Grieving mother pulls a Kerry

A grieving mother who lost her son in Iraq has been all in the news the last few days because of a "peace vigil" she's holding in Crawford, TX. I was willing to cut the woman a great deal of slack, since (a) she lost her child in the war, (b) I cannot fathom being able to survive the loss of one of my own children, and (c) lashing out at the administration is to be expected. Her son paid the ultimate price for freedom, both for us and for the Iraqis.

However, when do actions borne of grief become actions borne of political opportunism? Quoting Sheehan: "I want to ask the president, why did he kill my son?" Come on, ma'am. I sympathize greatly for your loss, beyond words. However, it is simply ridiculous to say that Bush murdered her son. I thought it was Islamic terrorists (that the MSM affectionately refer to as "insurgents") that killed her son, but she seems by implication to place more blame on Bush. This rhetoric trivializes her son's service. It's one thing to go down to Crawford, set up a protest, demand answers, etc., since they are all valid and legitimate forms of expression. But to accuse Bush of murdering her son? That's a bit over the top, Mrs. Sheehan.

Anyway, I was still even willing to ignore all that, again chalking it up to a grieving mother lashing out. However, it looks like Mrs. Sheehan has pulled a John Kerry. From Drudge (complete with transcripts):

The mother of a fallen U.S. soldier who is holding a roadside peace vigil near President Bush's ranch -- has dramatically changed her account about what happened when she met the commander-in-chief last summer!

Cindy Sheehan, 48, of Vacaville, Calif., who last year praised Bush for bringing her family the "gift of happiness," took to the nation's TV outlets this weekend to declare how Bush "killed an indispensable part of our family and humanity."

The article illustrates her exact words last year, versus her new tune these days. While her grief was no different, her tune was. Ol' Wolf Blitzer seems to have been sloppy on his reporting, having insufficiently prepped for the interview. Had he prepped accordingly, he would have asked her about how her comments now are in stark contrast to this time last year (her son was already dead last year).

As Neal Boortz points out: "We have an all-volunteer Military. Her son made the choice to enlist in the Army. If he didn't want the possibility of going to war, he shouldn't have signed up. It is a risk people take. Sure, in peacetime, you get to sign up, be stationed somewhere and have your college paid for, but not in war." I hate losing soldiers, too. More than anything. I come from a proud family of soldiers, especially Marines. I was not cut out to be a soldier, while people like my father and his father were indeed cut out for it. That's why they enlisted, and I did not. My love and admiration for the armed forces runs no less deep than theirs. Our country is a better place due to the selfless actions of our military personnel: past, present, and future.