Ever in search of ways to endear himself to the national media, John McCain met with so-called "Peace Mom" Cindy Sheehan, who returned the favor by calling McCain a "warmonger":

Peace mom Cindy Sheehan didn't change her opposition to the war in Iraq after meeting Tuesday with one of its supporters, Sen. John McCain, a Vietnam veteran whom she called "a warmonger." ...

"He is a warmonger, and I'm not," Sheehan said after meeting with McCain. "I believe this war is not keeping America safer."...

Sheehan and McCain had met once before, shortly after the funeral of her son. Sheehan said Tuesday that McCain told her then that her son's death was "like his buddies in Vietnam" and that he feared their deaths were "for nothing." McCain, however, denied he made such a statement.

McCain later told reporters that he had been misled into believing that her delegation included some of his Arizona constituents. Otherwise, McCain claims he wouldn't have met with her at all.

Does anyone believe that? McCain's entire career shows him as a rank opportunist, and with his recent moves to establish himself for a run at the 2008 Presidential nomination, he figured he could score a twofer: he could embarrass George Bush and make himself a media darling by getting some friendly face time with Sheehan. Instead, she winds up, predictably, talking about him in shrill tones while he mumbles some excuse about thinking that he would meet an Arizona representative among her staff. In the end, he proved Bush's wisdom in declining a second meeting with the poster woman for the radical Left.

If CQ readers want to see how badly this worked out for John McCain, by the way, read through the print editions of the Washington Post and New York Times. Neither one of them carried a word about this meeting, despite the meeting taking place well before deadline. This AP report appears on the web editions of both newspapers as a wire-service story, which means that McCain's office waited a long time before talking about this meeting to reporters. How ... convenient.

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» http://blog.stchess.us/?p=304 from CrosSwords
Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that President Bush, swayed by the politics of the situation, was considering giving Ms. Sheehan the SECOND meeting with him that she has been publicly demanding for so long to the adulation of the media. He the... [Read More]

Tracked on September 28, 2005 6:53 AM

» MCCAIN KISSES SHEEHAN'S ___ AND CINDY KICKS HIS IN from A CERTAIN SLANT OF LIGHT
Captain Ed reports on Senator John McCain's (RINO-AZ) continued penchant for political grandstanding in front of the national media (shades of Jesse Jackson's modus operandi) and how it has backfired (causing him to ignominiously backpedal) this time... [Read More]

Tracked on September 28, 2005 10:28 AM

» McCain Meets With Cindy, Who Calls Him A "Warmonger" Anyway from Ex-Donkey Blog
Sen. John McCain probably doesn't know if he wants to laugh or cry at this point. Last week, I saw a report that he would be meeting with Cindy Sheehan and thought it odd considering the effect that Vietnam war... [Read More]

Tracked on September 28, 2005 11:12 AM