Lost Post: The Backslapper in Chief Meets Raw Emotions

Well, I wrote what I thought was a pretty good post on the media story about the mother of the fallen soldier camped outside the president's Crawford ranch, but Blogger ate it. That happens once in awhile (not too often). Check out this insightful piece on the story.

The section of the article I found interesting was Sheehan's account of the president's meetings with the families of fallen soldiers. It's clear from that account that Bush is extremely uncomfortable in these settings. That's understandable. But it's also an interesting side of Bush's personality. I've thought for awhile that Bush's physical isolation from protesters, opponents during last year's campaign parallels his emotional isolation and distance. This article suggests that that is indeed the case:

As the mother of an Army specialist who was killed at age 24 in the Sadr City section of Baghdad on April 4, 2004, Ms. Sheehan's story is certainly compelling. She is also articulate, aggressive in delivering her message and has information that most White House reporters have not heard before: how Mr. Bush handles himself when he meets behind closed doors with the families of soldiers killed in Iraq.

The White House has released few details of such sessions, which Mr. Bush holds regularly as he travels the country, but generally portrays them as emotional and an opportunity for the president to share the grief of the families. In Ms. Sheehan's telling, though, Mr. Bush did not know her son's name when she and her family met with him in June 2004 at Fort Lewis. Mr. Bush, she said, acted as if he were at a party and behaved disrespectfully toward her by referring to her as "Mom" throughout the meeting.

By Ms. Sheehan's account, Mr. Bush said to her that he could not imagine losing a loved one like an aunt or uncle or cousin. Ms. Sheehan said she broke in and told Mr. Bush that Casey was her son, and that she thought he could imagine what it would be like since he has two daughters and that he should think about what it would be like sending them off to war.

"I said, 'Trust me, you don't want to go there'," Ms. Sheehan said, recounting her exchange with the president. "He said, 'You're right, I don't.' I said, 'Well, thanks for putting me there.' "

Bush's supporters and detractors alike say that he's no Bill Clinton. And it's become almost a punchline, but there are times when being able to feel other people's pain is a useful political skill. One that Bush doesn't seem to have.

Update: According to this website:

UPDATE: Priceless quote by Cindy She was telling Hadley and Hagin about Bu$h meeting with her and several other families who had lost loved ones. His behavior was horribly inappropriate! Among many other things, Bu$h would not look at Casey's pictures, would not call him by his name and called her "Mom." She said, "If I were his mom, he would behave a lot better!"

Wouldn't look at the pictures? Huh? Or use his name? I guess "Noble Sacrifice" is his name now.