Anna Nicole Smith: America's Princess Di

I was watching Fox News when word first came of former Playboy Playmate of the Year Anna Nicole Smith's shocking death and I immediately felt as I did on that day in 1997 when news first broke of Princess Diana's death, which is so touchingly re-created in the film The Queen. Soon all of the cable news channels were covering this tragic event with nonstop, wall-to-wall coverage. As Americans mourned and grieved in front of our televisions, we were brought together once more as a people, our divisions over the War in Iraq, terrorism and the Bush Administration momentarily forgotten. Once seemingly important stories like the Scooter Libby trial, Nancy Pelosi's plane and the astronaut assassin were put on the back burner as Fox, CNN and MSNBC reported on every last unconfirmed detail of the events transpiring in Hollywood, Florida, and reporters struggled to articulate our grief. In the media frenzy that ensued they interviewed witnesses at the hospital where she was brought, talked to hotel guests and even gave us a tour of the room where her autopsy was performed. They speculated endlessly about the paternity of her baby and the mysterious cause of her untimely death, which will no doubt be investigated for years to come and be the subject of numerous conspiracy theories as Princess Di's death has been.

Anna Nicole Smith was a wonderful and a warm human being, although her own life was often sadly touched by tragedy. She touched the lives of so many others in the United States and throughout the world with joy and with comfort. She was the American People's Princess and that is how she will stay, how she will remain in our hearts and our memories for ever.

Like Princess Diana she came from humble beginnings. She did not always comfortably wear her crown as a member of America's celebrity royalty. The paparazzi hounded her endlessly. But despite all of her fame and wealth she was always regarded as one of the people.

She made a difference in the lives of ordinary people, not just by her grace and beauty. Her marriage to billionaire J. Howard Marshall showed that the American Dream is alive and well and accessible to anyone with a little pluck and hard work. Her name will forever live on in the halls of justice for her victory in the landmark Supreme Court case Marshall v. Marshall, which struck a blow for the rights of millions of young widows of elderly billionaire husbands.

Many prominent Americans have offered their own words of tribute to Anna Nicole Smith. Publisher Hugh Hefner, who chose her to appear on the cover of Playboy after she submitted her photos to a contest, issued a statement calling her a "dear friend." CNN's Larry King said, "She was a special person, she was an unusual person. She was genuine, she was funny, she had some class." PETA celebrated her hatred of cruelty to animals and her love for her dog. "Animals have lost a true hero and PETA has lost a good friend," they said.

Unfortunately, from the White House we have heard only silence. President Bush has not even made a statement about the tragic death of his fellow Texan. He seems to be out of touch with the nation's grief. I have always been a supporter of the President but his tin-eared response to this tragedy is making me wonder if he is living in a bubble. He has not even called for the simple gesture of lowering American flags to half-staff. Perhaps his aides are meeting at Camp David this weekend and debating how they will respond. At this point Americans will settle for nothing less than a state funeral for Smith. I hope that the White House will heed their call. Even Queen Elizabeth realized that she would have to move with the times and listen to the people as difficult as it might have been for her. I hope that President Bush will show he is at least as in touch with reality as an old queen.

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Jon Swift, Anna Nicole Smith, Princess Diana, The Queen, Tony Blair, Bush, Playboy, Hugh Hefner, PETA, Larry King, Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, Journalism