As most of America already knows, Cindy Sheehan, mother of slain Army Specialist Casey Sheehan who was killed in the Sadr City section of Baghdad in April of 2004 has been holding vigil under the blazing Texas sun since Saturday, August 6th demanding to meet with the President of the United States. Anyone who's watched the news has seen Ms. Sheehan, a sweet looking forty eight year old with friendly eyes who you wouldn't remark on if you were to pass her in the supermarket or mall. But apparently, according to some Texas state officials, Ms. Sheehan represents a Clear and Present Danger to George W. Bush.
Texas station KHOU is reporting that officials have informed Ms. Sheehan that if she doesn't leave by Thursday, August 9th, she will be considered to be a "Threat to the President." Since Mr. Bush is apparently too afraid to let Ms. Sheehan get within five miles of him it is difficult to assess her actual ability to cause the President any real harm. There is however, one possibility: President Bush had been planning to stroll down the roadside ditch that County Sheriff Kenneth Vanek forced Ms. Sheehan and her friends into on Saturday and is worried Ms. Sheehan will scratch him with a tumbleweed.
Those things can really hurt.
Camp Casey, as Ms. Sheehan's headquarters is known, is preparing for a full blown assault by Texas authorities who in addition to preparing to arrest Ms. Sheehan are also quite frankly preparing to look like complete idiots in the eyes of the country and the world as they handcuff this Gold Star Mother and haul her off to the hoosegow. But, being Texas Republicans, it is assumed that they have already had substantial practice at this.
It must be strange for President Bush, a man who has cultivated the flinty eyed look of a no nonsense Texas lawman with assiduity of a Hollywood actor, to be frightened of meeting with a forty eight year old woman who's spent the last few days crawling through a ditch. But that seems to be the only explanation. Of course, he just might have a summer cold and his reason for avoiding Ms. Sheehan is to make sure she doesn't get the sniffles. A Noble Cause indeed.
