I’m afraid I simply do not understand Cindy Sheehan.

I don’t think she’s being unpatriotic, I don’t want her to stop what she’s doing, and I’m sure as hell no apologist for the Bush Administration or the fiasco in Iraq. But I don’t get it.

She met with him once; that’s more chances than most grieving parents of American war dead generally get. She didn’t like the way she was treated; should that mean she gets a free do-over? She hates the way Bush is prosecuting the war; right on Sister, so do I. But I’m not waiting for our Commander-In-Chief to drop by the house so I can tell him what a shitty job I think he’s doing.

I think it’s that fact more than any other that makes me wonder what, besides inconsolable grief, is going through her mind. How many chances should the average American get to tell off the President directly to his face, and by what factor does that number increase if the American in question has suffered the loss of a loved one in a war instigated by said President?

It’s one thing to make impassioned speeches about making our leaders look the bereaved straight in the eye and tell them that this fight is necessary to the security of our nation. In principle it might be a good idea, but in practice it’d be a logistical nightmare. Do you line them up at the door to the Oval Office and out the door, through the rose garden, past the guard shack and onto Executive Avenue? Where will the soft pretzel and FBI sweatshirt vendors park their carts? Do you include the families of Iraqi war dead as well? What about the families of the approximately 250 civilian contractors who have been killed in Iraq? What about Afghans? (Interesting side note: the term is Afghan, not Afghani. “Afghani” is the name of the currency of Afghanistan. Because the Afghani does so poorly compared to other world currencies, calling a citizen of Afghanistan an Afghani is considered something of an insult. I get this straight from my boss, who had a meeting with two members of the US-Afghan Women’s Council. Long story.)

And where will all these people sleep while they’re waiting their turn? How long does each grieving family member get? Must each family elect one spokesperson, or do they all get a swing at him? What are the physical limitations? Can they shake a fist at him? Scream? Rend his garments? Spit in his face?

The mere concept of President Bush taking time out from his busy vacation to stop and listen to yet another person tell him that the war was a bad idea seems ludicrous to me. Hell, he doesn’t like hearing that sort of thing from his own staff, why would he go out of his way to listen to it—again—from Sheehan? Not to directly compare the two situations, but can you imagine Clinton sitting down to chat with the families of the folks who died in the Waco siege? What do you say to people whose husbands, wives, parents and children you were repsonsible for killing, no matter what the motive or necessity? “I’m sorry, but it seemed like a good idea at the time.”

I can’t help but feel that this whole thing is nothing but a massive political exercise, intended to cast the President and the war in an unfavorable light. In fact, I truly hope that’s what it is, because that at least makes sense to me; it’s just politics.

Kind of like using right-wing foundation money to help prop up, propagandize and prosecute a spurious sexual harassment suit against a standing President. Except of course that this particular scandal actually exists in time and space, and has cost human lives and massive national resources.

Yeah, pretty much exactly like that except for those things. 😉