From The Chicago Tribune, 9/24/04:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/chitribts/20040924/ts_chicagotrib/anguishoveriraqwarresonatesinmissouri&cid=2027&ncid=1480
Anguish over Iraq war resonates in Missouri
By Tim Jones Tribune national correspondent
Carroll Meierer was all for getting rid of Saddam Hussein.
"We had to do something," she said.
But 18 months of war and more than 1,000 American fatalities later,
the resolution she felt about Hussein has turned to grim resignation
about the state of the war.
"We could stay there forever and it wouldn't be any different," she
said at the little red fruit stand she runs on the edge of Lexington,
about 30 miles east of Kansas City.
Meierer, who grew up in a military family, is losing patience with the
war.
Her 20-year-old son, Justin, a lance corporal in the Marine Corps, is
likely headed to Iraq early next year.
"He's my baby boy and he's my best friend," she said.
"I want this war over and I want it over NOW."
In Missouri, the debates over Iraq and the fight against terrorism
have lost much of the moral and patriotic clarity that defined last
year's march to Baghdad.
American flags hanging from houses aren't as plentiful.
Neither are yard signs that say, "Support our troops."
As prospects for Iraq's political stability seem to fade, frustration,
anger, cynicism and bewilderment have seeped into arguments about the
war, fueled by reminders that--for some--have become incendiary:
Weapons of mass destruction.
"Mission Accomplished."
"Bring 'em on."
Osama bin Laden
In Missouri, a key battleground state that mirrors much of the nation
demographically and has the uncanny knack of picking presidential
winners, President Bush is leading Sen. John Kerry in the most recent
public opinion polls.
Kerry, to the surprise of the Bush campaign, even pulled back his
television advertising in the state.
Yet the poll numbers and campaign stratagems do not reflect the
roiling mix of often anguished feelings about Iraq.
Voters--even those who supported the war--are in turmoil over the
purpose of the conflict, whether it is part of the war on terror,
whether it is winnable anytime soon and whether it has made America
safer.
"I don't know how it's our responsibility to fix Iraq when we can't
even handle things here," Meierer said.
The war became the dominant theme in the presidential campaign this
week, with the election a little more than five weeks away.
And it is likely to be Topic A in the first debate between Bush and
Kerry next Thursday in Florida.
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Harry
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