Obama's trip to see wounded soldiers canceled because the military would consider it a campaign event.
By John Amato Thursday Jul 24, 2008 4:00pmThe right wingers have been trying to find something to attack Obama with since his trip has been so successful. Once again they look foolish.
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama dropped a plan to visit wounded U.S. troops in Germany on Friday amid concerns the stop would be viewed as a political event.
Planning for a stop at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center had been in the works for three weeks. But an Obama adviser said he was told in recent days by the Pentagon that the military would consider it a campaign event.
"Senator Obama had hoped to and had every intention of visiting our troops to express his appreciation and gratitude for their service to our country," said retired Maj. Gen. Scott Gration, who advises Obama on national security matters.
"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," Gration said.
The Pentagon, in a statement, cited longstanding Defense Department policy that prohibits military personnel or facilities from association with partisan political campaigns and elections.
Any candidate would go out of his way to make a trip like this. Hey, guess what? The same thing happened to McCain:
From CNN:
With Department of Defense rules prohibiting political campaigning on military bases, it was determined that in some cases McCain could visit the installations as a senator but could not engage in any political activity or have news media present. McCain campaign officials said Thursday they intentionally did not campaign on military property.
"We follow the rules," said senior McCain adviser Steve Schmidt.
Red State's Erick Erickson looks really foolish with his graphic contest, but it's Red State. RedState Graphic Design Contest 3: Obama Ditches Wounded Troops For Shopping in Berlin.
There was also another smear against Obama that has been debunked too.
Army officials refute claim of Barack Obama snub in Afghanistan.
My good pal Ed really can't back this overwrought statement up over at Hot Air.
This makes the decision track very clear. Obama and his team set up the visits to military installations before going overseas. After seeing how the media got excluded in Iraq and Afghanistan, they decided it wasn't worth traveling to Ramstein and Landstuhl to visit the severely wounded troops because they couldn't bring the campaign and get the photo ops they wanted. Instead, Obama went shopping in Berlin.
I do admit that he would know a lot about photo ops being a Bush supporter and all. Greg Sargent confirmed with the Pentagon that: Pentagon Confirms That It Told Obama He Couldn't Visit Army Base With Campaign Staff
I've just gotten clarification from the Pentagon on what really happened with regard to Barack Obama's canceled visit to an Army base in Germany, something the McCain campaign has been using to hit Obama since yesterday.
A Pentagon spokesperson confirms to me that because of longstanding Department of Defense regulations, Pentagon officials told Obama aides that he couldn't visit the base with campaign staff. This left Obama with little choice but to cancel the trip, since the plan to visit with campaign aides had been in the works for weeks.
Late Update: In fairness, the Obama campaign's first statement should have been clearer about what happened, but the larger point is that the McCain campaign criticism appears unfounded.
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http://hotair.com/archives/2008/07/25/why-obama-snubbed-the-troops-no-ph...
The bastards.
Haven’t I seen McAsshole at campaign stops with military people there?
Bullshit. Just because a presidential candidate visits soldiers does not make it campaigning, unless they cancel McPapen's appearances, as well
I sure as hell hope that Olbermann covers this. I don't expect anybody else will. Sad.
It doesn't take much to make Erickson look foolish, the sun coming up, a shiny object...
And you would think, that when Andrea Mitchell got on the teevee to denounce Obama for not bringing the media on the bases, and her "never" having been witness to that was simple minded enough.
Keep an eye out for McWannabe working the troops in the future. We should have a lottery on when the first sighting will be. My pick is Monday at 9:17 AM (hint; he doesn't work/campaign weekends).
They are afraid he might find out what really goes on there... that the hundreds (or thousands) of soldiers that die there are not counted as war deaths.
(I am not detracting from the heroics of the medical teams there, they are amazing.)
Didn't Ms Greenspan hit on this this AM on Morning Joe? Or did I hear it wrong. Thought she said the pentagon put the kabosh on Obama visiting the wounded soldiers. That it would be "campaigning," like Bush hasn't used the military as background for his photo ops over and over and over. Need to check some of mcshame's photo ops also. He probably has abused this 'rule' also.
enor @ 8:
Noooo, they are afraid of the welcome he would get.
liberAL @ 9:
Heh, the rule only applies to the party not in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
A little OT but Sen Schumer was blamed by at least two right wingers for the collapse of Inda Mac bank because he made a phone call expressing concern about their financial solvency. I knew this was BS from the start.
I read an article in the SF chronicle that detailed how indy mac's financial troubles were known since 2006. When they wanted to get thye bank on the list of troubled finacial institutions, it took over six months to complete a "study" of indy mac. When this study was complete, it was too late.
Feels good to know that if Bof A is in trouble today, you won't know about it for six months or so, and senators are not allowed to say hey, look out!
that's okay like i have said obama is campaigning against
the bush adminstration not just against mcBush..
i believe obama will and should hammer mcBush regarding this lose the war to win a campaign....he is going to pay for that nonsense.
some of these comments are preplanned and coordinated
by mcBush and surrogates...mcBush does the passive aggressive routine and let's the surrogate do the dirty work...i am sick of it.
the polls are close....i say good will pass him at the finish line
Sounds like a good policy, if applied fairly. That wouldn't stop some injured serviceman/women from trying to meet with Obama off-base though, should they wish to have his ear a bit.
.
Q U E S T I O N:
How does status quObama intend to unring the bell he promised not to strike, yet did?
1) Get a Body of Congress to undo his vote.
2) Get a Supreme Court to rule that his vote was unconstitutional.
.
When Obama went to Iraq and Afghanistan he did visit the wounded there without press or cameras or anything. That part of the trip was considered a part of his congressional trip or whatever. Andrea Mitchell told us about his visit to the wounded troops in Iraq and Afghanistan this morning. All traveling after that was considered campaign travel which his campaign paid for. According to what Wolf Blitzer got from Obama's campaign, is that after the Pentagon told them they couldn't go, they didn't want to put the injured troops in the middle of the story so they decided to for go the visit. Then Wolf said, But Obama did have time to work out at the gym. Wolf had to drop that little nugget in to be fair and balanced, I guess.
I didn't realize that Obama's campaign staff was chained to his leg. . . .
Not that they wouldn't still be calling him a troop exploiter even if he went alone. . . I'm sure they would and it is a no win situation. . .
. . it just seems like a weak excuse that you can't go now because they won't let in your campaign staff.
Maybe it was just unfortunate wording.
.
Question:
Should the Office of the President of the U.S.A. be restored before or after status quObama takes Office?
If not before, how can restoration then be achieved under a new Administration?
Is it easier to re-carpet before or after the furniture is moved in?
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As a rule, the existing troops are told to stay out of politics, at least publicly, so they are indeed touchy about that. I have no doubt that there is some chickenshit inconsistancy going on here, though. Really not worth getting worked up about though.
Despite what Grandpa or the pencil neck Peter Hegseth's attempts, they do not represent the official view of existing or former military members and their families.
McCain would rather help oil companies by flying out to oil platform rather than visiting wounded troops.
Let us be honest about this, shall we? Admittedly, if Obama had gone to visit those soldiers, it would have been looked upon as a major publicity coup for his campaign. But let us examine what Maj. Gen. Scott Gration, who advises Obama on national security matters, said about Obama's visit. Gration said that Obama wanted to "express his appreciation and gratitude [to the soldiers] for their service to our country." This, quite frankly, is hogwash. Those soldiers were not fighting for their country. They, as I did in a place called Vietnam, ended up fighting for the lies given to them by their government and neither Obama nor McCain have the honesty and courage to say that.
If Obama had been able to see those soldiers, what he should have told them was that he felt great sorrow because they had been placed unjustifiably and needlessly in that position. Obama, like every other American politician, is very quick to salute the flag. In the July 6 cover story of Parade magazine, What is Patriotism?, Obama gushed that "Those who signed up for our country in distant lands inspire me..." Inspire him to do what, invade and occupy other countries like Afghanistan and threaten others like Pakistan? What Obama should be doing is thanking those who belong to the IVAW [Iraq Veterans Against the War] for recognizing that the United States has no business brutalizing and terrorizing the Iraqi people. Those ex-military personnel are the true heroes of this country [as demonstrated in the powerful documentary Sir! No Sir!, which told the story of the GI movement that took place during the Vietnam conflict] and not those who unblinkingly obey whatever orders that they are given by their superior officers.
Yet the pentagon did nothing when Gen Boykin, still on active duty and in uniform, stood in a church and said that God had chosen George Bush to lead America at this time. If I remember clearly, he got a little tut tut and that was it. When it happened I thought that this guy is toast, then I remembered that this was the imperial Bush presidency, so nothing was going to happen.
PS this the person that was in charge of the failed rescue attempt of the hostages in Iran 30 years ago.
This story has been spun so many times, I don't know what to believe. But it doesn't suprise me the Repukes would use anything to make Obama look bad. Well, The Repukes are in panic mode, and it is starting to show. From McCain's shrillness and the fact several top Repukes wont even show up to their own convention. Poetic Justice or Karma? You decide.
BTW: There is a video of him at the washington post religous section talking how christianity and killing are hand and hand. HYPOCRITE, or just delusional, but I will say this, he is considered a legend in Special Forces(he started delta force), sans the religous crap.
Is this the reason GW never visits Walter Reed?
But wait. Wolf Blitzer is using words like "controversy" and "snub" to describe Obama's decision. That can't be good.
When Larry King retires, he should take Wolf, Candy Crowley, John King and Dana Bash with him. They're fucking despicable.
How could I forget Glenn Beck, Rick Sanchez, and most of the braindead female anchors.
Erroll @ 21:
well said!!!!!!!! its time to get out of afganistan every swinging dick needs to come home , obamas a warmonger just as much as mccain and clinton!
i assumed it was orders from the limpballs, due to the timing...
listening to edschultz (12-3 eastern) yesterday and a couple of wingers called in with this "gotcha"...
oh, and "the europeans love obama so much because he's a socialist like they are"...
CMINCA @ 25:
I don't know about Walter Reed specifically, but I do remember one occasion when Bush visited some wounded service people. He spent a while with people who had lost various limbs etc. and then "joked" that he was wounded too because he had a few scratches from his brush clearing.
It was OK for McNasty to visit troops at their thanksgiving dinner in november 2007, so why cant Obama visit wounded troops (who would prob be glad to see him) now in July 2008.
Theres some double standards by Republican biased military people methinks.
IOKIYAR
jeff @ 22:
Gen. Boykin is the Republican's and god's own SF holy warrior, one nasty piece of work.
I bet theres many a black op traceable back to him, if the reporters lived long enough to tell their tale.
Obama should have thrown out all the bulllshit political calculations and simply visited the wounded troops. That simple act of principled compassion would have superseded, overruled and transcended all other repercussions, consequences and political fallout. The troops struggling to regain their quality of life after serious injuries would have deeply appreciated a visit from Obama. It would have meant the world for them to know that their sacrifice has not been forgotten. A chance to shake hands with and hear a few kind words from a Presidential nominee would have been clear manifestation of America's gratitude. Obama should have put aside theoretical political computations and simply acted from his heart & soul. He should have visited the hurting, the sick, and the dying hospitalized troops.
liberAL @ 9:
he has november 2007
orcas @ 33:
Theres too many active Republicans embedded in the Pentagon and the DoD.
Obama visited the wounded in the green zone while in Iraq.
Republicans are liars and cannot be trusted.
PorridgeGun @ 26:
Except for Bash, they're gone because they're not blond, and Bash will be making babies with King.
The Pentagon immediately leaked the whole thing to Pox. Surprised?
The sad thing is the more the republicans try to make Obama look unpresidential the more it shows they are a bunch of cry babies. I have never seen such nonsense. You can see the Pentagon is in the bag for the republicans but the troops support Obama. It is true a picture is worth a thousand words. McCain looks angry and acts angry. Shame on McCain he is suppose to be an adult. But I guess you see who he looks up to (Bush). What a sorry sorry bunch
FIFY.
What's the problem? The Obama could only bring in one staffer and his secret service detail so he decided to skip it.
It's his right, if he doesn't want to visit our wounded soldiers unless he can bring his press entourage, it's his perogative.
swampfox @ 28:
How could Obama's crack campaign team miss this? They seem to be right on top of whatever it takes to help Obama come off like a glorious Messiah, but they screw this up.
Not a good sign.
Getting his visit to the wounded soldiers letter perfect SHOULD have been the top priority and everything else a distant second. But it wasn't. Why not?
You be damned if you do and be damned if you don't! Believe me, if Obama had gone to visit the troops, McCain would have complained about that as well!
The 'real' story is that Obama could have visited the wounded soldiers, but the Pentagon said not with the huge entourage and media circus ... however, Obama supporters are now trying to mislead the American people by enabling Obama to now blame the Pentagon for HIS bad decision. This is a typical form of damage control that the Obama and his people have used throughout his campaign. If Obama does something right, they shower credit upon him ... if he does something wrong, they blame it on someone else, or they tell us we misinterpreted what happened.
Lee @ 45:
Who is in charge at the Pentagon?
And who still has a desk at the Pentagon although he resigned?
It's Me @ 43:
"The Pentagon, in a statement, cited longstanding Defense Department policy that prohibits military personnel or facilities from association with partisan political campaigns and elections."
You're welcome.
I applaud Senator Obama and his efforts to once again bring America to the forefront of the world. Shame on the republicans for trying to smear his VERY SUCCESSFUL trip abroad. Not since KENNEDY has a presidential candidate (or president) been this well received in international territories. I write this from Iraq.... YES WE CAN!!
U.S. Army Officer @ 48:
Thank You USAO. Tell me something would you? How is the morale of out troops over there? Are they doin ok?
And how do they feel about this election? If you can reply.
mudshark @ 46:
All he had to do to visit is leave his fans(the media) behind.
Barrack will go see the soldiers only if there are camera's there to make himself look good and that's a FACT.
In the interest of not seeming to have the military endorsing a political effort, let's have McCain ditch the NAVY baseball cap that he wears at most of his campaign appearances.
Rusty Shackleford @ 47:
So Obama and his crack campaign team didn't bother to review the rules on this issue and, therefore, they screwed it up royally.
I'll bet if Obama had to pass through those hospital wards in order to get to a fawning crowd of cheering supporters or a basketball court and a television crew he and his crack campaign team would have been so familiar with the rules to make that happen they could have recited them verbatim in their sleep.
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