8/14/05
The unasked question
A fallen soldier's mother cries out for an answer
LA Daily News
President George W. Bush has a public- relations problem on his hands, and her name is Cindy Sheehan. Sheehan is the mother of Army Spc. Casey Sheehan, who enlisted in 2000 and was killed in action in Iraq in April 2004, only days after he arrived.
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At his press conference at the ranch last week, Bush for the first time publicly acknowledged Sheehan's protest, saying that while he disagrees with her, he respects her right to speak her mind.
While giving a big ride to Sheehan's story, the White House press corps amazingly neglected to ask the most obvious question: Why won't the president meet with Sheehan?
True, such a meeting would have risks. The president might say something to Sheehan that would not play well or would be misinterpreted, and nobody's mind would be changed. But it also might have proved to be a bold move for the president overseeing this troubled war to sit with the grieving mother of a fallen soldier, feel her pain and talk to her from his heart.
http://www2.dailynews.com/opinions/ci_2940659