Support the troops' moms (audio)

Posted by Evan Derkacz at 6:29 AM on August 9, 2005.

Here's a classy move. Cindy Sheehan, whose son was killed in Iraq, is in the process of getting smeared courtesy of the right wing hate machine. Sheehan, you may remember, has parked herself outside Bush's Crawford, Texas ranch insisting on a meeting. But he's on vacation and refuses.

Stick close, I don't think this is the worst news of all time. For Ms. Sheehan it surely does nothing to soothe her anguish, but the smear and the lightning speed at which it surfaced indicates that her presence is threatening. Which, of course, is good.

Sleazy gossip Matt Drudge breathlessly posted an artfully edited version of Sheehan's visit with Bush last year to make it seem as though she is a fickle opportunist--or, in the cheezy parlance of contemporary politics, a flip-flopper. Susanhu notes:

"Perhaps most egregiously, Drudge pulls this quote entirely from its proper context. Drudge quotes:

That was the gift the president gave us, the gift of happiness, of being together,' Cindy said."

Problem is, the gift the president gave them, far from being their actual meeting, was the fact that they then met with other families whose children had died in Iraq.

This out of context quote was just one of several used in a craven attempt to make Sheehan out to be a liar. Go here for the full story or to listen to her talk about her son, her feelings on Bush and Iraq, and the Drudge smear, go here.

A final note: Sheehan has been told that if she remains until Thursday she'll be deemed a threat to national security and arrested. This could really backfire. Stay tuned. (Booman Tribune/DailyKos/Crooks and Liars)

Evan Derkacz is a New York-based writer and contributor to AlterNet.