Sigh. Why won�t she shut up? Who you ask? Cindy Sheehan. Look, the protest has been an incredible event, and media spectacle, but a part of that is a fascination of watching this woman slowly talk herself apart. It�s like watching a train wreck in slow motion on some video accident show on TV. She is no stranger to controversial and plain ignorant remarks. She has uttered more then a few. Among her comments:

• Continues the meaningless and inaccurate rhetoric of calling Bush a murderer;
• She has praised her son�s killers as freedom fighters;
• She accused the soldiers she claims she is fighting for of killing innocent people;
• She stated she wished that she had not allowed her son a military funeral;
• She calls her son a war victim not hero, but then refers to herself as the mother of a war hero.
• She has said her son was killed for lies and for a PNAC Neo-Con agenda to benefit Israel.
• She also said �My son joined the Army to protect America, not Israel�

As a moderate minded person I often try to find common ground with the extremes on either side. I want to give the people on all sides a chance to express their opinions, and try to make sense of them. It seems logical to me that if a person passionately believes in something, then there must be some kind of foundation to that belief. Most people do not just believe something on a whim, though there are obviously exceptions.

And by the same token, I have noticed that a lot of debates really have a lot of common ground on the two sides. Sometimes it’s just minor issues that really separate them. And then again, many debates have no commonality at all except stubbornness and refusal to listen.

So when I look at the Anti Bush/War protesters and compare them to the Pro Bush/Support the troops folks, I have to admit, it’s hard to find a common ground. The lone exception is the concept of supporting the troops since both sides claim to be supporting the troops in their own way.

I will retain the right to blog on that another day.

Did you see this picture? http://tinyurl.com/cjctz It was from a photo diary on Cindy�s website, and also on Fox News. Cindy sitting pretty with her personal foot masseuse. Now I don�t want to focus too harshly on what is likely just a guy doing something nice, but it causes me to wonder who else she has in support there. I mean, we read about Camp Casey and hear about it, but we rarely see it, or the support staff that runs it. It, as I discovered is fairly extensive. They have doctors, lawyers, attorneys, mail sorters etc, some out of Crawford House, and some at the camp. And that’s cool, when people believe in something, they want to support it. Good for them. But I had heard mention of other support, things like media management and consultants, people screening the press etc…So I wondered who they are, who supports her with money and advice and political management. Let’s be honest, it’s a slick operation down there, with press reports, and interviews ans such. So I wondered who supports her and ABC7 in San Francisco kindly provided the answer (hat tip to Mike F). So here is a list of who is now standing behind her protest.

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=politics&id=3382521 PR Machine Behind Cindy Sheehan? Aug. 25 - With the President back at his Crawford ranch, the anti-war protest right outside his ranch is getting a lot more media attention. ABC7 looks at who is financing the operation and who’s providing on-the-ground support. The camp at Crawford is full of Cindy Sheehan supporters, people from all walks of life, but off to the side are a small group of professionals skilled in politics and public relations who are marketing Cindy Sheehan’s message. Cindy Sheehan kneels before a cross with her son’s name on it, touches his picture, wipes her tears. It’s an outpouring of emotion that is part of a scheduled news event organized daily for the television, radio and print reporters who crowd in to capture a mother’s grief. Cindy Sheehan: "I’m never going to see him again, I’m never going to hold him again, I’m never going to hear his voice again." Sheehan’s message hasn’t changed since she got here, but the support staff interested in getting that message out to the world has grown considerably. Organizers are set up in a house trailer. Their meetings closed to reporters. Leading the group is Fenton Communications employee, Michele Mulkey, based in San Francisco. Fenton specializes in public relations for liberal non-profits. Their bills are being paid for by True Majority, a non-profit set up by Ben Cohen — of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream fame. Ben Cohen, True Majority: "People are willing to listen to her and we want to do as much as we can to make her voice heard." Cohen’s group has teamed up with Berkeley based MoveOn.org, an anti-Bush group co-founded by Joan Blades. Earlier this month, MoveOn helped organize anti-war vigils in support of Cindy Sheehan. Current Democratic National Party Chair Howard Dean’s organization Democracy for America is also involved, as is the more radical anti-war group Code Pink organized by San Francisco’s Medea Benjamin. Money donated through these groups and others is helping to pay for Gold Star families whose children have been killed in Iraq to attend anti-Bush protests. This week Simi Valley California Gold Star wife Melanie House flew to Idaho for a protest and then flew to Crawford. ABC7’s Mark Matthews: "Can you tell us if you’re getting help in airfare to come down here?" Melanie House: "What difference does that make?" There is real reluctance to talk about who’s paying, and the P.R. machine that’s promoting Cindy Sheehan, but not everyone here is completely comfortable with it. Gold Star mother Karen Meredith came here from Mountain View. Her son Ken Ballard died last year. Karen Meredith, Gold Star mother: "Sometimes things don’t feel quite right to me. They don’t feel wrong, but maybe that’s how they do it in the marketing business." ABC7’s Mark Matthews: "You feel you’re part of a marketing business?" Karen Meredith: "Possibly. Yeah I think so." On the other side, pro-Bush supporters are getting on the ground to help reiterate their message. Grassfire.org and IM4W.com came back to the same Iowa-based conservative public policy organization, an organization with ties to the Republican National Committee. There is also the "Cindy you don’t speak for me tour," a caravan of military wives and mothers led by Deborah Johns of Roseville. Her son William is a marine who has served two tours of duty in Iraq. Johns and her supporters are traveling to Crawford to confront Cindy Sheehan. Deborah Johns, caravan leader: "It means everything for me to be here, to see the support. We’re so proud of him." The caravan is getting a lot of help from MoveAmericaForward.org. It’s a non-profit organization co-chaired by former state assemblyman Howard Koologian. Koologian is a Republican who takes credit for launching the recall against Governor Gray Davis. His co-chair is KSFO Radio talk show host Melanie Morgan. The group’s PR firm is led by a veteran California political strategist and the firm claims clients running from a county supervisor to President of the United States.

…"You know Iraq was no threat to the United States of America until we invaded. I mean they’re not even a threat to the United States of America. Iraq was not involved in 9-11, Iraq was not a terrorist state. But now that we have decimated the country, the borders are open, freedom fighters from other countries are going in, and they [American troops] have created more terrorism by going to an Islamic country, devastating the country and killing innocent people in that country. The terrorism is growing and people who never thought of being car bombers or suicide bombers are now doing it because they want the United States of America out of their country."