[Speed Gibson,
Friday August 12, 2005 at 1:37am]
Sheehan, Dowd, and Albright
Cindy Sheehan has apparently entered her "15 days of fame" with extensive national coverage of her camping near Crawford Texas where President Bush is vacationing. Many of our blogs have noticed this too, among them Shot in the Dark, Power Line, Bogus Gold, Anti-Strib, and Centrisity. Michelle Malkin has a good recap.
But respectfully, I think these fine bloggers, including Flash, are missing a key point. Cindy Sheehan needs professional help, as I blogged on July 1. I drew this conclusion listening to Nick Coleman interviewing her that day. I still have the MP3 and I just listened to it again, confirming my amateur diagnosis of acute paranoia. I found then that I was not alone, that several on the left such as Michael Kinsley had already distanced themselves from her and Gold Star Mothers For Peace organization for that reason. Dennis Prager put it succinctly this week: she snapped. The death of her son in Iraq was ultimately too much for her.
But that doesn't matter to people like Maureen Dowd, whose column appeared in Thursday's Minneapolis Star Tribune with an oversize picture of a despondant Cindy Sheehan along side. Many have argued that Maureen Dowd has had her own mental health issues the past few years. I won't go that far, but I enjoyed her columns of ten years ago. She also changed, and her columns now reflect only a bitter, uninspiring, tired version of her former self. Both Dowd and Sheehan seem to blame George W. Bush for everything.
Now I have to believe that Susan Albright, Editor of the Editorial Pages for the Star Tribune knows all this, given her high position. So why publish Dowd's column at all? And why the huge picture? As I like to say, was there nothing better on the wire to print? And is it fair to take advantage of Dowd and Sheehan's problems to further your own political agenda? I don't think so.
Cindy Sheehan has suffered a great loss. We all feel the loss, for as John Donne wrote, "any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind." But for others to take advantage of her this way, enabling her dysfunction, distracting her away from getting the professional help and closure she needs, this is inexcusable.
But respectfully, I think these fine bloggers, including Flash, are missing a key point. Cindy Sheehan needs professional help, as I blogged on July 1. I drew this conclusion listening to Nick Coleman interviewing her that day. I still have the MP3 and I just listened to it again, confirming my amateur diagnosis of acute paranoia. I found then that I was not alone, that several on the left such as Michael Kinsley had already distanced themselves from her and Gold Star Mothers For Peace organization for that reason. Dennis Prager put it succinctly this week: she snapped. The death of her son in Iraq was ultimately too much for her.
But that doesn't matter to people like Maureen Dowd, whose column appeared in Thursday's Minneapolis Star Tribune with an oversize picture of a despondant Cindy Sheehan along side. Many have argued that Maureen Dowd has had her own mental health issues the past few years. I won't go that far, but I enjoyed her columns of ten years ago. She also changed, and her columns now reflect only a bitter, uninspiring, tired version of her former self. Both Dowd and Sheehan seem to blame George W. Bush for everything.
Now I have to believe that Susan Albright, Editor of the Editorial Pages for the Star Tribune knows all this, given her high position. So why publish Dowd's column at all? And why the huge picture? As I like to say, was there nothing better on the wire to print? And is it fair to take advantage of Dowd and Sheehan's problems to further your own political agenda? I don't think so.
Cindy Sheehan has suffered a great loss. We all feel the loss, for as John Donne wrote, "any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind." But for others to take advantage of her this way, enabling her dysfunction, distracting her away from getting the professional help and closure she needs, this is inexcusable.