In a Perfect World Who among us can say what they would do under the circumstances that currently face President Bush as he vacations on his ranch in Crawford, Texas? Other than a handful of opportunistic delusionists, few would envy the man his job at this particular moment. Even to those most interested in being there, it is a difficult place in which to imagine oneself. By your best grasp, what would you do if a woman showed up outside your house, with entourage, and demanded that you come outside and explain yourself, perhaps even apologize before the cameras and microphones? To formulate an answer, you'll likely want to first know what it was that you had done to upset said woman... Well, basically, you killed her kid. Oh, not you specifically; that would be ghastly. But you did start a war in Iraq, which, as it turned out, was the greatest error in judgment any American president has ever made. In this woman's mind, that error set in motion a series of events that ended with the loss of her son's life. And she wants some answers. Cindy Sheehan wants to know just what noble cause was served when her 24-year old son, Casey, was killed in Sadr City on April 4, 2004. She actually went to the White House a couple of months later, like so many "Gold Star" folks have done in the last two and a half years. Like any military mom, she supported her son and his fateful decision. As any parent would be, she was in shock and grief, but still, she put her best foot forward on behalf of her country. Later on, a few small tidbits of information were discovered, like the Duelfer report. By the end of last year, Sheehan had become quite disillusioned about the war, and about the Bush administration. Unlike most Americans, she wasn't afraid to shoot her mouth off about it. In December of 2004, she wrote a letter to the editors of TIME magazine, probably to get some of the angst off her chest. She was irked by the Pentagon's admission that they had no real plan for anything beyond the initial blitz into Baghdad. She really didn't appreciate Donald Rumsfeld's signature rubber stamp on the letters to the bereaved. She lamented the "over 1,300 people" (it's over 1,800 today) who had sacrificed their lives for a "needless war". She also called the conflict "ill-prepared and badly prosecuted," and those seem like legitimate points. Most of all, she was offended that Bush had bestowed upon George Tenet, L. Paul Bremer and Tommy Franks - "three more architects of the quagmire that is Iraq" - the Medal of Freedom. Ultimately, even back then, she held the president responsible for the death of her progeny. And she expressed her disdain to the publication for naming George W. Bush as their 2004 Person of the Year. "This isn't the first time your magazine has selected a questionable man for this honor," Sheehan wrote, "but it's the first time it affected my family so personally and so sorrowfully." So she obtained a rather large bus, had the words "Impeachment Tour" painted on the side of it, and led a caravan down to the president's ranch, where he is at present doing his best Ike impersonation amidst a near-record 33-day vacation. With the media in tow, she waits for Bush to come out and give her the answers she wants. And she waits. While she waits, the conservatives are eating her for lunch every day. In cold terms, it has been discussed at length how Sheehan is demeaning her son's sacrifice, the military and our country by "saying that he died for nothing". It has been pointed out ad nauseam that he did, in fact, enlist in our all-volunteer force, that he wasn't exactly a child, that he died defending freedom. It has also been pointed out, in tones dripping with patronization, that the loss of one's offspring can surely cause even the strongest among us to go a little, you know, crazy. Maybe so; she's certainly kidding herself about Bush apologizing, explaining himself or any other such thing. He's just not that type of guy, never has been. In his mind, he can do no wrong. It's a common trait among those who suffer from Napoleonic complexes. In the meantime, he's silently condoning some pretty nasty activities on behalf of the local police and his own Secret Service, if reports from the scene are true. Apparently, those demonstrating with Sheehan in this rather effective circus stunt were made to walk in the ditch on the side of the road leading up to the executive cottage. Can't be on the pavement - that would look too much like Selma. Further, Sheehan says she has been warned "at least ten times" that her people might get hit by Secret Service vehicles rumbling in and out of the compound. She reports that she has already seen a woman with a young child run off the road. I'm not sure what she expected. Perhaps she thought some of the Democratic leaders, whoever they are, might take a junket to stand by her side. Or that more people would show up and help her harangue their public employee who had screwed up on the job. Maybe she thought the public would rise up in a tie-dyed wave and become, if not a peace-loving nation, at least one with the integrity to admit to its mistakes. If only that were so, we'd be closer to a perfect world, but in a perfect world, politicians aren't these mules who ignore the majority opinion of the people. And in a perfect world, a mother never has to bury her son. Paul Heller 8/09/05 << back to the archives
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