Cindy Sheehan and James Madison

Cindy Sheehan's eloquent vigil on behalf of truth in Iraq is a reminder of how far we have fallen from the Founders' conception of good government. The doctrine of separation of powers was an ingenious means of not only placing restraints on government but also a way to ensure vibrant public debate.

Cindy Sheehan's questions are those that Congress should be asking more forcefully but because the legislative and executive branches (and soon the judiciary) are controlled by the same political party, this hasn't happened.

In an October 2004 interview, Ms. Sheehan expressed a desire that whoever won the presidential election be held accountable for their actions in Iraq. At the very last she wanted an explanation for why her son died fighting in a war begun under one rationale, then pursued with a different justification. Her sense that the Iraqi insurgency is a problem of our own creation betrayed the fact that so-called ordinary Americans (I hate that term -- who are the extraordinary ones?) are much smarter than politicians make them out to be.

Her courageous personal demonstration, however, is a source of shame: not directed at her, of course, but at the fact that the people elected to demand better from the White House are too busy, afraid or "loyal" to ask why one should stay a course that is not smart. This need not be an argument for immediate withdrawal, by the way. But what is needed is a better explanation for what we are doing in Iraq today besides making it easier for suicide bombers to kill the sons of other Cindy Sheehans.