Jeffrey Feldman writes:

Rather than extending America's focus on Presidential lies, the meteoric rise of Cindy Sheehan to the top of the headlines shifted our attention to a 'grieving mother.' Curiously, this shift seems to have happened despite the fact that Sheehan's personal writings and public statements tried to intensify the national focus on the President's lies and refusal to meet with her.

So what is the bottom line of the Sheehan protest? What did the Sheehan week achieve?

In broad terms, the success of the 'grieving mom' phrase indicates that Americans are now thinking about the War in Iraq through the frame of the family, rather than thinking about Iraq through the frame of 'terrorism' or 'ideology.'

The implications of this shift from 'terrorism' to 'family' in the country's thinking about Iraq are profound. Not only does this shift forewarn a political tidal wave soon to break on the President's foreign policy, but also of a much deeper, tectonic shift in the strategy beneath all the recent gains in the Republican party.

The great success of Cindy Sheehan's protest, therefore, is no less than the moral authority for the Democratic Party to speak for the American family.

This last part might be something of a stretch. But there's something to putting a face on grieving. Bush has done everything he could to pretend there's been no cost to this war. From effectively banning media coverage of the return of fallen soldiers to the US, to never even seeming to recognize the incredible financial burden this war is putting on our country, Bush set himself up.

He didn't want us to think about all the young men and women dying and wounded in Iraq. To me, it's always been a huge dishonor, the way he does this. And it's downright revolting the way he smirks whenever he's asked about the casualties. "Of course I care!" Smirk. Hehheh. He's come off as a cold-hearted bastard.

And Cindy Sheehan points that up, just by her existence, by her refusal to put her grief away in a box, by her refusal to go away in shame for grieving.

The right-wing attacks on her don't work because it's just more cold-hearted, mean-spirited shit. Throw that at her, and it just makes her stronger. But the right-wing is so cold-hearted and mean-spirited, they keep doing it. They can't help it. It's who they are.

By attacking Cindy, they end up trying to cast grief as the enemy. That's not just stupid, that's inhuman.

Today, Armando (via The Heretik) speculates on whether Cindy should take her protest to Washington.

If Cindy Sheehan travels to Washington, D.C., maintains her focus on the family costs of the Debacle, and to the Common Good of the country, it will have a great chance of resonating in a way a more traditional anti-war movement might not.

Couple this with the clear evidence that we are in deep deep trouble in Iraq, and Cindy Sheehan may be the key to the first real tangible breakthrough into the "heartland" of a strong, broad based anti-war movement. Of course this is all speculation on my part, but I think it merits thought.

I'm not so sure that would gain so much. What's compelling is the simple nature of her protest. While she's definitely come out against the Iraq war, her protest to a large extent is non-political. Yes, she's saying, "Stop the war." But a lot of people are saying that.

Where the power of her voice comes, though, is in saying, "Acknowledge the war. This is real. People are dying, and we should acknowledge that, and honor them."

That's the power of Cindy Sheehan's protest.

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