A Tale of Two T-Shirts

Apparently the lesson is, "Don't Wear Anything With Letters or Numbers to the SOTU Address".

However, what I thought was particularly interesting was this comparison (emphasis mine):

(Representative Bill) Young and his wife are known as passionate supporters of U.S. service members. He has spoken in the past about their many visits to military hospitals during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and their efforts to ensure the needs of the wounded and their families are met.

Sheehan, on the other hand, was thrust into the spotlight after her 24-year-old son, Army Spc. Casey Sheehan, was killed in Iraq in April 2004.

How exactly is one "thrust into" what one is desperately chasing and trying to get, even to the point of hiring publicists and media consultants to help her catch it?