From the Cindy Sheehan camp

"... Deborah and I went to Crawford to confirm our gut suspicions about Cindy Sheehan, President Bush, this war, and the growing unrest of the American people. As usual, gut feelings don't lie. Cindy's description of her encounter with Bush in Tacoma in 2004, the one that prompted her ultimately to begin her vigil, was unsettling. As she told about that meeting, it was easy to envision the Bush strut she described - entering the room as though he were entering a party.

"Cindy's description of her meeting with Bush reminded me of the stage-managed 'Mission Accomplished' performance on an aircraft carrier on May 29, 2003. Even the Bush ranch struck me as a contrivance that perpetuates the sham. The then Texas governor had purchased the property only a few months before his election to the presidency, and it comes off as a gigantic movie prop. What you see on television is a stage set of old barns, equipment, and fencing nearly 10 miles away from the actual ranch.

"The idea that everyone who lives in Texas loves and supports ol' Dubya may also be a sham - or at least an overstatement. We met many Texans who see the president as an arrogant son who used his daddy's name and connections to get ahead.

"It seems to me that what Cindy Sheehan and the others mourning their war dead at Camp Casey are doing is bringing a visible accountability to bear on this administration's policies in Iraq. Their testimony is clear: America has gained nothing of value and lost much from this war. We have gained no security, no freedom, no fortune, no land, and no allies. Instead, we've gained death, dismemberment, increased national debt, more enemies, and more restrictions on our freedoms.

"President Bush could have defused this story on the first day Cindy arrived in Crawford. He could have embraced her, looked her in the eye, and honestly answered her question: 'What was the noble cause you keep claiming my son died for?'

"But perhaps he didn't because he didn't know himself."
Memphis Flyer