Because I am educated and serious about things, I listen to NPR. Just today, in fact, I was listening to Talk of the Nation. Be impressed for a moment, and then strap on your thinking cap, because it's that show I'd like to talk to you about now.

Today's headline guest was Cindy Sheehan -- she of the dead son and tent city in Crawford, Texas. Like many of you, I sympathize with Mrs. Sheehan. Sleeping in a tent is horrible. And like many more of you, I agree with her point prima facie. Or I did. You might say that today's Talk of the Nation was my second facie, and I didn't like what I facied.

It's not that Sheehan changed my mind on Iraq. I believe now as I did yesterday: that the nation was handed a shit sandwich and told it was a sloppy joe, but that we've already bitten into it, and if there's one thing worse than a shit sandwich, it's a half-eaten shit sandwich.

Sheehan just didn't come across as I'd hoped. I'd imagined a mom's mom -- a woman who put away her apron and missed her PTA meetings reluctantly. A woman who came to Texas because she was compelled by sadness and a sense that her country was doing something wrong. Now I know that's kind of a sexist ideal, but if you're reading this site you're obviously not all that worried about sexism.

Instead, she was incredibly defensive. She came across like a harpy -- confrontational, loud-mouthed, and dismissive. She refused to answer a number of innocuous questions, goaded the host Neal Conan into tossing softballs about her upcoming bus tour, and then cut the interview off much earlier than had been planned. Planned by TOTN's producers, anyway.

And it's not like we're talking about Fox News. This was NP fucking R. Her stroked-out mother is more skeptical of what she says than the people who listen to Talk of the Nation. This was a home game for Sheehan, to be sure.

So, as much as I love her for giving the left a rallying cry in a time when the Democratic Party can't seem to find its ass with a flashlight, I really hope the folks at MoveOn.org keep her away from microphones in the future. Just stand there and look sad, Cindy.


Nobody plugged that mic in, right? Perfect. Just like that, Cindy.

Analogcabin @ 4:44 PM
Permalink |