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Earlier this month a Washington State family got the hardest news imaginable: their son Sean had been killed while serving in Afghanistan. While that would be painful any time of the year, it came right before the holidays, a time for families to come together and take comfort in one another.

And how do you honor this brave sacrifice if you’re the family’s elected representative, one of the very people that authorized the war your son fought and died in? Senator Maria Cantwell showed how it should be done by sending a form letter so impersonal that it didn’t even get the soldier’s name right:

“Again, please accept my warmest condolences. May your memories of Bryn and the knowledge that he made a positive impact on the lives of so many serve as a source of comfort to you during this time of sorrow.”

The letter was dated Dec. 20 and delivered to Sean Collins’ mother, Linda Collins of Yelm. The error conveyed to the family that Cantwell had sent a form letter.

“They couldn’t even proofread it,” she said. “I’m sure if her son had died, she would’ve at least wanted his name spelled correctly.”

It begs the question of why a letter was sent in the first place. It’s not as if Washington State has hundreds of its soldiers dying everyday. This is a phone call that Cantwell would have to make at most every few weeks. We know you have rush to the mall to get that last-minute Christmas shopping done, but it doesn’t take that long to pick up the phone and try to give comfort to a grieving family.

Not to be outdone by a Senator from Washington, the White House made sure to slight the family as well.

The other slight came when Patrick Collins called the White House and asked to have President Obama call his ex-wife, Linda, to talk about their son.

He was told that Obama did not regularly make phone calls to the families of fallen soldiers.

Later, Patrick Collins read a story about Obama’s phone call to Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffery Lurie. Obama reportedly praised Lurie for giving quarterback Michael Vick a second chance to play football after serving time in prison for running a dog fighting ring.

President Obama had time to chat about football but not to comfort the family of a solider in his command? We know senators and presidents are busy, but how long could it take to make the call?

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speaks of "our" misplaced priorities.....