I'd been meaning to post about what's going on with Cindy Sheehan, but like the Terri Schiavo case I haven't, just because like the Schiavo case, I hate it and just want it to go away. The fact that, like the Schiavo case, it's caused every horrible political extremist to come out of the woodwork doesn't improve my feeling on these matters.
But thankfully, Michael Totten has posted my thoughts exactly:
I didn’t want to write about Cindy Sheehan for the same reason I didn’t want to write about Terri Schiavo. Each woman’s story is tragic. Each woman’s story is painful to think about, let alone write and opine about. Both women are (or in Terri’s case, were) emotional lightning rods for polarizing politics. Each became poster children for one partisan viewpoint or another. Each of these most public of controversies ripped families apart; Michael Schiavo’s vicious dispute with his in-laws, followed by Cindy Sheehan’s split from her husband.I absolutely have sympathy for Mrs. Sheehan in regards to the death of her son. But no, that does not excuse some of the simply crazy rhetoric she's espoused since, blaming Israel and "the neocons" for her son's death. And beyond that, I find it somehow incongruous that her position is "Bush is a vile, evil fascist- why won't he meet with me?" You try saying that about any powerful executive and see how eager they are to meet with you. Posted by Stephen Silver at August 19, 2005 08:19 AM