Demagogue

A few weeks ago I expressed concern over how much Cindy Sheehan's protest was helping and/or hurting the anti-Iraq war movement. While my sympathy goes out to her and others like her, basically I wrote that she had foolishly tarnished her protest and her image with her public ties to liberal organizations, Michael Moore, etc. Unfortunately, it appears I was right.

The survey found that 52 percent of the public says Bush should talk to Sheehan, who has repeatedly asked for a meeting with the president, while 46 percent said he should not. Fifty-three percent support what she is doing while 42 percent oppose her actions, according to the poll.
...
The survey also suggests, however, that Sheehan's anti-war vigil has failed to mobilize large numbers of Americans against the war. If anything, her opposition has done as much to drive up support for the war as ignite opponents, the survey found.

Eight in 10 Americans--including overwhelming majorities of Democrats, Republicans and political independents--say Sheehan's protest has had no impact on their attitudes toward Iraq. While one in 10 say she has made them less likely to support the war, the same proportion say she has made them more likely to back the conflict.

As I stated before, Sheehan symbolizes an incredible waste of an opportunity, and she has become a caricature of the anti-war movement itself. It looks like she is not going to be the galvanizing force we're all looking for, she does not represent the tipping point. However, fortunately, it looks like we don't really need one, as support for Bush and his war is as low as it has ever been-- with or without Cindy Sheehan. I'm not sure what it'll take to get people marching in the streets, although at this point in time I'm not sure what conventional protests accomplish anymore except to make the protestors feel united. What we really need is a massive organization effort to do what we should have done last year-- toss the bums out of office.