Posts with the tag 'Military'
The Wall Street Journal Reports…
The Obama camp said they canceled the event after the Pentagon ruled it was a campaign event, and needed to be funded from the senator’s election kitty.“Senator Obama did not want to have a trip to see our wounded warriors perceived as a campaign event when his visit was to show his appreciation for our troops and decided instead not to go,” Obama advisor, retired Gen. Scott Gration, said in a statement.
How about visiting the troops without the media tagging along, then it wouldn’t look like a campaign event. Senator Obama is spending $5 on advertising during the Olympics, but won’t visit wounded soldiers on his campaign’s dime? Apparently, it’s more important for him to have the media take pictures of him at the Ritz Carlton gym lifting weights, than to take a moment leave the press behind and talk to the people who defend this country.
NBC and Hot Air are now confirming that Obama did not visit the troops because press would not be allowed to also attend.
Why Obama snubbed the troops: no photo op allowed
MSNBC First ReadObama No Cameras Then No Troops
Tags: media attention, media darling, Military, no cameras, no media, troops, wounded soldiers, wounded troops
July 27th, 2008
Barack Obama - “Now, all of us recognize that we must do more than look back - we must make a judgment about how to move forward. What is needed? What can best be done? What must be done? Senator McCain wants to talk of our tactics in Iraq; I want to focus on a new strategy for Iraq and the wider world.”
This is the crux of Obama’s Iraq problem. He doesn’t want to look back, but he has based his campaign on his original statement against the Iraq War; yet he’s shown no particular incite since that initial decision. Senator Obama doesn’t want Senator McCain to discuss tactics because Senator McCain has been tactically correct, while Senator Obama has demonstrated zero understanding of military tactics.
The Obama strategy for months has been to tie Senator McCain to President Bush and the Iraq War. However, this simplistic approach ignores historical realities. Senator McCain bucked his party, and the president, and called for Donald Rumsfeld’s removal as Secretary of Defense. Then he angered people on both sides of the aisle by pushing for the surge/counterinsurgency strategy. Remember it was a Democrat that labeled the surge ‘the McCain Doctrine’ as Source Watch notes,
The “surge” has also been called the McCain doctrine, a label coined by John Edwards to describe a proposed surge in troop levels and escalation of the war in Iraq named after its “chief advocate”, Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.).
Senator McCain did not just sign on to the president’s war strategy; he was one of the leaders that pushed the president to adopt the counterinsurgency strategy. He made a stand that was considered political suicide; he pushed for an unpopular strategy having just seriously criticized the president’s Secretary of Defense.
On the campaign trail he and Senator Biden were the only candidates in either party giving details about Iraq. They voiced their opinion and took questions from frequently skeptical audiences. While their views were different; they both should be commended for directly addressing the most pressing issue of the day in a direct and honest manner.
While progress was slow it did come, and it came due to the counterinsurgency strategy. Some people hesitate to accept this success because they are angry that we even went to war, or are unwilling to accept progress due to their anger at the president and the myriad of mistakes made on his watch. However, this isn’t about the president, or the candidates for that matter. People’s lives hang in the balance; the decisions made by the next president will determine the fate of many people of whom most of us will never know. Like it or not, we are a country at war, and looking forward is incredibly important. Choosing a candidate who understands war, the military, tactics, and strategy is vital. Senator McCain may not be everybody’s first choice, but he fits the bill for commander-in-chief at this particular point in history.
McCain Doctrine / Surge Success Leaves Obama Spinning
Update: The McCain campaign just released this video,
Obama Iraq Documentary recounting the numerous positions Senator Obama has taken on the Iraq War.
Tags: foreign policy, mccain doctrine, Military, military strategy, military tactics, obama iraq, surge success
July 17th, 2008
Thanks for that pearl of wisdom, Senator Tom Harkin
Frankly, I was under the impression that in a time of a war, a military mind might be a good thing. Silly me, its dangerous.
Harkin goes on to tell us John McCain’s true sins. He comes from a military family.
“it’s one thing to have been drafted and served, but another thing when you come from generations of military people and that’s just how you’re steeped, how you’ve learned, how you’ve grown up.”
I don’t understand why, exactly generations of service to your country is now a bad thing, but I guess it is.
The whole thing seems kind of strange coming from Harkin, a man who spent several years in the Navy himself, but I guess the Democratic Party’s strategy this year is going to be demonizing military service, so Harkin is towing the line, even if it makes no sense. Can someone tell me what this even means?
“But now McCain is running for a higher office. He’s running for commander in chief, and our Constitution says that should be a civilian,” Harkin said. “And in some ways, I think it would be nice if that commander in chief had some military background, but I don’t know if they need a whole lot.”
Harkin should go back to riling Howard Dean up and ranting and raving at funerals. He has nothing of value to add to this election.
Tags: mccain, Military, tom harkin
May 17th, 2008
Ed Morrissey at Hot Air has the story.
McCain was a fighter pilot, who dropped laser-guided missiles from 35,000 feet. He was long gone when they hit. What happened when they [the missiles] get to the ground? He doesn’t know. You have to care about the lives of people. McCain never gets into those issues.
Jay Rockefeller is an Obama supporter whose judgment Senator Obama has repeatedly brought up in the primary against Hillary Clinton. Of course, Obama doesn’t seem to know or care how Jay Rockefeller actually voted, but that’s an issue for another day.
In Jay Rockefeller, Wes Clark and Gloria Steinem part of the Democrats strategy for November seems to be to belittle and even demonize not just John McCain, but military service as a whole.
That should go over well.
Orson Swindle says it best in the response at The Political Punch (emphasis mine).
Senator Rockefeller’s statement is an insult to all the men and women who are serving or have served in America’s military. Had Senator Rockefeller served himself, he would appreciate and understand that most who have been to war emerge with a much deeper concern for humanity than they otherwise might. If he knew what he was talking about, he would know that John McCain wasn’t dropping laser-guided missiles at 35,000 feet in 1967. Barack Obama has a responsibility to denounce Senator Rockefeller’s smear against John McCain’s character and military record. The question remains: Does Senator Obama have the courage to stand up and hold himself to the principles of ‘new politics’ he outlined in his book, “The Audacity of Hope?
UPDATE: Rockefeller apologizes….
Tags: Barack Obama, Gloria Steinem, Jay Rockefeller, John McCain, mccain, Military, Senator Obama, Wes Clark
April 8th, 2008
