As we near the primary season, C&L has been receiving outreach from various presidential campaigns to invite potential voters to get to better know their candidates. We have decided that we will feature these outreaches for our readers, but they do not imply a specific endorsement of any candidate. Our first video outreach comes from Bobby Wise, Veterans' Outreach Coordinator for Obama'08, on behalf of Barack Obama.
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Download Military in my family is the family business. My dad served two tours in Vietnam, my mother's brother was in 101st in Vietnam, another uncle on my mother's side was in the Chilean army...going back generations, the military is just a given -- it's carrying on the family legacy.
It's a sense of patriotism. And it's definitely an easy way to pay for college.
I signed up right out of high school: September 13, 2000. And I was there for the invasion in Spring of 2003. March 19, 2003 -- the first day we had ballistic missiles come in. Welcome to the war buddy. When we invaded Iraq, the Bush administration had this notion that we were going to make Iraq look like us. Now, we¹re stuck in a no-win situation.
I served two tours in Iraq, both for a year. My old battalion deployed this past Spring and about a third from my old unit are still active and out there. Every day you see another plume of black car smoke. The same kind of bomb you saw the other day. And its just going to keep happening.
What it comes down to is this: there is a certain method of leadership which will accomplish a mission. It starts with defining the mission, having a clear head, having goals, and having a system to work your way up to it. It also means being able to get everyone you¹re leading in on the mission, not just 51% of them. I believe Barack Obama can do that, he¹s proven his ability to communicate honestly, to study a subject, and get the right people around him to help him form a consensus.
I first got into Barack in '04 when he was running for Senate. I was down in Tennessee in between deployments to Iraq. I noticed he did this crazy thing in politics that I'd never seen before. Someone asked him a question and he answered it.
I appreciated his candor, his ability to communicate, and his sense of dedication. And he is the first politician in my lifetime who I've seen demonstrate all of those traits.
