I’ve been trying to stay away from the Cindy Sheehan…what? Story? No, Charlotte’s Web is a story. Saga? No, the Lewis and Clarke expedition was a saga. Legend? No, Sleepy Hollow is a legend. Tragedy? Ahhhh yes, I’ve been trying to stay away from the Cindy Sheehan tragedy - a disastrous event, especially one involving distressing loss or injury to life; a heartbreaking set of circumstances that causes grief and pain. Were that definition to continue with “that ends up making one look like a fool” it’d be prefect for Cindy Sheehan. The first tragedy was the death of Casey Sheehan by every account a true American hero. The on going tragedy is the MSM’s willingness to exploit Ms. Sheehan and her grief irrespective of how whacky it causes her to appear.
I’ve tried desperately to ignore this story. A poor woman wracked with grief is likely to do or say anything. I shook my head at both sides - those who pilloried her and those that lionized her. My thoughts were - just leave this poor woman alone - she cannot be held responsible for what she says. Under duress most of us say dopey things. It seems to me Ms. Sheehan has a clear case of mental duress.
Then I turn on CNN. Rather, I turn on the TV and CNN is on. Over here tired, uninspired, entrenched bureaucrats at Armed Forces Network decide what we watch. They consistently opt for programs that are like them, tired, uninspired, entrenched - like CNN. Anyhow, I turn on the TV there is some CNN blabbermouth saying, “As Cindy Sheehan waded through the throng of supporters blah…blah…blah.” The only problem was that the camera shot caught the CNN blabbermouth in lie. It showed Ms. Sheehan walking through an empty tent. When people finally did gather around her, at her request, they all had cameras or microphones. The “throng of supporters” consisted of media dopes one and all. Ever notice that there are never any wide shots of the crowds around Ms. Sheehan? I assume that the reason is that there are no crowds worth panning around or zooming out for.
Michael Barone had it right when he recently told Fox News Channel's Chris Wallace, “if a World War II era Cindy Sheehan had gone to Hyde Park and Warm Springs and camped out and demanded a meeting with President Roosevelt, [she] would just been thought to have been a person who was the victim of a personal tragedy and who had gone over the bend as a result of it, and they would have mercifully given her no publicity." The point being that they would have ignored the whole thing in deference to the mother’s reputation. Lex has noted on this page before that MSM is obsessed with an America defeat in Iraq. In another time the press would have protected Ms. Sheehan’s dignity by ignoring her. They would not have made a fool of her by calling attention to her.
I remember when my uncle died years and years ago. After the funeral week, I mentioned to my dad that my aunt seemed to be holding up well. As we walked along, he never looked up and noted, “Well she has all of those people there right now. Tonight they will go home and she’ll be in that house all by herself - tonight, tomorrow, next week, next month, who knows how long.” I think Ms. Sheehan is simply filling the void in her heart with media attention. The MSM for their part are happy to oblige. Who is the fair and balanced counter to Ms. Sheehan? They are out there, but they don’t get one-tenth the exposure of Ms. Sheehan. Why?
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