E&P: Account of Iraq War Protestor's Meeting With Bush Draws Scrutiny

[truthpusher]

Here comes the attack machine....

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001011299

Account of Iraq War Protestor's Meeting With Bush Draws Scrutiny
----------------------------
By Greg Mitchell and Joe Strupp
Published: August 08, 2005 5:18 PM ET
----------------------------
NONEA year-old article in a small California newspaper suddenly became one of the hottest media stories in the country today, generating wildly different interpretations from supporters and detractors of the Iraq war. This afternoon, the newspaper posted a story on its Web site, along with its original story, which may only add fuel to the fire.

(snip)

Today, at a press briefing about Air Force One en route to New Mexico, reporters asked repeatedly about Sheehan's request. White House spokesman Trent Duffy suggested the meeting was unlikely, since the president met with her last year. "And he was glad to meet with her at that time," Duffy said. "We always mourn the loss of every life."

He also pointed out that the White House had sent two top officials out to meet with her this weekend, and said she "expressed on more than three occasions that she was very appreciative for them coming out."

(snip)

At the time of her meeting with Bush in June 2004, Sheehan's hometown paper, the Vacaville Reporter, covered her reaction.
As charges flew this afternoon, David Henson, author of the original story, told E&P this afternoon, “I stand by my full report as an accurate reflection of the Sheehans at the time of the interview. I wouldn't want to speculate about Ms. Sheehan's point of view. My article accurately reflected her position at the time.”

(snip)

complete story: http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001011299

[rodeodance]

1. an ealier thread that Cindy said she was in shock at the time of her

first meeting.

[DoYouEverWonder]

5. A lot has changed since that first meeting

back then the majority of Americans still believed Bush. Stories about the Niger forgeries were still considered tin foil hat stuff. Here we are two years later and everyone now knows Saddam didn't have WMD's and he wasn't a serious threat. In the face of new evidence, millions of people like Cindy are changing their minds about Bush.

[rodeodance]

7. and Bush does have a flare for seeming interested--jovial etc. that

wins people over on first impressions.

[robertarctor]

2. Context is everything

Not to mention that it's absurd to hold someone's emotional response, frozen in time, up as a template for how they should be feeling now. I find it astonishing that the RWNM is using an edited version of that story to discredit Ms. Sheehan.

[rodeodance]

3. here is a recent Cindy comment on meeting Bush the first time.

.....Cindy commented that she is "very amazed and gratified that people are supporting us."

Cindy appears very drained, what with all the commotion. She often wipes her forehead and pulls her hair out of her eyes. It is very warm here.

She said in an interview that when she spoke to Bush before, he kept calling her Mom. "I was really insulted by that. I kept wanting to say 'I'm not your mom.'" Cindy noted that during that event, Bush was not really present, was somewhat distracted, like he didn't want to be there. Now, she said, "I'm not in shock anymore."

http://www.iconoclast-texas.com/News/2005/31-40/32news11.htm

[rodeodance]

4. nominated.

[rodeodance]

6. a good response from Cindy would be "I have seen the light"!!

.......For months, Sheehan has strongly criticized the president on the war, adding that she was disappointed in his demeanor -- he allegedly acted like he was at a party -- and comments during her 10-minute meeting with him. This morning, The Drudge Report published quotes from Henson's Vacaville story (which at that time was no longer on the paper's site). This, Drudge suggested, showed that Sheehan had changed her account of that meeting radically.

Drudge quoted Sheehan saying at that time about Bush, “I now know he's sincere about wanting freedom for the Iraqis. I know he's sorry and feels some pain for our loss. And I know he's a man of faith.”

He also noted that Sheehan had taken comfort from meeting. “That was the gift the president gave us, the gift of happiness, of being together,” Sheehan said, referring to the benefit to her family.

But liberal Web sites quickly pointed out that the original story also revealed that Sheehan and her husband, Patrick, had debated before the meeting whether to ask pointed questions about the war and whether to vent frustration over their son's sacrifice. Ultimately, the Sheehans decided not to criticize Bush in the meeting......

[rodeodance]

8. also---well bush has changed his mind about the reasons for war also.

that might shut this jeepers up?????

[lumpy]

10. She must feel she has the right

to let her true feelings be known. I am not speaking for her, but some people really have a fear of speaking out about their true feelings.

[Beam Me Up]

11. Not the least bit astonishing. This is how they opperate.

Any story that won't disappear due to simple inattention must be made controversial. There are many ways to do that but assassinating the credibility of one or more of the story's protagonists is typical. If that fails, further assault on integrity will follow.

[RamboLiberal]

9. Here's the link to the original story - I also posted in GD

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

Judge for yourself.

[Peace Patriot]

13. I just read it, and they said they put all their criticisms of the war

aside, and found Bush to be "sincere" and a "man of faith." It's a perfectly understandable reaction for parents in trauma, having just lost their son. They were still in mourning. A visit to the president was like part of the funeral. They said they decided not to question Bush on the war but instead to act like their son would have wanted them to act (deferential, respectful--was the implication). You can see their conflict--wanting to honor their son, but also being angry and distrustful of the man who sent him to his death.

And the questions, anger and distrust just grew and grew--after this meeting.

The Bush apologists are on thinner ice than usual here. The mother of a dead soldier can't expand her viewpoint, after the trauma is past, and start parsing the lies about this war, and be moved to prevent other such tragedies happening to other families?

What a rotten bunch they are, the Bush apologists! What lobotomized brains! What venal, money-grubbing boot-lickers! What perfumed lapdogs! What bow-tied puppets! What bobble-headed Barbie Doll vampiresses! What wisps of evil! What minor shadows! Oo-oo-oo, I could go on!

[RamboLiberal]

15. Exactly - and Pat said they had respect for the office

"We have a lot of respect for the office of the president

I've done that - respected the title and office not necessarily the person.

And even if I respected the person at the time, if I continued to watch them and they acted like an ahole - then I would lose the respect and speak out against the person.

We've had some very honorable and courageous men occupy that office and we've had some aholes as well, though none as big as *.

That Cindy could recognize that makes her a far more intelligent person than all the * lackeys and koolaid drinkers. Repubs like McCain and Powell would do well to take a lesson from her. At one time I admired those two men, but they sold their soul to the devil.

[niceypoo]

12. Its time for the right wing smear machine to go on the attack

How dare she not see the ChimpenFuhrers new clothes! Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!!

[VegasWolf]

14. The power elite is starting to "Mary Madgelene" Cindy, i.e., turn a good

woman into a whore. :mad:

[The_Casual_Observer]

16. Looks like rove & hughes are on this one. The smarmy remarks

are pure texas trademark.

[MasonJar]

17. What a job! Constantly keeping themselves and Stump out of

trouble. Their lies are going to catch up with them eventually; even the smitten can only stand so much.

[xchrom]

18. hey bush and media observers!?!

where are the weapons of mass destruction?

talk about changing minds?

[sabra]

19. Drudge focuses on Vacaville mom (Cindy Sheehan swiftboating)

<<SNIP>>
http://www.timesheraldonline.com/portlet/article/html/fragments/print_article.jsp?article=2925951

Drudge focuses on Vacaville mom

By TOM HALL, The Reporter, Vacaville
Vallejo Times Herald

Conservative online commentator Matt Drudge, the man behind the popular Drudge Report, on Monday accused Cindy Sheehan of Vacaville, the mother of a fallen U.S. soldier, of changing her tune to serve political purposes.
Last summer, Cindy Sheehan and her husband, Patrick, had a face-to-face meeting with President Bush. Today, she remains camped outside the president's Texas ranch, in the glare of the national media spotlight, demanding another face-to-face meeting and calling for his impeachment.

....

It drew on quotes from a Sheehan interview published June 24, 2004, in The Reporter. Cindy Sheehan told reporter David Henson that she and husband debated before the meeting whether to ask pointed questions about the war and whether to vent their frustration over their son's sacrifice. Ultimately, they chose not to.

....

Sheehan, in a press release distributed Monday by the Institute for Public Accuracy, explained she was "still in shock" during her 2004 meeting with the president.

"We had decided not to criticize the president then because during that meeting he assured us, 'This is not political.' And I believed him," Sheehan wrote. "Then, during the Republican National Convention, he exploited those meetings to justify what he was doing. It's now clear to me that what I had feared is true: Bush lied us into war, and Casey, more than 1,800 other Americans and thousands and thousands of Iraqis are dead because of what he did."

<</SNIP>>