I Grieve for Every Death

That's what President George Bush says about the fallen from Iraq and it's probably something he says in his meetings with grieving families. Salon's got an article that describes some of Bush's meetings with families, including with Cindy Sheehan. Here are some of the other voices:

Some families praised Bush. "He was very personable," Sherri Orlando said in a telephone conversation from Fort Campbell, Ky., where she works in the Fort Campbell public affairs office. Orlando's husband, Army Lt. Col. Kim S. Orlando, was killed when a group of Iraqis opened fire on him and fellow soldiers on a road near a mosque in Karbala, Iraq, in October 2003. "He was very sincere. He was very sympathetic. It was delightful meeting with him." Bush met Orlando and others at a museum on base. "He expressed his condolences," she said. "To me, it happened so quickly. You are kind of at a loss for words. I told him that my husband believed in what he was doing and he supported the mission over there." Roxanne Kaylor met the president at the White House on Memorial Day in 2003. Her son, Army 1st Lt. Jeffrey J. Kaylor, had been killed in a grenade attack in Iraq in April 2003. She described Bush as "gracious" but disengaged and unresponsive when pressed with uncomfortable questions. "He held my hand," she said. "I turned to him and I said, 'Jeff was a great person. It is too bad he had to die so early in life. I hope his death was not in vain.' He just stared at me. He said nothing. He just stared at me. He did not let go of my hand." Kaylor has since become a rabid critic of the Iraq war and its shifting rationale. She said if she met Bush tomorrow, "I would tell him he is a liar and that he is no good for this country, and that he is killing great people. And for what reason? I don't know. Imagine if this happened to your own child. How would that make you feel?" [...] "They put us in rooms and the president comes along and visits each one, kind of like a doctor's office," Owen said. "He came in and gave me a big hug. He said, 'Tell me about your husband, Mike.' He wanted to know everything about him. He was very genuine. He did get teary-eyed with me when I started crying. I told him about Mike and I and our life and how long we had been married. I pulled out a picture to show him who I was talking about." [...] "He came in inappropriately jovial, like we should be honored that we should be there. He said, 'And who am I honoring today?'" If the president tried to disarm an obviously prickly Sheehan, he failed. "He has no compassion," she said. "Being with him is like being with a shell. He does not have any compassion. He did not want to look at the pictures we brought of Casey." Sheehan said Bush kept changing the subject. Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain was with the president that day. He also visited with Sheehan and her family. McCain supports the war. In comparison to Bush, Sheehan said McCain sparkled. "He wanted to hear about Casey and he wanted our story. I said, 'Is my son's death going to mean anything?' And he said, 'Not if we lose.'"