http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/20/AR2005082001046.htmlRefusal to See Sheehan Is Second-Guessed
A Decision Characteristic of Bush Has the Potential to Be a Consequential Act
By Mike Allen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, August 21, 2005; Page A05
CRAWFORD, Tex., Aug. 20 -- It would have taken half an hour or less, and it might have lowered the temperature on a month's worth of searing publicity.
When Cindy Sheehan showed up outside President Bush's ranch on the fourth full day of his five-week working vacation to talk about a son who had been killed in Iraq, he declined to meet with her -- a decision that has been widely second-guessed, even by some Republicans. The way that choice was made, and the reasons for it, provide a vivid illustration of several hallmarks of Bush's style, including his insistence on protocol, his concern with precedent, his resistance to intrusions and his aversion to hand-wringing.
....
White House officials maintain that Sheehan may have discredited herself with statements about impeachment, her insistence on a withdrawal from Iraq, her mixing of her cause with that of the Palestinians, and her accusation that Bush "killed" her son. If Sheehan has lost credibility with the public, the "peace mom" might turn out to be only a summer sensation.
....
Before leaving Thursday after her mother had a stroke in California, Sheehan had spent 13 days camped out in Crawford and had galvanized liberal activists at a time when a spate of U.S. troops had just died in Iraq, Iraqi leaders were flagging in their effort to complete their constitution, and polls were showing a notable souring of the public view of the war. The resulting "Camp Casey" has provided the biggest platform for the left since last year's release of Michael Moore's film "Fahrenheit 9/11."
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The question of whether Bush was insensitive or out of touch, which had been a flash point in the campaign, was back, and commentators were once again talking about presidential naps. Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) said on CNN the next day that it would be good to invite Sheehan in "just as a matter of courtesy and decency." Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) said Friday on CNN that "the wise course of action, the compassionate course of action, the better course of action would have been to immediately invite her into the ranch."
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