What is gained by backing Cindy's demand to speak to Bush.

[Inland]

Replacing our elected dictator with representative government. No more, no less.

Legitimizing asking Bush questions, of Bush having to try to justify his decisions, of Bush being responsble to somebody other than his own self and own conscience.

From before the war, people with doubts were delegitimized as focus groups, and the decision for war was solely Bush's based on Bush's opinion. He would do whatever he had to do, in his opinion, based on what he thought.

Failing to get behind the war decision was unpatriotic or helped the enemy. The only thing to do is rally around the only president we have. In fact, it was time for him to be known as the Commander in Chief even among civilians. If you had any doubts, voicing them would only do more harm than good, because a) the decision has been made and b) only unity will allow for victory. That the decision was leading to a futile result and that "victory" was undefined and that no amount of unity would make it better was discarded in the delegitimized "doubts" category.

The only time to question the president's war policies was during the election campaign, at which time the question is again delegitimized as "just politics" or "they just hate Bush" until after the election, when the question is once again marginalized and delegitimized as inappropriate now that the election is over. Time to rally around the winner again!

I'm sick of the ideology that makes Bush an elected dictator with the elections themselves turned into a smear and delegitimization of opposition. I'm sick of the mere questioning being accused of helping terrorists or being "just politics".

A soldier like Hackett or a mother like Cindy Sheehan makes it possible for the people to realize that maybe, just maybe, they are doing something legitimate. That's why it was so predictable that the Bush backers would swift boat Cindy and declare that Hackett's run was basically a fraud of pretending to be a republican. Opposition cannot be met fairly without legitimizing it, legitimizing opposition gets people considering the opposition, and then the house of cards comes down.

Bush's actually meeting a citizen to hear her statements will cure that tendency away from democratic debate and legitimate loyal opposition. No, it won't change Bush's mind, but that's why he's going to hell. Can't help that.

What it changes, and has changed, is the mind of Americans. Now they don't understand this President's belief that merely allowing someone to raise an issue to his face shows a lack of resolve.

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Check out this thread to get an idea what she represents.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4303420

[bryant69]

2. Yeah

I think this crystallizes why what Seehan is doing is important - we have a return to the Imperial Presidency in a lot of ways. The President is supposed to be a first among equals not some kind of beloved leader who is above it all.

That said, I do understand being concerned at how the Right Wing might handle this - so far they aren't showing much skill or finesse - so maybe they really don't have anything. But, as I said in another post, it's a simple three step formula. 1 - they place Cindy Seehan as a representative of the Anti-War Movement. 2 - they discredit her or humiliate her. 3 - they then claim the Anti War movement is discredited or humiliated.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[Inland]

3. The three steps to delegitimazation is pretty much reflex by now.

However, with the war going badly, single events are become firestorms in no time at all, leading to misfired responses.

The attacks on Cindy Sheehan have been lame and all over the place.

The attacks on Hackett were downright insulting to troops and service, ie, having draft-avoider Limbaugh call him a "puke".

Events move so quickly and resonate so deeply in the background of--how shall I put it--FACTS about Bush, the war, how we got into it and how we aren't getting out of it that the right wing isn't able to effectively smear individuals.

Opposition to the Commander in Chief is now, once again, just plain democracy. Or so I hope.