In the eye of a political storm

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In the eye of a political storm

By Tom Hall/Staff Writer

TheReporter.Com 

Last summer Cindy Sheehan got a face-to-face meeting with President Bush, complete with kisses and condolences.

Today the Vacaville resident is camped outside the president's Texas ranch -- in the glare of the national media spotlight -- demanding another face-to-face meeting, and ultimately his impeachment.

Sheehan's son Casey, an Army specialist, was killed in Sadr City, Iraq, in April 2004. Eleven weeks later, the Sheehan family traveled to Seattle for a 10-minute conversation with the president, who met with 16 other families who had lost love ones in Iraq.

In the ensuing months, Cindy Sheehan has become a focal point in the ongoing partisan battle over the Iraq war, drawing the praise of many anti-war Democrats and the ire of Republicans who back Bush's decision.

Sheehan's role in that battle exploded Monday morning, when Matt Drudge - the infamous commentator behind the popular Drudge Report, a right-leaning online news site - accused Sheehan of changing her tune to serve political purposes.

Drudge's story, headlined "Protesting Soldier Mom Changed Story on Bush' and posted in the highest slot on the Web site that receives more than 5 million visits per day, pulled quotes from a Sheehan interview published June 24, 2004, in The Reporter.

That story, by staff writer David Henson, was an account of Sheehan's visit with the president in Seattle.

In Henson's story, Sheehan spoke of how she and husband, Patrick, debated before the meeting whether to ask pointed questions about the war and whether to vent frustration over their son's sacrifice. Ultimately, the Sheehans decided not to criticize Bush in the meeting.

Afterward, Cindy Sheehan told Henson of a new-found respect toward Bush.

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

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 familiy, not the president.

Drudge also included most recent quotes from Sheehan highly critical of Bush and the 2004 meeting, including a statement the mother made Sunday to CNN.

"Every time we tried to talk about Casey and how much we missed him, he would change the subject,' Sheehan told correspondent Wolf Blitzer of the cable news network. "And he acted like it was a party.'

Drudge's report fueled opinions on both sides of the political spectrum Monday.

Posters on highly visited liberal Web log Daily Kos said Drudge's report was misleading, while right-wing bloggers, including the popular Michelle Malkin, echoed Drudge's sentiments that Sheehan was contradicting herself, perhaps for political reasons.

The Reporter decided to post Henson's 2004 story on www.thereporter.com today.

"It's important that readers see the full context of the story, instead of just selected portions,' said Editor Diane Barney. "We stand by the story as an accurate reflection of the Sheehan's take on the meeting at the time it was published.'

The Sheehan family could not be reached for comment.

http://www.thereporter.com/news/ci_2923943