NAMPA, Idaho -- President Bush today took direct aim at Cindy Sheehan, the anti-war protester who has set up camp near the Bushes Texas ranch and purports to speak for military moms who, like her, have lost a son in the Iraq war.

Speaking to hundreds of Idaho National Guardsmen, the president singled out military mom Tammy Pruett of Pocatello, Idaho, whose husband and five sons have all served in Iraq.

"Tammy has four sons serving in Iraq right now with the Idaho National Guard: Eric, Evan, Greg and Jeff. Last year her husband, Leon, and another son, Aaron, returned from Iraq, where they helped train Iraqi firefighters in Mosul.

"Tammy says this -- and I want you to hear this -- 'I know that if something happens to one of the boys, they would leave this world doing what they believe, what they think is right for our country.'

"And I guess you couldn't ask for a better way of life than giving it for something that you believe in. America lives in freedom because of families like the Pruetts."

The crowd, made up mostly of military family members, broke into cheers and chants of "U-S-A! U-S-A!"

*sigh*

yeah i was watching this speech at the sushi place today and really wondered just how dumb we really are.

Thanks for inventing a war and then calling people yellah for not wanting to die in it. You're a piece of work, Georgie.

Oh, we´re dumb. Really, really dumb.

the guy definitely has balls.

he's straight up taunting the lady at this point.

I remember when there was an actual war in Afghanistan. One we had business being involved in, even. Good times. Good times.

I find it ironic that he deliberately found out all the names of them. That's pretty fucking rude. You can't care enough to find out the name of someone who has died for you, but you find out the names of people who would?!?!?

Look, it's the greatest country in the world, and I will defend it to the death, but -- openly gar, dumya. Openly gar.

Fuck Cindy Sheehan with a cactus dildo.

I remember hearing something about service men being pissed because Bush and the pentagon refused to classify the Afgan war and Iraq 2 as two seperate wars, thus screwing our soldiers who served in both out of the bonuses and commendations they rightly earned. Talk about a slap in the face from your commander-in-chief.

This guy just pisses me right off, and I can't see how so many otherwise intelligent americans buy right in to the rah-rah-rah bullshit.

Wasn't this the speech that someone on this board was going to?

yeah, DHRjehrico

I did find this amusing. A 70-something veteran in attendance at the Bush speech either today or in the past several days was photographed with a "Bullshit Protector".

I think there were about 2 Kerry voters in Idaho. Bush is really reaching out to a diverse crowd this month.

Actually, to do what he did requires no balls whatsoever. Just another prefab, produced speaking engagement - the type of which fewer & fewer Americans are falling for everyday.

If he would've gone up to Sheehan & said this stuff to her face...that would've required some testicular fortitude.

I see your point, but don't really agree. I'm also not agreeing that his speech required any balls either. It's just a minor speaking engagement.

Cindy Sheehan has absolutely zero leverage, and she can't harm Bush in any way. She's totally inconsequential, while also completely un-newsworthy.

I do wish he would call her in, no cameras, and have her spout of whatever mastubatory political diatribe she's been working up for so long. Then, rather than engaging her in some sort of debate, he should just shrug his shoulders and say, "Do you remember the way out or should I have Condi escort you?", and be done with her.

For her to constantly demand to see the President is just stupid and basically self-serving. Absolutely nothing positive will come of it. All she wants to

It's pretty sad that the leader of the free world has been reduced to having a flame war with a 40 something year old mom.

at the risk of interpreting an incomplete thought, i think that you're being a little myopic in your definition of "nothing positive". my impression is that she feels that getting any more heat on the president to retreat from this operation is positive, to which i agree. sure it's not going to bring her son back but you'd have to be a guest on Hannity & Colmes to think that that's what she's after and deny her any higher sense of altruism.

this shoulda 74'd this thread, cos its all that needs to be said about this bs.

I agree that this is the way she feels, but I don't think she has the profile nor pull to actually initiate any meaningful change.

I sort of skimmed it, but my "nothing positive" remark was more focused on Sheehan and Bush having a tete-a-tete. Even if Bush did consent to a meeting, there is somewhere in the neighborhood of zero chance they would come to any sort of amicable conclusion. Both sides are convinced they are absolutely right and refuse to budge. All a Sheehan-Bush summit would do is cement their own positions and inflame both sides of the issue.

The whole thing is already a damn sideshow, and I doubt meeting wouldn't make that go away. True, that would probably increase more awareness, but it would have the same effect on both sides, which is not what we really need more of.

Actually, in this day of blogs and "human" news items, I think she does. I mean, it's this same sort of reasoning that makes people decide not to vote. "One vote isn't going to make a difference." She's doing what she can, for which I applaud her.

All she's doing is attracting attention to herself, which is going to have negative impact to her cause as well as positive. I would be willing to bet that a much less visible role behind the scenes could make more difference than shitting in a ditch in Texas. If all she can do is hold a sign and alternately smile or weep for the cameras, then she doesn't have a whole lot to offer.

And 99% of blogs are worthless.

Sheehan's an idiot.

I disagree with you. America loves a figurehead. The only thing that i that that she's doing that is a hige misstep is letting moveon.org sidle up to her.