Appealing? No-just another empty suit with an extremely glib line of talk. Actions actually speak louder than words, and every time Obama actually does something, I am that much more convinced I'll be voting for McCain. This political season has been depressing. I can't vote for Obama, and I despise several of McCain's policies, and not voting is not an option.

You know, we'll probably have numerous legitimate criticisms all the way until the election of this worst candidate in history for the U.S. presidency (yes, and that includes Carter).

The atrociousness of Obama makes McCain look like Reagan.

(OK, that's stretching it, but almost).

The lib pundits are looking ill on this one.Ha!

Hey, the left supports the troops, just not the mission. Makes perfect sense.

It's simple, really: he's pretty, he's articulate and has a deep voice, he mouths the right platitudes most of the time (and thus assures his status as "caring enough"), and since he is black, he lets the Lefties feel morally superior about their lack of noticing race at all by voting for him. (Yes, the irony is crushing.) And that's it: it's all about image and feeling.

Jeff -

Unfortunately, image and feeling aren't terribly relevant when the shit hits the fan - at that point you'll need ability and competence and experience.

Out of the five qualities - image, feeling, ability, competence, and experience... Obama's got two.

He's so not ready for the job it's almost laughable. I'd rather see Hillary in his place, most definitely.

More and more people realize that Hussein O knows less about the country and the world than most 4 grade students. His speaches are all fluff written by some white guy (or hundreds of white guys) hidden in the back room. He has more (300+)foreign policy advisors than the state department and still screws up every time he opens his mouth without a teleprompter. Appearances are funny, Appearing in front of the Nazi monument to a monster and giving the Nazi salute shows where he really stands. The picture of him giving the Nazi salute is all over the papers. But to the lefties it was an accident, just like when he gave Hillary the one finger salute on National TV.

Might want to give the left a gyroscope to stabilize the spin on this one.

Why vote for the Obamassiah? 'Cause he's BLACK.
That simple. And simple minds will latch onto it.

Reading now that he's CALLING the troops he snubbed. Good job Uhhbama.

Duty , Honor, Country.
President Bush, understands those words. He meets with the families of the fallen. He makes visits to the hospitals on the sly with no press and unannounced. McCain also visits the troops. They understand what the Country ask of our troops.

Obama just does not get it, He is just showed that if he cannot use the American Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine for his own personal political gain he has no use for them.

Also how could any American go to Europe and talk about how bad the US is? I mean, classism, Communism. Imperialism, Fascism, Nazism, sexism and yes racism all were born there and propagated to the rest of the world. Yes America has it own problems and we take care of them here but looking at the History of Europe and the blood on its hands we have no need to apologize for our actions.

I bring this up because it fits the pattern no love and understand for the American troops, and no pride in the USA.

For those who stand and have stood the watch since 1776 in all lands thank you. GOD BLESS the USA!

Barrack said those of use who wear flag pins were fake patriots well now we see where his loyalties lie and it not with the American War fighters.

Calling the troops to fix 'his' major screw up. Bet they got a laugh out of that.

hcddbz,

M, wld hv md prfct Grmn n 1937. r llt t Bsh nd th Hmlnd s brthtkng.

dr lava, you're the first person to report in that should have a reason, some reason, any reason, to support Obama as the better pick for President, yet you squandered the opportunity to throw a Nazi charge at another commenter. Color me shocked.

I think for many people, it's anyone but a republican and it doesn't matter that the person is an empty suit. At least he's an empty suit with no afiliation with Bush. Sad, I'm not looking forward to what our country will turn into if Obama wins the election.

Dr. Lava: Imagine how history would have changed if in the late thirties, the Germans were looking for someone riding a pink unicorn to bring them change.

Everyone else: Appreciate the dramatic multi-layered irony that may appear when Dr. L responds with another BDS response and activation of Godwin's Law.

From the standpoint of votes/person visited this makes a lot of sense for Obama. After all, he is going to get a lot more votes from the Germans in Berlin than he would from the troops he would have visited at the hospital. Especially after Democrat lawyers trash overseas absentee ballots from those in the armed forces the way that they did in 2000.

The Big O just figures that hitting 'em where they (votes) ain't only works in baseball.

Old "pac-a-derm ears" just stepped in it again.

Spotted this - from a 23 year veteran over in Iraq...

Monkey in the Middle: Letter from the Troops: 'Obama is a Buffoon, a Charlatan, a Hindrance to their Mission'
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When his plane arrived (also containing Senators Reed and Hagel, but the news has hardly mentioned them), there was a "ramp freeze." This means if you are on the flight line, and not directly involved with the event in question, you stay where you are and don't move. For a combat flight arriving or departing, this takes about ten minutes, and involves the active runway and crossing taxiways only. For Obama's flight, this took 90 minutes, during which time a variety of military missions came grinding to a halt. Obviously, this visit was important, right?
.
95% of base wanted nothing to do with him. I have met three troops who support him, and literally hundreds who regard him as a buffoon, a charlatan, a hindrance to their mission or a flat out enemy of progress. Even when the rumors were publicly admitted, almost no one left their duty sections to try to see him, unless they were officers whose presence was officially required.
.
Mister Obama's motorcade drove up from the flight line and entered the dining hall toward the end of lunch time. Diners were chased out and told to make other arrangements for food, in the middle of the duty day.
.
Now, there are close to 8000 troops on the base and its nearby satellites. No one came up from the Army side (except perhaps a few ranking officers). The airbase resumed operation, once he cleared the flightline, as if nothing had happened. The dining hall holds about 300 people and was not full. The troops did not want to meet him and the feeling was apparently mutual. In attendance, besides the Official Entourage, were the base's senior officers, some support personnel, and a very few carefully vetted supporters who'd made special arrangements. No photos were allowed. No question and answer with the troops. No real acknowledgment that the troops existed.

I'll repeat my prediction, which agrees with Mark L's... If there's any close states, the first thing that'll be contested and disqualified for technicalities by the Democratic lawyers will be the overseas absentee ballots. The soldiers know how to evaluate a situation, and decide who is friendly and who is not.

The more we see of Obama - the worse he looks.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0708/12072.html

Here's the explanation Obama gave on Saturday: "You know, the staff was working on this, so I don't know everything. Here's what I understand: We had [been] scheduled to visit. We had no problem at all leaving press -- we always leave press and staff out, that's why we left it off the schedule. We were treating it in the same way that we would have treated a visit to Walter Reed, which I was able to do quietly a few weeks ago, without any fanfare whatsoever.

"I was going to be accompanied by one of my advisers, a former military officer, and we got notice that he would be treated as a campaign person and it was therefore seen as political because he has endorsed my candidacy but he wasn't on the Senate side. That triggered then a concern that maybe our visit was going to be perceived as political, and the last thing that I want to do is have injured soldiers and the staff at these wonderful institutions having to sort through whether this is political or not, or getting caught in the crossfire of the campaigns.

"So rather than go forward and get potentially caught up in what might have been seen as a political controversy of some sort ... we decided was that we would not make a visit and instead I would call some of the troops. So that was really the extent of the story."

I know that's a lot of words, Cassy, but just go slow and I'm confident you can understand what's being said. I'm just glad you found a way to attack all liberals for this one percieved slight. But remember, Cindy McCain hates the troops too, so you know what that means? Yep, All republicans hate the troops.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/jonathanmartin/0708/DoD_spokesman_says_Obama_camp_was_reminded_of_political_rules.html

It would be inappropriate for either candidate to use the troops, wounded or otherwise, as a campaign stop.

This doesn't bother me. Anything, either candidate does in the next three months is campaigning. If he had stopped at Landstuhl, people would be lining up to dis him for exploiting the wounded.

Timmer -

Not I, sir. If he'd gone to see the wounded, I'd have gotten the impression he's a little bit less self-centered than I think he is.

As it is, his actions tend to confirm my impressions of the man.

Pretty obvious that Obama's patriotism wasn't strong enough to overcome the lack of a photo-op.

"You know, the staff was working on this, so I don't know everything. Here's what I understand: ..."

Here's what *I* understand:

If he really had the troops in mind - if it was really a deep-seated concern for them - he would have made some sort of concession ahead of time with his staff, "I'd like to find a few hours one afternoon to visit the guys at the hospital. Could you work that out for me?" none of this would have happened. Nope. it was more important to try and negotiate a speech at the Brandenburg Gate. And when he couldn't get that, a second choice, the Tiergarten, and photo-ops accepting a toy bear and time at the gym, etc. He's so busy campaigning for President of the World he forgot it was just for the US and forgot those primarily responsible for ensuring the continued existence of the US - until a moment opened up in his busy schedule.

There was absolutely no pre-plan to visit them. It was a secondary plan when others had not panned out. Kind of like when you plan to go to the zoo and it rains, so you decide to go to the movies instead.

By all accounts it seemed that the military had tried to accommodate a last minute decision. But with the same rules everyone else has to abide by. And Obama declined.

Do you have any idea how many times Rumsfeld, Bush, McCain, Ollie North and others make time to visit these guys at Walter Reed, or where ever they are, and no one EVER prints a word of it?

This is another example of how Obama is courted by the media!
Another thing that Oprah has been able to purchase with her billions,(The presidency for Obama)!
This is a huge embarrassment to the democratic party, McCain has all but caught up to Obama, because Obama is a fool, people are starting to figure it out!
The democratic party and the media screwed Hillary out of the position! she was winning big right up until she quit.
I removed myself from the democratic party right after Hillary was forced out! I would not vote for either candidate left. God only knows what is in store for this country now. I know that I will not be responsible for putting either of them in office. My prediction is, mcCain will win in November, so Bush might as well stay in!

Excellent point Oyster. It's a matter of priorities, and priorties demand planning. Obama clearly knew the process and simply chose not to visit the troops.

This link speaks to your point concerning Bush's handling of this difficult task. Below is a key quote, but read the whole article.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/24/AR2006092400747.html

"For those who have suffered losses in the wars he initiated, Bush prefers to offer comfort in private. He writes letters to families of those killed, visits soldiers at military hospitals and meets with relatives of the dead. Altogether, according to the White House, Bush has met with 1,149 relatives of 336 dead service members. These sessions generate little attention because the White House bars journalists, but some relatives have described them."

There is nothing to suggest that this policy has changed, and I'll add that this link addresses only the families of the deceased, which must be a far more difficult task. Considering for a moment how trying this must be for any CIC, it makes Obama's choice look cavalier.

This one is very, very simple. So simple even an Obama supporter can understand it. He had a chance, which was pre-arranged to visit a Military Hospital. When told he could not bring campaign staff, he chose not to go. A U.S. Senator is welcome. Some dude campaigning for President is not. He picked campaigning over duty. Suprise!

Hugh, I read the article you linked to and for the most part I didn't object. Until it got to the part about Cindy Sheehan. Then I gagged and stopped reading. They only told half the story about her meeting.

Oyster
I agree with you on the Sheehan part; should have forewarned you.

Isn't it interesting that she has disappeared from the news?

As you can see in the following link Hussein O lies to everyone and keeps a comittment to no one, family or friends. What a POS the dogs have drug in.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23520981-details/Barack+Obama%27s+broken+promise+to+African+village/article.do

If the link doesn't work go to hot air they have it.

Max,

Did you READ the link that you posted?

I ask because it certainly doesn't confirm your conclusion that Cindy McCain "hates" the troops. In fact, it does considerable damage to Obama (Obama's staff's) insinuation that the Pentagon "denied" his visit.

Not everyone can walk in off the street and visit troops. Why? Look to Code Pink and some other protestors who have taken opportunities to pour blood on healthy individuals. Would you want that for your relative who is days (or even less) away from a serious injury and be confronted with one of them in their hospital bed?

Look to some of our allies who have had their recovering soldiers attacked in their hospital beds. For the protection of the troops, care must be given to who is allowed in and when.

Even my pretty limited involvement with Soldier's Angels has educated me to the importance of non-family members being prepared to meet and greet injured soldiers AND the fact that those visits cannot be used for campaign purposes.

As political representatives of injured soldiers, Congressman and Senators have an option that the rest of us do not have - to go and see the soldiers still in the hospital. It is an option that could be excercised anytime. All that is asked is that the representative does not make it a "photo op".

So Cindy McCain asked to go visit the injured soldiers on a hospital ship. How does that equate with "hating the troops"? Last time I checked, she is not a representative of any district or state and got turned down - just like you or I would. How does that equate with "hating the troops"?

Obama, however, got approved for a visit to the base if he did not bring campaign staff. I can't believe that someone who aspires to be the leader of the United States could not make the visit if he viewed it as important. (As I recall, Cher managed to figure out how to visit the same facility.)

Which is not to say that I am as angry at Obama for not visiting the troops as Cassy and some others are.

I view Obama's decision in this matter much like I view his decision to wear*notwear*wear his flag lapel pin.

Few people I know noticed whether or not he wore the pin. Less cared. Most people can relate to not remembering your watch or earrings on a particular day.

But, he didn't say "I forget once in awhile", he gave us a song-and-dance about 'false patriotism'. Which he later rescinded. And claimed he never said.

It wasn't an issue until he made it an issue.

I don't get the sense that Obama doesn't care for the troops. I get the sense he doesn't care for the Pentagon. I believe he thought he could make some sort of point about the Pentagon and its inflexibility not knowing that many Americans are far more familiar with the situation than he is. He got burned for it and is backtracking.

Which is pretty much SOP for him.

Obama's "military advisor" is part of his campaign. That advisor knew the rules on campaigning in military settings.

Why didn't Obama just go alone?

Because he has no idea of what to say without his advisor stnding next to him, giving him cues.

Same as Obama uh, trying, um to answer, uh, questions, uh, without a, uh, prepared speech, um, on the, uh, teleprompter.

Obama cannot handle unscripted, solo events.