In an excellent piece, Michael Barone asks, “How much coverage would the press have given a World War II-era Cindy Sheehan who camped outside Hyde Park or Warm Springs demanding to meet with President Roosevelt?”
After offering some anecdotes of that Democratic president’s meeting with wounded soldiers during World War II, Barone turns to an erstwhile opponent of the president, John McCain, to describe how our current president handles similar meetings:
Look, I’ve been with the president of the United States when he has met with the families of those brave young men and women who have sacrificed. I have seen his compassion, I have seen his love, I have seen his concern. So any charge of insensitivity or uncaring on the part of this president, is absolutely false. He cares and he grieves. . . . I have seen him, I have seen his care, and I have seen him grieve. And I’m sure he wouldn’t like to hear me say this, but I saw him afterwards. He was very, very grieved. And that’s the job of the president of the United States. He fully appreciates the tragedy of the loss of these brave young Americans.
So, why then, I wonder, is the media giving so much attention to antics of one angry relative and so little attention to the reality of the president’s visits with relatives of our fallen heroes?
Hat tip: Polipundit‘s Lorie Byrd. And be sure to read Barone’s post as well as the Anchoress’ post on the president’s meetings with the grieving families.