Page 154 - Mass Media, Mass Propoganda Examining American News in the War on Terror

144 Chapter 6

seems to be: how could Americans be expected to formulate informed opinions
about prospects for war or peaceful alternatives to war if they were systemati-
cally denied such alternatives?

Smearing Cindy Sheehan

In 2005, Cindy Sheehan became a central figure in the anti-war movement. The
mother of an army specialist who was killed in Iraq, Sheehan presented a prob-
lem for the Bush administration in a time of war. Her pain and anguish made her
anti-war message difficult to discount, although that did not stop pundits from
trying. After her son Casey was lulled, Sheehan, along with a number of parents
who lost their children in Iraq, had a chance to meet with President Bush. Unful-
filled after her discussion with the President, Sheehan dedicated the month of
August to protesting the Iraq war outside of Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, as
she attempted to obtain another appointment to meet with the President. Her
protest gained nationwide media attention, as she vowed to sit outside of Bush's
ranch until he agreed to meet with her again.
Many throughout the mass media took great strides to criticize Sheehan.
Fred Barnes of Fox News labeled her a "crackpot," while Rush Limbaugh
claimed that her "story is nothing more than forged documents.. .there's nothing
about it that's real."5' A popular method of attack against Sheehan was to label
her a pawn of the anti-war movement. On Fox News, Bill O'Reilly characterized
Sheehan as "in bed with the radical left," while William F. Buckley of the con-
servative National Review condemned her as "the mouthpiece. . . of howling at
the moon, bile spewing Bush haters."" Charles Krauthammer denounced her for
"hurting our troops and endangering our troops."53 Krauthammer believes that
anti-war critics like Sheehan "have to be attacked because they are libeling
America, endangering Ameri~a."'~
Even liberal "supporters" of Sheehan in the mainstream press sometimes
resorted to backhanded compliments. These "supporters" sympathized with
Sheehan, while criticizing the anti-war movement in which she was involved.
Farhad Manjoo of Salon claimed that, "the antiwar movement was dominated by
lefties, and ineffective-until a grieving mother from California became its
symbol."55 Manjoo's discounting of the anti-war movement as fringe-based
seems inappropriate considering that since 2004, public support for the Iraq war
scarcely broke more than half the American public. Frank Rich of the New York
Times criticized "the opportunistic left wing groups that have attached them-
selves to her like barnac~es,"~~ while Leonard Pitts Jr. of the Miami Herald
stated: "Sheehan has one quality most protestors lack: moral authority." Pitt's
position seemed intended to create a dichotomy between those with and without
"moral authority," based directly upon the proximity (or lack there of) of protes-
tors to others who are directly involved in fighting the war.57 Such distinctions,
however, are not really of significance when looking at First amendment protec-
tions of the right to free speech, regardless of one's affiliation with the military.