There can be no doubt that the mainstream media fell in love with Cindy Sheehan last summer. after she parked herself outside George Bush’s Crawford Texas ranch, the media couldn’t get enough of her. That should really not come as any surprise; she and the left wing media were on the same page--attacking President Bush. as soon as Sheehan arrived in Crawford she became an instant celebrity. The media staunchly defended her every move and ignored her most outrageous statements like blaming Israel and the Jews for the war in Iraq. a prime example of the media’s adulation of Sheehan was when Maureen Dowd wrote in the New York Times that Sheehan had "absolute moral authority" for anything that she said or did because she was a grieving mother. It is unclear if Dowd gave the same moral authority to mothers who had lost children in the war but who still supported the president and american efforts in Iraq. No matter how extreme Sheehan got, the media stood behind her all the way.
Then the rains came. after the levees broke in New Orleans on august 29, like much of that historic city, Cindy Sheehan was simply and quickly washed away. as newspapers gave extensive coverage of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita and the cable networks went to 24-hour coverage of the largest natural disaster in american history there suddenly was no Cindy, none of the time.
The non-stop hurricane coverage lasted well into the last weekend in September when Sheehan had a starring role in a huge anti-war rally that was held in Washington. The mainstream media practically ignored the protests and demonstrations; the cellar dwelling Kansas City Royals received more press coverage. and as the water receded from the streets of New Orleans and the media returned to normal news coverage and programming, Cindy Sheehan was noticeably absent. and it is highly unlikely that Cindy will ever regain her status as the darling of the media that she was last summer.
The media loved Sheehan as long as she was doing what they wanted her to do--attacking Bush. But when she was upstaged by the storms in the Gulf Coast, Cindy Sheehan wrote on DailyKos.com, "I am watching CNN and it is 100 percent [Hurricane] Rita. Even though it is a little wind and a little rain, it is bad, but there are other things going on in this country today and the world."
at this point, Sheehan and the media ceased to be on the same page. Sheehan’s self importance was such that she dared to refer to the hurricanes that cost the lives of almost 1,000 people, most of whom were poor and black, as just a little wind and rain. This is not however why the media dropped her. They started to ignore her because the media decided that in the aftermath of the hurricanes was no time to criticize Bush for the war. The Bush-bashing media was far too busy blaming the president for killing all those poor blacks. The war could wait. and the media had no time for Cindy Sheehan and her anti-war message.
Now Sheehan is broadening her attacks and going after Democrats who do not share her views. Sheehan recently told Hillary Clinton that she better change her pro-war position or face defeat. This, of course did not go over well with those in the media who have decided that the 2008 elections are but a mere formality to Hillary becoming president.
It is highly unlikely that Sheehan will ever have a huge media presence again. Unlike her, the mainstream media are not against the war so much as they are against George W. Bush.
Goodbye and good riddance.