Will Media Ignore 'Other' Military Mom in Crawford?

August 23rd, 2005 1:24 PM

A Washington Times editorial today wonders if the media will "lavish Cindy Sheehan-type coverage on Deborah Johns?"

Never heard of Deborah Johns? No surprise.

She is the leader of Marine Moms of Northern California and has a son serving in Iraq. According to the article, "She is leading a group of war supporters, the 'You Don't Speak for Me, Cindy' tour, on a week-long trek to Crawford, Texas."

But according to Washington Post reporter Dana Milbank, speaking on CNN's Reliable Sources, "You're not seeing a lot of pro-war Gold Star mothers come out there. Cindy Sheehan remains sort of untouchable."

Upon her Saturday arrival in Crawford, the editorial says "the mainstream media is likely to yawn." Her appearances will be ignored, "unless there are clashes with antiwar protesters or other disorderly events."

Ms. Johns is well aware of how the media operates. Cindy Sheehan's coverage "has absolutely mushroomed," she notes, "but that's our liberal media."

According to the editorial, this merely proves that "the mainstream media is stepping into the breach to oppose Mr. Bush in ways that would normally fall to an opposition political party."

Who says the media is not an opposition party?