper than robotic talking points like, "We have to show the world that we mean business." Several polls now show 55% of Americans think going to war in Iraq was a mistake and that number's going to go up, not down. If there are good reasons we're there, Bush needs to do a better job of reminding people what they are.
Because that stuff's important. On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being a matter of critical concern, the rationale for war is at least 8.5, maybe nine. Questions about Cindy Sheehan's personal life and whether she's looking for a book deal are barely a one, if that. If she bothers you, just ignore her the way you ignored the Scott Peterson case or the search for the Runaway Bride or, if you're smarter than I am, the Michael Jackson trial. I fear much of America is about to make the same mistake that many made during the Vietnam War. It was to get more emotional and interested in the protests than in what they were protesting. In the long run, Cindy Sheehan doesn't matter. What we do in Iraq does.