More Reasons to Avoid Cindy Sheehan

By my count, the nation's most infamous Gold Star mother is about a half-hour into her 15 minutes of fame. But Cindy Sheehan is still wallowing in the media limelight, fully absorbed in her newfound celebrity status and doing almost anything to keep her place on the national stage.

As denizens of the blogosphere know, Ms. Sheehan's lost her hold on reality during her protest vigil outside President Bush's ranch a month or so ago. Since then, she has uttered a series of increasingly incredulous statements that have no basis in fact, and suggest that Ms. Sheehan's activities are more about her public personna that a legitimate protest against the War in Iraq.

Senator John McCain learned that lesson the hard way. On Tuesday, he held a meeting with Ms. Sheehan, one day after her arrest during an anti-war demonstration in Washington. Sheehan was positively beaming as police took her into custody, under the glare of TV lights. So much for the grieving mother, whose son was "murdered" by George W. Bush in Iraq.

Fresh from that triumph, Ms. Sheehan used the meeting with McCain as her latest media ploy. Emerging from the meeting, Sheehan made a beeline for the nearest reporter, and denounced the Arizona Senator--who spent six years as a POW in North Vietnam--as a "warmonger."

But Cindy wasn't finished. After hearing McCain's comments on the war, Sheehan opined that the "Senator doesn't believe what he is saying." She also claimed that McCain previously told her that the death of her son Casey "was like his buddies in Vietnam," and that he feared their deaths were "for nothing."

McCain has flatly denied making such statements, and I believe him. On the other hand, Ms. Sheehan has a history of distorting the truth, including the facts surrounding her son's death in Iraq. Distorting--or even fabricating--the statements of a U.S. Senator (and legitimate war hero) are part and parcel of Cindy's little show. According to McCain, Ms. Sheehan even misrepresented her reasons for meeting with the Senator, claiming that several members of her group are from Arizona. Turns out that only one of her entourage has ties to the state, and is no longer and Arizona resident.

John McCain made a serious error is agreeing to meet with Cindy Sheehan. After watching the Senator get burned, it will be interesting to see if other members of Congress suddenly cancel their meetings with Cindy in the coming days. And McCain's folly underscores the wisdom of George W. Bush in refusing to meet with that Gold Star loon.