Quick help re: Supposed Cindy Sheehan "quote"

[Systematic Chaos]

Please, can anybody here either confirm or refute the allegation in this Arab Times piece wherein the author maintains that Cindy Sheehan said the following:

“I now know he’s sincere about wanting freedom for the Iraqis,” Cindy said after their meeting, “I know he’s sorry and feels some pain for our loss. And I know he’s a man of faith.”

It REEKS of bullshit to me, but I am composing a point-by-point attack on his disgusting article and I could use the help.

Thanks DU'ers!

:hi:

[niyad]

1. the meeting 2 months after her son died?

[Systematic Chaos]

2. Yes.

The author of the article says that is what Mrs. Sheehan said immediately after that meeting, but then "changed her story" to what she is saying about * currently.

Did she really come out of that meeting and say that at the time, or shortly thereafter? It doesn't sound right at all.

On edit: sorry I wasn't more clear in my original post, but I plan to spend a little time responding to this lunatic and I want to have my facts straight. I got a lot on my mind right now. :)

[Horse with no Name]

3. Media Matters

http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=3662

[Systematic Chaos]

9. Thank you!

Exactly what I was looking for! :hi:

[mzteris]

4. here ya go........

" . . . Drudge quoted Sheehan seemingly speaking glowingly of Bush: "'I now know sincere about wanting freedom for the Iraqis,' Cindy said after their meeting. 'I know he's sorry and feels some pain for our loss. And I know he's a man of faith,' " and, "For the first time in 11 weeks, they felt whole again. 'That was the gift the president gave us, the gift of happiness, of being together,' Cindy said." Drudge contrasted these quotes to Sheehan's statements on the August 7 edition of CNN's Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer, in which she said, of the 2004 meeting with Bush: "We wanted to use the time for him to know that he killed an indispensable part of our family and humanity."

Drudge, however, took Sheehan's quotes from The Reporter out of context in falsely claiming a shift in her position. The June 24, 2004, Reporter article also quoted Sheehan expressing her misgivings about Bush and the Iraq war: "We haven't been happy with the way the war has been handled," Cindy said. "The president has changed his reasons for being over there every time a reason is proven false or an objective reached."

The 10 minutes of face time with the president could have given the family a chance to vent their frustrations or ask Bush some of the difficult questions they have been asking themselves, such as whether Casey's sacrifice would make the world a safer place. But in the end, the family decided against such talk, deferring to how they believed Casey would have wanted them to act. In addition, Pat noted that Bush wasn't stumping for votes or trying to gain a political edge for the upcoming election.

Moreover, Sheehan was not referring to her meeting with Bush as "the gift the president gave us." She was actually referring to the trip to Seattle, as Reporter staff writer Tom Hall noted in an August 9 article responding to Drudge: "Sheehan also said the trip to Seattle helped connect her family to others that had lost a son or daughter in Iraq. Sheehan said sharing their story with those families was rewarding, as was the time she got to spend with her own family. 'That was the gift the president gave us, the gift of happiness, of being together,' she said in the story. Drudge included that quote in his Monday morning report, but didn't explain that it referred to sharing time with her family, not the president."



http://mediamatters.org/items/200508100009

[applegrove]

5. Two months into loosing a child and you are so deep in grief you don't

know what is going on.

[Trillo]

7. Not only the grief, but also the need to reassess

over time. Does our first judgment in every or even any situation have to be our last? Can't we change our minds as our brains ponder events, such as a past meeting with a person.

[seriousstan]

6. Here is the original article.....

http://www.thereporter.com/republished/ci_2923921

Sincerity was something Cindy had hoped to find in the meeting. Shortly after Casey died, Bush sent the family a form letter expressing his condolences, and Cindy said she felt it was an impersonal gesture.

"I now know he's sincere about wanting freedom for the Iraqis," Cindy said after their meeting. "I know he's sorry and feels some pain for our loss. And I know he's a man of faith."

The meeting didn't last long, but in their time with Bush, Cindy spoke about Casey and asked the president to make her son's sacrifice count for something. They also spoke of their faith.

While meeting with Bush, as well as Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, was an honor, it was almost a tangent benefit of the trip. The Sheehans said they enjoyed meeting the other families of fallen soldiers, sharing stories, contact information, grief and support.

For some, grief was still visceral and raw, while for others it had melted into the background of their lives, the pain as common as breathing. Cindy said she saw her reflection in the troubled eyes of each.

"It's hard to lose a son," she said. "But we (all) lost a son in the Iraqi war."

The trip had one benefit that none of the Sheehans expected.

For a moment, life returned to the way it was before Casey died. They laughed, joked and bickered playfully as they briefly toured Seattle.

For the first time in 11 weeks, they felt whole again.

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

[Spazito]

8. And a later article about the controversy

Anti-war position not new

Reporter readers have followed the evolution this past year of Vacaville resident Cindy Sheehan from grieving mother to outspoken anti-war protester who today is camped out near the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas, demanding his resignation.
It is not the same Sheehan family we met in April, still stunned after learning that 24-year-old Army Spc. Casey Sheehan had died in an ambush.

The Sheehans - with 16 other families - met President Bush at Fort Lewis, Wash., where he extended condolences and appreciation for their sacrifice.

At the time, the Sheehans debated whether to be brutally honest with the president. They had serious concerns about the war. But in the end, they told our reporter, they decided to be respectful. President Bush even kissed Cindy Sheehan on the cheek.

more

http://www.thereporter.com/search/ci_2925934