Of the Many Deaths in Iraq, One Mother's Loss Becomes a Problem for the President

http://drudgereport.com/flash4.htm

PROTESTING SOLDIER MOM CHANGED STORY ON BUSH

Mon Aug 08 2005 10:11:07 ET

The mother of a fallen U.S. soldier who is holding a roadside peace vigil near President Bush's ranch -- has dramatically changed her account about what happened when she met the commander-in-chief last summer!

Cindy Sheehan, 48, of Vacaville, Calif., who last year praised Bush for bringing her family the "gift of happiness," took to the nation's TV outlets this weekend to declare how Bush "killed an indispensable part of our family and humanity."

CINDY 2004

THE REPORTER of Vacaville, CA published an account of Cindy Sheehan's visit with the president at Fort Lewis near Seattle on June 24, 2004:

"'I now know he's sincere about wanting freedom for the Iraqis,' Cindy said after their meeting. 'I know he's sorry and feels some pain for our loss. And I know he's a man of faith.'

"The meeting didn't last long, but in their time with Bush, Cindy spoke about Casey and asked the president to make her son's sacrifice count for something. They also spoke of their faith.

"The trip had one benefit that none of the Sheehans expected.

"For a moment, life returned to the way it was before Casey died. They laughed, joked and bickered playfully as they briefly toured Seattle.

For the first time in 11 weeks, they felt whole again.

"'That was the gift the president gave us, the gift of happiness, of being together,' Cindy said."

CINDY 2005

Sheehan's current comments are a striking departure.

She vowed on Sunday to continue her protest until she can personally ask Bush: "Why did you kill my son?"

In an interview on CNN, she claimed Bush "acted like it was party" when she met him last year.

"It was -- you know, there was a lot of things said. We wanted to use the time for him to know that he killed an indispensable part of our family and humanity. And we wanted him to look at the pictures of Casey.

"He wouldn't look at the pictures of Casey. He didn't even know Casey's name. He came in the room and the very first thing he said is, 'So who are we honoring here?' He didn't even know Casey's name. He didn't want to hear it. He didn't want to hear anything about Casey. He wouldn't even call him 'him' or 'he.' He called him 'your loved one.'

Every time we tried to talk about Casey and how much we missed him, he would change the subject. And he acted like it was a party.

BLITZER: Like a party? I mean...

SHEEHAN: Yes, he came in very jovial, and like we should be happy that he, our son, died for his misguided policies. He didn't even pretend like somebody...

END

On her current media tour, Sheehan has not been asked to explain her twist on Bush; from praise to damnation!

 

Matt Drudge is the Walter Winchell of our times. All rumor and no substance. I love how certain people take his word for gospel. They are the same people that keep reality television on the air.

 

http://www.thereporter.com/search/ci_2923921

Here is the original article from The Reporter.

Bush, Sheehans share moments
By David Henson/Staff Writer

Since learning in April that their son, Army Spc. Casey Sheehan, had been killed in Iraq, life has been everything but normal for the Sheehan family of Vacaville.

Casey's parents, Cindy and Patrick, as well as their three children, have attended event after event honoring the soldier both locally and abroad, received countless letters of support and fielded questions from reporters across the country.

"That's the way our whole lives have been since April 4," Patrick said. "It's been surreal."

But none of that prepared the family for the message left on their answering machine last week, inviting them to have a face-to-face meeting with President George W. Bush at Fort Lewis near Seattle.

Surreal soon seemed like an understatement, as the Sheehans - one of 17 families who met Thursday with Bush - were whisked in a matter of days to the Army post and given the VIP treatment from the military. But as their meeting with the president approached, the family was faced with a dilemma as to what to say when faced with Casey's commander-in-chief.

"We haven't been happy with the way the war has been handled," Cindy said. "The president has changed his reasons for being over there every time a reason is proven false or an objective reached."

The 10 minutes of face time with the president could have given the family a chance to vent their frustrations or ask Bush some of the difficult questions they have been asking themselves, such as whether Casey's sacrifice would make the world a safer place.

But in the end, the family decided against such talk, deferring to how they believed Casey would have wanted them to act. In addition, Pat noted that Bush wasn't stumping for votes or trying to gain a political edge for the upcoming election.

"We have a lot of respect for the office of the president, and I have a new respect for him because he was sincere and he didn't have to take the time to meet with us," Pat said.

Sincerity was something Cindy had hoped to find

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in the meeting. Shortly after Casey died, Bush sent the family a form letter expressing his condolences, and Cindy said she felt it was an impersonal gesture.

"I now know he's sincere about wanting freedom for the Iraqis," Cindy said after their meeting. "I know he's sorry and feels some pain for our loss. And I know he's a man of faith."

The meeting didn't last long, but in their time with Bush, Cindy spoke about Casey and asked the president to make her son's sacrifice count for something. They also spoke of their faith.

While meeting with Bush, as well as Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, was an honor, it was almost a tangent benefit of the trip. The Sheehans said they enjoyed meeting the other families of fallen soldiers, sharing stories, contact information, grief and support.

For some, grief was still visceral and raw, while for others it had melted into the background of their lives, the pain as common as breathing. Cindy said she saw her reflection in the troubled eyes of each.

"It's hard to lose a son," she said. "But we (all) lost a son in the Iraqi war."

The trip had one benefit that none of the Sheehans expected.

For a moment, life returned to the way it was before Casey died. They laughed, joked and bickered playfully as they briefly toured Seattle.

For the first time in 11 weeks, they felt whole again.

"That was the gift the president gave us, the gift of happiness, of being together," Cindy said.

David Henson can be reached at schools@thereporter.com.

 

Sounds like Drudge is twisting what the woman said. Disgusting...

 

Wow! Drudgerreport? I am now convinced of that this woman and her worthless kid are nothing more than liberals!

 

Cindy is saying now that she will be arrested as a threat to national security beginning on Thursday

 

Are they the same people who watched Dan Rather offer faked memos on CBS or read Jayson Blair's lies in the NYT?

 

Drudge Report takes anti-war mom out of context

http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Drudge_Report_grossly_misquotes_antiw_0808.html

 

How red is your herring?

 

I believe this woman will become the human face of the anti-war movement.

 

Sadly so predictable. Now it is time to trash the Gold Star mother, whose son paid the price that TJ, Bigtexx, Rove, Dubya and so many of the chickenhawks were not willing to pay. Drudge is a stand in for the Swift Boat Liars on this one.

The mother is not allowed to change her mind on how she feels about Bush and the war and whether it was worth it for her kid to die. Meanwhile the dittoheads hang loyal through whatever changing reason for the war Bush uses to justify the war in the current month.

It is sort of like when the GOP trashed the Iraq War veteran, Hackett in Ohio. Or when they trashed John McCain or John Kerry. It is unbelievable that the chickehawks have no shame or seemingly self awareness.

 

So, you believe those two?

 

I understand now, Sheehan's son was the only person in the Army that was drafted and forced to go to war. No wonder she thinks it is unfair that the Bush twins are not in Iraq, since her son was not given any choice in the matter. No, wait, in fact like the rest of the military, the Army is all volunteer and it was his choice to join up. If the Bush twins choose to join the Army, then she can worry about Bush sending them into harm's way or not.

 

A red herring is a distraction from a point. The point was made that Drudge is about as accurate as a blind man firing featherless arrows from a warped bow, or something to that effect. Your rejoinder, having nothing whatsoever to do with the story at hand, was nothing more than an attempt to distract from the facts at hand.

An appropriate answer to my earlier question to you would have been "it doesn't get any redder."

 

Until the MSM provides a higher level of accuracy, it's silly for anyone to criticize Drudge in isolation. If Drudge is Winchell, then Dan Rather must be today's Walter Duranty.

 

i find it a little tough to fault the president on this one.

He did meet with her personally two months ago (that's more than I thought presidents did), and though he may have been sketchy on the details...not that hard to accept given he may have been meeting with many families, and given who he is.

I'm just not surprised, (nor outraged) that she would be stopped if she chose to drive out to his ranch to visit. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that she becomes a media darling either -- great photo op's an all. But really...every death is tragic! How is this one that much more unjust?

And he did lie about the war. I suppose it all comes down to this again.

Pitty the hawks couldn't sympathise with her loss rather than disparage her character. And pitty the anti-bush couldn't take her protest in context.

 

that's the problem.. she feels her son was duped.. he was made to believe that he was signing up to defending the country which something very noble.. but Bush's war is slowly turning out to have nothing to do with anything noble especially defenting the country..

 

Until the MSM in its entirety proves itself to be as wildly inaccurate as Drudge or Jayson Blair, your "point" is moot. It took Drudge selectively quoting an article out of context to make this woman look like she changed her story. This woman and her "quest" is the story here, not Rather or Blair, or even Drudge. The only reason Drudge was disparaged in this thread is because he set out to mislead people about this woman.

Your missives about the MSM are red herrings and do nothing to invalidate this story. If you want to rant about the MSM, start a thread about it rather than trying to use said rants to derail this thread or invalidate this story. If you start such a thread, I feel it is only fair to warn you that it is clear that Judy Miller would be far more analagous to Walter Duranty than Rather is.