Why My Wife is in Crawford Texas

08/11/05

Cindy Sheehan became an acquaintance of my wife and myself because of our joint membership in Military Families Speak Out, after which Cindy founded Gold Star Families.

My wife is in Texas sleeping in a tent as I write this. She is with Cindy by request and - contrary to right-wing intellectual rationales for why Cindy's motives are about grandstanding - that operation down there is very much a seat-of-the-pants thing that has picked up steam and a life ot its own.

Why?

Something more original than calculated political maneuvers in the tradition of Niccolo and Karl has been affected. And it's getting better, more calculated and skilled all the time because for the most part an enormous light bulb has flashed in public consciousness all over the country.

In her anger, grief and willingness to take it to the President regardless of the advice and counsel of the "old pros" and self-appointed strategists, she knew what she had to do to deal with her emotions. Take it to the man himself who - by virtue of his own transparency in acts, words and lack of character - has it coming.

... has it coming in the same manner and for the same reasons Custer had it coming.

Cindy has triggered and authorized that suppressed anger and frustration of millions in this country who are tired of trying to reconcile deception, manipulation and political thievery with a notion that an elected president is assumed to and expected to possess virtues and integrity, honor, compassion and wisdom rather than cheap words and slogans.

"Noble cause" as verbally spewed from the mouth of Mr. Bush is one of the most powerful demonstrations of insincerity you'll ever see from an important and prominent American politician.

It's interesting also that someone as basically simple and without guile as Cindy can come out of obscurity driven by geniune anger and literally take the moral high ground out of the hands of the blowhards who think they had a monopoly.

It's intersting that this unskilled and spontaneous middle-aged lady has demonstrated more impromptu skill and power of integrity and righteous indignation than any supposed power machinations we've seen from the reputed master of political tactic.

It's interesting that this person from the heart of America's true silent majority has generated so much whimpering and whining from those who find themselves more and more bereft of response and engulfed in shame.

It's interesting that his closest tactical advisors were too dumb to see that Bush should have seen Mrs. Sheehan the first day she arrived. By foolish delay, Bush has lost all the power and aura of that the presidential mantle that supposedly exudes from the most powerful man in the world. He who hesitates is lost and Bush and his spin doctors have blown it big time.

If he see's her now he'll be conceding and by action if not words admitting a mistake - something he never does. Eyeball to eyeball, in this showdown he will have blinked.

If his or his advisors authorize any other action against Mrs. Sheehan they'll not only make a martyr of her and give her more credibility by having refused to meet the challenge openly and head-on; they will also make even more ludicrous their own rationales for the war and their endless array of excuses that do not and have not held water.

The swift-bloat attacks were predictable because the pattern is now out there. The deceivers are dangerously close to having gone to the well one too many times.

One final thought: In all the defenses, apologist arguments and disingenuous rationales intended to justify and patriotize the incursion into Iraq, we have seen the transparent and unspoken acknowledgement that the original reasons were bogus.

We have seen that continuing acknowledgement when apologists continually cite the newest or latest rationales and conveniently refuse to recognize that the orignal reasons were lies.

We see and hear this over and over.

The two clowns Bush did send out to meet with Cindy had basically one rationale: "Iraqis can now vote."

That's because there isn't and has never been any successful apologist argument or proof that the first lying reasons were anything but lies ... lies that got us there ... deliberate lies.