Victim Cindy Sheehan

Cindy Sheehan's victimhood lay in the death of her son, Army Specialist Casey Sheehan, killed in 2004 at age 24 in the Iraq war.

His mother, Cindy, was in that part of the U.S. electorate that opposed our occupation of Iraq, especially after weapons of mass destruction failed to materialize. Like many of the rest of us, Mrs. Sheehan did not like the way our nation invaded another, going not after the people who had actually attacked us on 9/11, but who merely looked sort of like them.

Cindy campaigned to end the occupation and in 2005, went with others to President Geroge W. Bush's ranch near Crawford, TX. The group camped as near the ranch gates as allowed, demanding to meet with Bush in person and accusing the administration of going to war for oil interests and for the benefit of Israel.

Many Americans agreed with her and admired her spunk and tenacity; the right, most of whom have worn a uniform only to costume parties, portrayed her as a leftist looney.

After being urged by some in his own party to meet with Mrs. Sheehan, President Bush finally did so. One of the questions she asked him was that if the Iraq war was so vital to the security of our nation, why were the Bush daughters not serving in it?

Cindy moved to San Francisco and challenged incumbent Dianne Feinstein in the 2008 Senate race. The Sheehan platform included anti-free trade provisions, repeal of the Patriot Act, the legalization of marijuana, scrapping No Child Left Behind and recognizing same-sex marriage. She lost to Feinstein but at that, came in second among seven candidates.