Rosen read final blog post from soldier who died in Iraq -- who he said "didn't want to be used as a pawn by either side" -- then used it to attack Sheehan

Summary: Reading from the posthumous blog post of a soldier who died January 3 in Iraq, Mike Rosen on his January 7 broadcast noted that Maj. Andrew Olmsted had asked "that no one try to use" his death "to further their political purposes." However, after stating that Olmsted "didn't want to be used as a pawn by either side," Rosen referred to the soldier's final posting in smearing anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, saying, "I hope somebody sends this to Cindy Sheehan. Not that she'd react to it, I think, rationally. Rarely does she react to anything rationally."

On his January 7 Newsradio 850 KOA broadcast, Mike Rosen read from the posthumous blog post of Maj. Andrew Olmsted, a pre-written passage in which the soldier who had been based at Fort Carson asked "that no one try to use" his death in Iraq -- he was killed January 3 -- "to further their political purposes." Rosen noted that the "point of this posting was that he [Olmsted] didn't want to be used as a pawn by either side."

However, immediately after reading a portion of Olmsted's final blog post, Rosen referred to it to attack anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, saying: "When he drove home that point about how he doesn't want someone to cite his name as an example of one whose life was wasted by our mission in Iraq, I thought immediately of Cindy Sheehan. When he said, 'Don't use me as some kind of moral capital to support a position I probably didn't support,' I thought of Cindy Sheehan. I hope somebody sends this to Cindy Sheehan. Not that she'd react to it, I think, rationally. Rarely does she react to anything rationally."

As the Rocky Mountain News reported on January 5 (an online version appeared January 4), Olmsted "was the first 2008 casualty in Iraq." The article further reported, "The 38-year-old soldier based out of Fort Carson was a prolific blogger -- including one he did steadily for the Rocky Mountain News dating back to May." The News added:

Always prepared, the former Eagle Scout asked a friend to post a blog in the event of his death.

"I'm dead. That sucks, at least for me and my family and friends," he wrote. "But all the tears in the world aren't going to bring me back, so I would prefer that people remember the good things about me rather than mourning my loss. (If it turns out a specific number of tears will, in fact, bring me back to life, then by all means, break out the onions.)"

[...]

A self-described libertarian, he remembered being political at an early age -- dubbed by friends in high school as Alex P. Keaton, a reference to the conservative teen on TV's Family Ties in the 1980s.

In fact, politics was something he could talk about at length. He'd make arguments for small government or areas where government had no business being at all.

He'd make his points and then raise an arched eyebrow -- awaiting a challenge.

Despite his politics, he made a plea in his blog -- don't politicize his death. His plea was made in words that, if spoken, would be level, and his eyes would look straight into yours.

Olmstead's posthumous blog entry dated January 4, titled "Final Post," read in part:

I do ask (not that I'm in a position to enforce this) that no one try to use my death to further their political purposes. I went to Iraq and did what I did for my reasons, not yours. My life isn't a chit to be used to bludgeon people to silence on either side. If you think the U.S. should stay in Iraq, don't drag me into it by claiming that somehow my death demands us staying in Iraq. If you think the U.S. ought to get out tomorrow, don't cite my name as an example of someone's life who was wasted by our mission in Iraq. I have my own opinions about what we should do about Iraq, but since I'm not around to expound on them I'd prefer others not try and use me as some kind of moral capital to support a position I probably didn't support. Further, this is tough enough on my family without their having to see my picture being used in some rally or my name being cited for some political purpose. You can fight political battles without hurting my family, and I'd prefer that you did so.

As Colorado Media Matters has noted, Rosen has accused Sheehan of "exploit[ing] her son Casey's death, who died in service to his country, to advance her own obsessive cause."

From the January 7 broadcast of Newsradio 850 KOA's The Mike Rosen Show:

ROSEN: Now, what I thought was particularly poignant about this incident [Olmsted's death] was what the Rocky Mountain News published on its front page Saturday, and it had nothing to do with the incident. The Rocky noted that Major Andrew Olmsted had been blogging for the Rocky going back to May, when he was still training. He arrived in Iraq in July. His role as a correspondent for the Rocky Mountain News was to share his front-line experiences with the American people. Of course, he was killed on Thursday, but he left a posting that he wrote that he asked to be published in the event of his death in Iraq -- which, of course, has now happened. And the point of this posting was that he didn't want to be used as a pawn by either side. And here's what he said; here's what was printed on the front page of the Rocky Mountain News:

(Reading) "I do ask (not that I'm in a position to enforce this) that no one try to use my death to further their political purposes. I went to Iraq and did what I did for my reasons, not yours. My life isn't a chit to be used to bludgeon people to silence on either side. If you think the U.S. should stay in Iraq, don't drag me into it by claiming that somehow my death demands us staying in Iraq. If you think the U.S. ought to get out tomorrow, don't cite my name as an example of someone's life who was wasted by our mission in Iraq. I have my own opinions about what we should do about Iraq, but since I'm not around to expound on them I'd prefer others not to try and use me as some kind of moral capital to support a position I probably don't support. Further, this is tough enough on my family without their having to see my picture being used in some rally or my name being cited for some political purpose. You can fight political battles without hurting my family, and I'd prefer that you did so. On a similar note, while you're free to think whatever you like about my life and death, if you think I wasted my life, I'll tell you you're wrong. We're all going to die of something. I died doing a job I loved. When your time comes, I hope you are as fortunate as I was."

ROSEN: When he drove home that point about how he doesn't want someone to cite his name as an example of one whose life was wasted by our mission in Iraq, I thought immediately of Cindy Sheehan. When he said, "Don't use me as some kind of moral capital to support a position I probably didn't support," I thought of Cindy Sheehan. I hope somebody sends this to Cindy Sheehan. Not that she'd react to it, I think, rationally. Rarely does she react to anything rationally.

—C.H.