Mr. President you need to talk not just with Cindy Sheehan, but with all of us. This country will not support a president in war that merely preaches that the war must continue.
Presidents Lincoln and Roosevelt (our two great war presidents) were constantly talking to the country, explaining how the war was going and why it was important. Roosevelt in some of his chats told listeners to get out their atlas as he explained specifically where the fighting was occurring.
Yes you have a weekly radio address like FDR did. But FDR chose radio because it was the prime media of the day. The equivalent today would be for you to have a weekly television address.
And it is not sufficient for your talks to repeat the talking points of the campaign. You need to answer the questions that many Americans are asking. Is this war worth it. What exactly are we going to get out of it. What is our progress in meeting our goals.
Our children are being maimed and killed. And Mr. President, in this country the soldiers are not "their children", they are "our children." It's not just the parents of the soldiers you need to answer, it's every parent in this country.
Because right now Mr. President, all we are getting from you is a couple of slogans repeated over and over again. And all we are seeing on TV and in the newspaper is more soldiers dying with no real change in Iraq.
And if the citizens of this country see the war as futile, this country will end the war. You don't have until the end of your term. Once a critical mass of the citizens of this country want us out of Iraq, the war is over and you will find that your control of the government is limited. After all, while you aren't running for re-election, congress is.
So Mr. President, if you want this war to be successful, you need to explain to us. What is going on, where we are going, and why it is worth it. And you need to continue with the explanations, week by week, until we are done. Because that is the only way America will put it's children in harms way.
