Sheehan

I can see both sides of things when it comes to the woman sitting in George Bush's driveway down in Texas.

On the one hand, her son was a soldier. He was a grown man who signed up to do a job that can be deadly - and that fact has been driven home to anyone who's signed up in the past few years. It's not like the president kidnapped a toddler and dropped said toddler into an industrial food processor. Nobody made the dead guy take the job. No doubt if his ghost could appear and talk to his mom he'd be all, "gee mom...I understand and all, but quit it. I knew what could happen. You're embarassing me."

But I absolutely see where she's coming from, too. This is her baby we're talking about. He was probably laid on her chest, messy and squalling, seconds after he was born. She changed his diapers, heard his first words, helped him to walk and stood watching over him while he slept, thinking that there was the best little boy that ever had been and ever would be and her heart felt like it was bursting with love and pride and the possessiveness that parents know.

And now he's dead, and she can't get all up in the face of whatever miscellaneous Akbar shot her son. So she goes after the guy who gave the order. Will it change anything or make things better? Not at all, but I still see where she's coming from.