Casey and Cindy Sheehan -- American Heroes

Hero

From CNN:

He was an altar boy, an Eagle Scout, a church youth group leader. That is what people remember about Casey Sheehan, the 24-year-old soldier whose death in Iraq has become a flashpoint for debate about the war since his mother began staging a peace vigil outside the president's ranch in Texas.

Among family and friends -- not to mention TV pundits, Internet bloggers and newspaper columnists -- opinions vary about Cindy Sheehan's demand to meet with the president to talk about why the U.S. went to war. Like others, they struggle with whether her determination to bring the war home honors or diminishes his choice to join the Army.

But those who knew the young man she so publicly mourns agree that if anyone is an appropriate face for the war's more than 1,800 U.S. deaths, it is Casey. He had a gentle but firm commitment to family, church and country, re-enlisting after the war started and volunteering for the rescue mission in which he and six others were killed last year.

[full story]

Hero

From the BBC:

The mother of a US soldier killed in Iraq, who is holding a roadside protest outside President Bush's Texas ranch, is gaining support from well-wishers.

Cindy Sheehan has received flowers and food from people who support her anti-war stance, and dozens have turned out to join her demonstration.

She is vowing to remain until she is allowed to speak to the president about his justification for the war.

...

"Before my son was killed, I used to think that one person could not make a difference,'' she told AFP. "But one person that is surrounded and supported by millions of people can be heard."

[full story]

Zero

From CNN:

President Bush's motorcade, en route to a political fund-raiser near his ranch, passed Friday by the site of Cindy Sheehan's Iraq war protest where more than 100 people had gathered to support her.

Sheehan -- whose son, Casey, was killed five days after he arrived in Iraq last year at age 24 -- held a sign that read: "Why do you make time for donors and not for me?"

It's unclear whether Bush, riding in a black Suburban with tinted windows, looked at the demonstrators as his caravan passed.

The motorcade did not stop.

...

He arrived at the fund-raiser before noon CT at a neighbor's ranch for a barbecue where he was expected to raise at least $2 million for the Republican National Committee, said RNC spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt.

Some 230 people were attending the fund-raiser at Stan and Kathy Hickey's Broken Spoke Ranch, a 478-acre spread next to Bush's ranch. All have contributed at least $25,000 to the RNC, and many are "rangers," an honorary campaign title bestowed on those who raised $200,000 or more for Bush, or "pioneers," those who have raised $100,000 or more.

[full story]

Charming, no? Cindy Sheehan contributed her first-born son, but I guess that doesn't count for much with the president.

Sigh...

Is it time to vote again yet?