Martha Stewart's back on national TV in September, with her own version of prime time's "The Apprentice," as well as a syndicated talk show. In development: All Martha all the time on Sirius radio. Martha's back up after the wrong-wingers (angry over her donations to the Democratic Party) tried to tear her down.

Next target? Cindy Sheehan. The cacophony is growing louder as the public catches on. Last week, archconservative columnist George Will (that decorated, battle-scarred soldier) compared Sheehan to a car wreck by the side of the road -- sad, he said, yet riveting. Whoo! You know they're scared when they get that personal and that nasty.

It gets better. Charles Krauthammer went on that oh-so-liberal media outlet, Fox News Channel, and said Sheehan's Crawford protest in behalf of her son -- who was killed in Iraq -- is "hurting our troops and endangering our troops." He accused her of "libeling America" (as if a nation could be libeled and a bereaved mother possessed that kind of power) and emboldening her enemies. Wow! She must be a lot tougher than she looks.

Are Americans witnessing a pattern here?

Anytime the Bush presidency (or the wrong-wingers, for that matter) is in big trouble, beastly, malodorous rumors start to spread about the wrong-wingers' nemeses. Nauseating nuggets of discrediting personal information seep out of the mud. Have you noticed? It even takes place when the nemesis is another Republican, albeit more moderate than the wrong wing can tolerate.

Think John McCain, think 2000, think South Carolina. During the 2000 primaries, it started to look as though the Arizona senator might actually wrest the Republican nomination from the man the wrong wing felt was rightfully entitled to it. Shadowy forces spread rumors that McCain was mentally unfit to be commander in chief.

The media were rife with stories about McCain's hot temper (true, he's got one, but that wasn't exactly news) and his sometimes outrageous behavior (that part is less true). The clear implication was that the six years McCain spent as a POW in a North Vietnamese prison camp might have damaged his mental status to the point where he lacked the mental stability to run the country. Poof! McCain's popular support plummeted and George W. Bush won South Carolina.

Again, the president is in trouble and the wrong-wing septic system starts leaching. Three opinion polls released last week show Bush's public approval rating troublingly south of where the wrong wing would want it to be. It stands at the lowest point of his entire presidency. Only 36 percent of those polled told the American Research Group that they approve of Bush's handling of his job. Only 40 percent of those queried in Harris and Gallup polls say the president's doing a good job. Even worse, clear majorities of Americans now call Bush's decision to invade Iraq a mistake.

Odd, then (or maybe it wasn't), that public discussion of Sheehan's messy personal life began to surface. We first learn of a separation and now a divorce. We become privy to a memo from family members who don't agree with her protest. The list grows longer. Clearly, from the wrong-wing perspective, this woman is unstable, not credible and worthy of derision. Poof! The anti-war protests disappear (or so they hope).

Martha Stewart is many things Cindy Sheehan is not. She's a billionaire, an extraordinary businesswoman, a public relations maven and a gifted self-promoter. Neither Stewart nor Sheehan is perfect. Each is human and therefore flawed. That does not mean their flaws outweigh their talents or void their messages. Stewart has come back full force, the commercial success she was pre-smear. Let's hope Sheehan's legitimate message as an aggrieved Gold Star mother is not overshadowed by the wrong-wing smear.

Bonnie Erbe is a TV host and writes this column for Scripps Howard News Service.

© 2005 Seattle Post-Intelligencer

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