More on Cindy Sheehan

I keep hearing Cindy Sheehan described as having an "anti-Bush agenda" as if this is somehow an indictment of her current actions. Folks, don't let this fool you: It's just another case of repackaging something, to make it seem like something it isn't. Cindy Sheehan disagrees with President Bush. She is asking him to provide some insight into what the noble purpose is that her son died for.

Serious protester or grieving mother, she's asking Bush to stop using platitudes about noble causes and actually provide some actual backing to the words. So yes, she disagrees with him, and yes, that qualifies as an "anti-Bush agenda".

However... the last I checked, we're still free in this country to speak out when we disagree with our leaders. We should not allow our leaders to dismiss any disagreement with fancy words that boil down to "she disagrees with me". Because that's really what those words mean. Her disagreement with the President shouldn't be taken seriously because she disagrees with the President.

Folks, it's dangerous if we let our leaders and those who surround them define as ridiculous anything which disagrees with them. Our fundamental principles as a country give us the right to disagree and the freedom to speak out when we do. Don't let those fundamental freedoms be eroded by making it TOO easy to dismiss out of hand any dissenting opinion.

What this turns out to be is another case of President Bush refusing to hear from the common people. His whole image is based on being a regular guy, just plain folks, and he likes us to believe he's out there talking to the regular population. And yet on Sunday he had time for a two hour bike ride, but can't find time to talk to someone who believes so strongly in her cause that she's willing to sit in a tent in sweltering temperatures, just to get her message across.

Remember, this is the President who, when he speaks in public, requires that everyone in the audience be pre-vetted so that the deck is stacked with those who agree with him. How can he ever claim to understand what the people want, when the only people he ever hears from are those who are selected based on their agreement?

This administration has done everything in its power to squash dissent, to demonize it or trivialize it or prevent it from being aired. Just about everything but actually answer it.

Liam.