Sheehan

So if there's one story worth looking at this past week, it's this one.

The basic story is that Cindy Sheehan, mother of the deceased soldier Casey Sheehan, is protesting the war outside of the Crawford TX ranch where Bush is on a 5 week vacation. Ordinarily, I'm opposed to focusing on an individual story. Lots of mother's children die in Iraq (including a lot of Iraqi mothers' but whatever) and we tell them we're sorry and go on with life. It's somehow not fair or equal to focus on one person's story when such tales are fairly abundant. This, on the other hand, is a made-for-TV tale of woe.

What makes it novel is that she has chosen to protest in the the Texas desert in August. She is free to do so, because in her grief she couldn't hold together enough to keep her job. She has separated from her husband. She says "I'm not afraid of anything since my son was killed". And there you have that most dangerous of all things...someone who feels they have nothing to lose. Her's is a simple demand: she wants to meet with the President and ask him some questions. The fact is though, she has already met with the president since the death of her son, and another meeting is not likely to resolve her issues. The president cannot give her what she really wants, but neither can he defend himself from her pain.

In this situation, the administration finds it cannot go on the offensive. The administration cannot call her unpatriotic, since she spends her days and nights singing the praises of her son the soldier. The can't call her a wussy dove, because calling mothers wussy doesn't score points, and wusses don't tend to camp out in Texas in August. They can try to demonize her by emphasizing ties to various liberal organizations, but honestly, it's probably benefiting those organizations more than it hurts Cindy. They don't have the option of demonizing her son, because frankly, no one in government has a quarter of his character. Imagine how the discussion went when the administration found out he was an Eagle Scout (which people seem to find more endearing in martyrs than the living). Not just that, he was an altar boy. He wanted to be a chaplain's aide when he enlisted. And by-the-by, he was saving himself for marriage. If only I could have been there when the Republican spin-doctors learned that. We have a devout Eagle Scout who volunteered to go to war around the age the president was drunk driving into trees. Character doesn't get more untouchable than that.

Naturally, they're doing what they can to control this issue. Early last week, rumors had it that Sheehan would be forcibly removed or arrested. If that was ever anyone's plan they soon thought better of it. via Time:

Once Sheehan starts acting like a politician, say some Republicans and even some Democrats, she will become just another voice in the debate--easy, in other words, to neutralize. But until then, Bush's team cannot fire back hard, as it usually does when it is criticized. Sheehan must be handled, as an adviser to the President put it, "very carefully."

Plan B is to loose the spin doctors, observe smear campaign in action (caution requires strong stomach). But it looks like a solid majority of Americans side with mom on this one. Enough that the attacks themselves are creating backlash.

The story of one mother and one son. Arguably no more or less important than any other mother or child. And yet it is a captivating story...certainly one that has captivated the press. They too have a vested interest, some in selling the dramatic americana, some in forwarding their political views:

This weekend one of Bushes neighbors fired a shotgun across his yard, not pointed at the protestors, but certainly because of them. WaPo

He said he fired his gun in preparation for the dove-hunting season, but when asked if he had another motive, he said, "Figure it out for yourself."

The interesting thing is how the media writes it's ledes. Pick a news organization. Search their site for sheehan and shotgun. See what you get:

Organization 1:
Troubles Follow Bush
Mom to Continue Protest Against War
Mom's Protest Riles Gun-Toting Neighbor
Cindy Sheehan's Pitched Battle

Organization 2:
Protests to Continue at Bush Ranch Bush Neighbor Suffers Protest Fatigue -
Gunshot Spurs Havoc at Bush Ranch Protest

Organization 3:
Bush neighbor takes aim at 'doves'

So which is he? A riled gun-toter? Or a fatigued neighbor?

In watching the smear and the buzz and the blogging, it's almost easy to forget that the media didn't start this. And they won't end it. Because really this is about one 48-yr-old woman and the president. He's not likely to see her, so she stands in the heat while he goes to Little League games and bike rides on the 2nd of his five week vacation. It may be a long long vacation for both of them.