Cindy Sheehan Calls it Quits

Cindy Sheehan, the longtime protestor of the war in Iraq, has stepped down as the public face of the anti-war protest movement, saying, "I’ve been wondering why I’m killing myself and wondering why the Democrats caved in to George Bush,"

Hear, hear.

Last year, we as a nation decided it was time to put an end to six solid years of full Republican control of the government, and many of us (myself included) cited frustration with the disastrous war in Iraq as the primary reason.

So what did the Democrats do with their fresh new majority? NOTHING!!!

They caved!

Completely and totally!

Under continuous veto threats from the White House, a PR smear campaign eagerly hyped by the steno media, and constant attacks from the 101st keyboard brigade, the new Democratic majority in Congress once again gave the President exactly what he wanted.

Just wait, they tell us, until next year, when there's a Democrat in the White House. THEN you'll see something new.

First of all, that's a big if. There are no guarantees about that. The current crop of Democratic presidential candidates is mediocre at best. And while the Republicans don't have anything better, the same electoral machine that got the Worst President In History elected twice is already gearing up for next year. And the Democrats have proven time and again that they cannot match the juggernaut that is Republican electoral politics

Secondly, Americans seemingly just don't care! As a country, we seemed to be a LOT more interested in who wins American Idol than in who is running for president.

Don't believe me? Quick, without googling, name me five candidates from each party currently running for president. I'll wait.

I thought so.

Don't feel bad. I couldn't do it myself.

Towards the end of the war in Vietnam, the protest movement in this country against the war was so strong that any candidate who spoke out against it did so at his (or her) peril.

But it took over 14 years and the lives of nearly 70,000 U.S. troops for us to realize what a mistake that was. And this was in a time before Entertainment Tonight, 24 hour news, Paris Hilton, Brangelina, and Anna Nicole Smith. God knows how many more soldiers will have to die before we realize what a mistake this current war is.

Right now, we just don't seem to care. And anyone who does care, like, say, Cindy Sheehan, is shouted down by the right wing smear machine, with the willing help of the steno media.

Perhaps Ms. Sheehan said it best: "Good-bye America ... you are not the country that I love and I finally realized no matter how much I sacrifice, I can’t make you be that country unless you want it. It’s up to you now."

I couldn't agree more.