Peace activist Cindy Sheehanm who led protests against the war in Iraq after her son was killed there, has officially announced that she will not run for the U.S. Senate against Dianne Feinstein.
Sheehan made the announcement in front of San Francisco City Hall, telling reporters, 'If I thought that running for Senate would bring our young people home more quickly I would do it in a minute, but I am not convinced that that would do so.'
Experts believe that Sheehan would have been a long shot at best to unseat Feinstein, one of the most popular politicians in the state of California. Still, many thought she could use the primary campaign as a platform for her anti-war crusade.
The 48-year-old Sheehan became a leader in the anti-war movement in the U.S. this past summer when she camped out outside President Bush's Texas ranch in an attempt to speak to the president about the war. Casey Sheehan, her son, was killed in Iraq in 2004 and Mrs. Sheehan indicated she wanted to ask Mr. Bush what 'noble cause' he died for. Although he was at his Texas ranch for nearly two months, Mr. Bush refused to meet with Sheehan.
Sheehan was most recently in the news on January 31 when she was arrested and asked to leave the State of the Union Address for simply wearing a tee-shirt with the number of American soldiers who have been killed in Iraq on it. Police later apologized to Mrs. Sheehan and no charges were pressed against her.
Sheehan has never held public office before. She intends to continue her crusade against the war in Iraq but will not do so as a candidate for the U.S. Senate.
