More on Obama and Landstuhl — Latest from Obama Camp
(Note: Many of you have complained that this is a lousy transcript full of typos and other problems. I accept full responsiblity and apologize. This is a transcript derived from campaign embeds who type it out feverishly on the plane, always on a blackberry where typos are common, and then blast e-mail it to reporters covering the campaign. I received this transcript and hurriedly tried to proof it before posting it. I wanted to post it as quickly as possible becuase I wanted to give full voice to Obama’s side of the story. I appreciate there are cleaner transcripts out there. That puts me at a competitive disadvantage and I’ve hurt myself with this sloppy posting. Please understand I have no help with transcripts or other material for this blog and I post between live shots, script writing and radio reports. It gets a bit hectic. And for those critical of posts on this issue at all, what I have tried to do is provide information about a public disagreement between Obama and the Pentagon on a topic that may prove interesting to some. I’m not trying to flog this issue or editorialize, but simply provide all of the information I’ve obtained from the interested parties. In that pursuit, I posted a garbled transcript and that was a mistake. Please accept my apologies.)Â
Robert Gibbs, a senior communications adviser to the Obama campaign, briefed reporters on the plane today. I just received this transcript as I am in London, having leap-frogged ahead due to requirements for live shots here.Â
This is the full transcript about the Obama camp’s perspective on the back-and-forth with the Pentagon about the canceled visit to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.
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Q: Do you think the Pentagon set you up?
Gibbs: No.
Q: The statement that you sent out said it was the senator’s judgment to not go visit…
Gibbs: The statement that I sent out and the statement that General Gration sent out are consistent in that what General Gration learned from the Pentagon that the trip from Ramstein to Landstuhl would be viewed as a campaign stop. The decision that Sen. Obama made with that information was that we would not put our wounded men and women in that position of being involved in a campaign stop and therefore he made the decision not to make the stop.
Q: Inaudible question
Gibbs: Based on the information that we received from the Pentagon that the environment of, anybody on the staff that was related to the campaign, including General Gration, (who is) a two-star general and two-sate Air Force (general). This apparatus that would have flown us to Ramstein, campaign advance people that the trip would be viewed as a campaign stop. He could go as a U.S. Senator ok. But it was pretty clear from the people at the Pentagon that the trip would be seen as a campaign stop.
Q: Inaudible question:
Gibbs: Given the information that we had received, Senator Obama had made the decision that we were not going to have wounded men and women become involved in a campaign event or one that might be perceived as a campaign event. So he made the decision that we wouldn’t go.
Q: How is the Pentagon perception different than just the set of facts? You are saying that the Pentagon told you in what it perceived as a campaign stop. Why is the Pentagon’s perception what governs your decision rather than actually what happens and you perception? Because there is no change in facts?
Gibbs: They pointed out, they interpreted their rules to denote that this would be a campaign event.
Q: So there was an official determination made
Gibbs: Yes
Q; How were those determinations made?
Gibbs: the point of the contact for General Gration, I don’t have exact names, but was legislative affairs for the office of Secretary of Defense.
Q: How was that determination made, the official designation that this would be a campaign stop?
Gibbs: Let me check and see if the word “official designation” was the accurate word. They cited regulation. Again and here’s what governed our making of choices, was the perception that anything, that we would be doing anything that would put our wounded men and women in the position of rightly or wrongly for whatever the determination into a situation where the back and forth would mean that this looks like a campaign event. As you know, several weeks ago Sen. Obama made a visit to Walter Reed. He did it very quietly, as you all will remember. On Monday, Sen. Obama stopped into a combat support hospital in the green zone of Baghdad, some of you may have seen the show on HBO called Baghdad ER, that was this hospital. We had every intention of stopping at this hospital and we had no intention of not making it. And quite frankly, that even in the event we were going to be that forthcoming about what happened. It was his desire and continuing desire to visit the men and women that have served our country and sacrificed.
Q: Can I ask you- can we forget about the Pentagon for a minute. When did Obama decide to go visit Ramstein?
Gibbs: Denis (McDonough, a senior foreign policy adviser) made a call, Denis and Gration made calls when we landed. We determined when we were in the air that we weren’t going to do this.
Q: When did you originally decide to go?
Gibbs: I have to get you an exact date but it has been on the schedule for a long time.
Q: Did it not occur to anybody that this might be viewed as a political stop?
Gibbs: We had taken some of that into consideration, but we believed that it could be done in a way that would not create, it would not be created or seen as a campaign stop.
Q: The schedule was for this plane, with us in it, to fly to Ramstein. By the way we were expected to pay for the flight, what were you suppose to do with the entourage then?
Gibbs: You would have stayed on the plane.
Q: We would have stayed on the plane, would there have been any pool report?
Gibbs: there may have been, I don’t know if we ever came to a decision on that.
Q: Inaudible question
Gibbs: Here is what I understand and I will double check this. Sen. Obama could have gone and seen anybody from Illinois. As a United States Senator from Illinois, that is what I understand. But let me be clear. We believed that based on the information we received that any, we believed that any presence even his own and only his own would get into a back and forth about wether or not even his own presence was a campaign event. That is what caused us not, to decide that we would not put our troops in that position and ended up not going.
Q: If you had not made this decision, the decision that you did, was there (inaudible)
Gibbs: We made a determination based on the information that we had that we did not feel comfortable getting to a point where that might be a case.
Q: Robert when did you tell the Pentagon that you were going to make this decision?
Gibbs: I have to get back to you. It has been on schedules for as long as I know.
Q: But when did the Pentagon actually know?
Gibbs: For a number of weeks.
Q: For a number of weeks they’ve known that you are planning to do this?
Gibbs: Yes.
Q: And when did they tell you that it would be a campaign event?
Gibbs: General Gration received information sometime on Wednesday evening.
Q: Was that the first time you had been warned of this? Had you gotten any informal prior?
Gibbs: I don’t know what to make of it other than, again, when that came up as a potential we decided at that point, or not too long after that point, we just didn’t want to put people in an awkward position.
Q: And when you made those plans, who did you deal with at the Pentagon?
Gibbs: Again our point of contact throughout this has been the legislative affairs office of the Secretary of Defense.
Q: And it is several weeks ago you said?
Gibbs: Let me find out the exact, see if I can get a better date. It is not something that was added in the last few days.
Q: Why not just say it is never inappropriate to visit men and women in service- what is your response to that?
Gibbs: Again I would reiterate that we would not want to put anybody who had been wounded in service to our country in the potential position to be part of the political back-and-forth. Let me finish the question. It is entirely likely that someone would have attacked us for having gone and it is entirely likely and it has come about that people have attacked us for not going. We decided, Sen. Obama decided having made that decision he was far more willing to take the criticism from some political people or political opponents in a political atmosphere than to put our troops in the middle of our campaitn back-and-forth. That is the decision we made and we are comfortable with it.
Q: on Wednesday was the first time you had heard from Pentagon that there might be an issue (inaudible)
Gibbs: We got guidance that the involvement of General Gration that having had people obviously campaign apparatus like a plane go there. Again we are landing at an air force base, we are not landing at a public airport and that the involvement of staff of making the movements, some of those movements possible was to be perceieved as a campaign event.
Q: Did that lead to a prohibition on the visit
Gibbs; We believe it led us to a prohibition on the visit from the perception that this was going to be viewed by some as a campaign visit.
Q: inaudible question.
Gibbs:Â As I understand it, and I will double-check on this that what we were told is that he could visit in a capacity as a senator of Illinois and see people in the facility that might be there from Illinois.
Q: And you would have been able to make the trip?
Gibbs: Yes, but hold on let me be very clear, we believe that at that point whether or not he could go in any capacity would be seen and viewed by the Pentagon and it would be transmitted to others as a campaign event. At that point Sen. Obama decided that that was not a position that we wer e going to put troops in and therefore.
Q: Inaudible question.
Gibbs: We believe that his presence would have been perceived as a campaign event. Based on the fact that there was any iota of chance that this could be perceived as a campaign event we decided not to risk putting our men and women who had been put in harms way in the middle of what was going to be perceived as a campaign event.
Q: Senator Obama was comfortable making the trip (inaudible) the Pentagon communicated otherwise and ….so they believed you could do this trip appropriately.
Gibbs: We believe we didn’t want to put anyone in the position of it being perceived as a campaign event. Therefore we decided that we would not go.
Q: Had advance people already gone out to the place to set up?
Gibbs: Let me double check on that, I believe I know the answer but, I don’t want to give something that is incorrect.
Q; I just want to make sure that if you did have some advance people there is no other indication?
Gibbs: Again I think that is true but I want to check on it.
Q: the point is if the Pentagon
Gibbs: You are asking me if we would have gotten previous notice than Wednesday night.
Q: Those guys must of known days ahead of time that you were planning on coming.
Q: Inaudible question.
Gibbs: This is all local time in Germany we made the decision in the air to not go. In the air from Tel Aviv, we talked about this on the ground, it was a very quick decision and as far, and I will double check this, I believe the call was made once we landed that we were not going to go.
Q: Who made that call?
Gibbs:Â I have to check on that.
Q: No from yesterday?
Gibbs: I don’t remember it would have been, I cant remember what time wee landed in Berlin it would have been 10- 10:30 ish.
Q: Do you think that does create awkwardish for the troops that this has become such a political?
Gibbs: Yes and we sought to minimize that by not going because it is pretty clear that, I mean even now going would have been we are in the middle of a campaign back-and-forth and he enjoys visitng the troops. He did it most recently in Baghdad, we did it not long ago at Walter Reed and we simply weren’t going to put, we did not want to put anybody in that position.
Q: Inaudible question.
Gibbs: Let me double check but I assume that, you know we were planning on going up until very recently. I mean this was not a surprise, I don’t think this would have been categorized as a surprise.
Q: Inaudible question.
Gibbs; I will double check but I believe that we were under the impression that we were going to go.
END OF TRANSCRIPT ON LANDSTUHL
Thats Ok the more McCains camp see’s they are losing the more they will attack Obama any where they can. Has any one else seen this new grainy cell video of Obama smoking? I wonder if the new cell phone video of Obama smoking a cigar with the french PM will have any effect on the vote, seeing how Obama said he quit smoking. You can find Obama cigar video at http://www.theobamaplan.com its at one of the links at that site. I cant remember which one but its not hard to find. I dont know who I will be voting for. I dislike both candidates so much.
Is this really supposed to be an ‘issue?’
Unlike George Bush or John McCain, Senator Obama chose he would not use the troops for political gain.
Now that’s a change from the last 7 years.
What exactly is the point of this?? I’m curious about the exact text/statement from the Pentagon regarding his stopping at Ramstein. What did the Pentagon say, and why did the Pentagon have to say anything? How is this related to the notification from the State department to US embassies abroad about not offering any more help than they should to Obama just before his trip? Some have said the state department made the same request before McCain’s trip, but no one has seen any of the text/wordings in either of them. I assume some of your readers are just waiting to now going to tag Obama with the “unpatriotic, does not care about the troops” badge?
Grow up everybody and learn to THINK for yourselves.
This story had so many misspelled words that I COULD not finish reading it. Get spell check or hire someone who can spell…..it’s not pentagoon…..and what is a START general?????
It was the right decision. Obama was chided for not going abroad. He goes abroad. Gets standing ovations from our military, draws a bigger crowd in Germany than Ronald Reagan, and as the trip draws larger attention than expected it dawns on them that this might be viewed as wounded soldiers being used for political gain (which I’m sure would headline FOX news if he had gone). He’s visited hospitals before when not so much in the limelight and I’m sure he will do so again after becoming President.
McCain says Obama should have stayed home (after goading him to go) and focus on the campaign like he has. This would seem more credible if McCain hadn’t been abroad recently himself. He’s probably forgotten all about his recent trips, is my guess. Like he forgot the Sunni uprising had nothing to do with the Surge, since it was a full year before the Surge, but in his mind somehow influenced the uprising.
Carl
Ummm- what???
CNN reported back in April that the McCain campaign was told that he could not campaign at military installations such as the Naval Aviation Musuem due to Defense Department rules. Senior McCain advisor Steve Schmidt proudly declared that, “we follow the rules”. Therefore, I find it mind blowing that the McCain campaign and Fox News are trying to make the Landstuhl story a big issue. Isn’t it a double-standard to pat McCain on the back for following Pentagon rule and then lambast Obama for doing the very same thing? I suppose I shouldn’t waste my breath on any of you people…but if there are one or two “real” journalists left at your network, you should be ashamed of yourselves.
Oh my God! Now I’m definitely not voting for Obama! He was going to visit troops at a hospital in Germany but was told not to do so by the Pentagon? That’s crazy! I don’t want someone like that, someone who wants to visit troops but is told not to so by the Pentagon, to be commander-in-chief. I think I want the opposite. Here: someone who is not going to visit troops until told to do so by the Pentagon. Or, maybe this: someone who is going to visit the Pentagon but is told not to do so by the troops. Or, how about: someone who is going to visit the troops and the Pentagon but is told not to do so by both at the same time! That would be awesome. I would vote for that guy!
Pentagon was involved in why Barack Obama did not visit our servicemen. I strongly feel Republican backed administration played a big part in directing the Pentagon. But can not prove this as an absolute fact. John McCain has been trying to put this trip down all week. He has criticized Obama over and over again. In fact all he has done is complain about anything and everything all week. Appears strongly John McCain got some help from Bush. Pentagon has had travel information regarding this servicemen visit for quite awhile. Pentagon should have stated objections in the beginning. This visit then could have just been taken off without problems. Position of Pentagon came through approximately Wednesday fo this week. Today is Friday and now Republicans have finally got some debate going. John McCain is sure no highly held “honest or ethical” man - Keating Five, fights-verbal and physical fellow senators & witnessed, etc. John McCain and President Bush created the action resulting in no visit to servicemen. I have had it with John McCain. News media get investigating the pentagon. All of this sure points to Republicans.
So much written…What is the point here again??
To “Mike” who posted at 3:55- I saw this same post, word for word on another forum, I believe it was the LA Times, by someone named “Jane”. Are you hermaphroditic? Are you Mike/Jane or Jane/Mike? Were you fed a talking point that you could cut and paste into your favorite forum to try to make an issue of Obama smoking a cigar? Just curious as to why you care about this non-issue and who’s pulling your strings?
The closer you get, the worse Obama smells!
Would Obama have worn a flag pin?
I guess Fox News isn’t concerned about providing a legible transcript. Inaudible questions and unintelligible answers. I’ve read the actual transcript and it was much easier to understand. They’ll just print anything in these blogs, I suppose. Major Garrett didn’t even bother to proofread the few words he actually wrote himself.
The “blogosphere” is the worst thing to happen to world news. Thanks for giving the opportunity to be blatently biased, hiding behind fake reporters.
Hey Mike im with you neither of these guys make me happy but putting Obamas smoking aside i can not vote for someone that hangs out with racists and bombers and is married to a lady that is only proud of her country when things are going good for her. Chicago Politicians at their finest.
Once again our rabid media machine is looking to turn a non-issue such as this into nothing more than a politicized front page headline that will sell papers and generate thousands of internet hits.
He was informed by the PENTAGON not to go as it would be perceived as a campaign event! What course of action would you have him take in light of this information? If he had gone, these same zealots would be screaming that he doesn’t play by the rules and that he is willing to make our wounded service men and women nothing more than sympathetic pawns in his effort to garner more votes.
Sen. Barack Obama has paid his respects to our troops on many occasions in the past. In this particular situation he did what was RIGHT. You know it.
Time to change the headline - how about ‘McCain still can’t find Iran on a map’ - and this isn’t due to his cataracts.
Didn’t want to use them for political gain?? If he couldn’t take his press with him to take pics, he didn’t want to go! All senators, or any elected official can see the wounded troops, you just can’t use them for your own purpose! Shame on Obama, McCain would have left everyone in the plane and went, and I think everyone really knows this.
I found this new Obama Website, check it out
whois-barackobama.blogspot.com
whois-barackobama.blogspot.com
check it out
as a us senator, obama could have visited the wounded at landstuhl regional medical center in germany. he did not because he thought (and his advisers) that without the press, there was insufficient publicity and not worth his time. Gibbs is a lousy BSer and obama is a craven politician and phony.
Fox News was hoping that Obama would visit the hospital so they could hammer him for using our wounded for “political” reasons. Obama is a lot smarter than that.
DW hit the nail on the head with no press and flash bulbs he could care less about the troops. Can not even give them credit when it is overdue.
No resume and more character issues. Amazing that people are so excited about this guy.
[...] the media angle, see this exchange on the plane between one of the pool reporters and Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs: Q: The schedule [...]
Obama could have visted the troops if he wanted to, he choose not to because he couldn’t get have the press follow him for a photo-op.. that the real reason, thats it and thats ALL.
Great job of reporting Major - nice hearing an unbiased report - hard to find these days -
Obama is letting his true colors shine through - or shall we say his lack of patriotism become more apparent - I’m thinking he’s afraid to face our wounded troops after his statement about disagreeing with Gen. Patraeus - the military will not take too kindly to that -
Reminds me of Obama’s trip to Walter Reed Hospital - it was to be a ’secret trip’ - ya right - isn’t it amazing how all the press just happened to tag a lone -
Keep up the great work - looking forward to your report tomorrow -
seph…
People around the world watch and can easily see the hypocrisy and desperation of the GOP and McCain. As the most powerful country in the world, US politics is relevant around the globe. Many more people are praying for an Obama win so that US can “change for the better”. McCain attacks on Obama appears immature, disoriented and wimpy (especially given his age and background). McCain is doing himself a great disservice if he keeps it up this way.
You Obamamaniacs are so stupid! He could have left everyone on the plane and gone to visit the troops without cameras since he had a stop there planned anyway, but he didn’t care enough to do so. And he wants to be their CinC! What a tool!
His visit to Afghanistan was the same way–didn’t give the individual troops the time of day unless the cameras were rolling. It’s an insult to everyone who is sacrificing so much to serve!
SLICK AS HELL | The Pentagon in a statement cited longstanding Defense Department policy that prohibits military personnel or facilities from association with partisan political campaigns and elections. “We told him he could visit Landstuhl (Regional Medical Center in western Germany) with his Senate staff, but not with his campaign staff,” said Army Lt. Col. Elizabeth Hibner. They told Obama that after his Senate staff had already left to come back to America with along with Reed and Hagel.
Only Afghanistan, Iraq and Israel were fact finding Senate trips. Germany, France and the UK are being paid for by Obama’s personal presidential campaign money. He could not go to see the troops under the law. If he had tried to sneak off and go see them and the media found out.. which they would have.. then Obama would have been in legal trouble.
Hope that clears it up for you.
He’s worried about turning something into a campaign event? That’s all he’s been doing for the last few years. He hasn’t put much effort into actually voting on the issues.
Obama made a choice, he could have gone w/o the fanfare, but decided that it wasn’t worth it.
The voters this fall will make their decision known.
I don’t think you could have kept John McCain away from these service men or women once he made his plans known to them.
Good God, this man might be their commander in chief and this is how he shows them his respect?!
Yep, Ya’ll missed one important fact that seems to have slipped through the cracks here. The decision not to visit the troops was made after he was told he couldn’t have a bunch of press and other members of a media entourage going goo goo ga ga in the hospital. That would have made it a media circus again, which was what he intended. The Washington Post seems to have included that little piece of information in their reporting. That was the determining factor in his cancellation. He doesn’t give a rat’s butt about the service people.
Los Angeles Times
U.S. military authorities told advisors to Barack Obama this week that he could not bring press or campaign staff on a visit to wounded troops from Iraq and Afghanistan at a hospital in Germany, a Pentagon spokesman said Friday.
After advisors learned of the restriction, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee canceled his scheduled visit Friday to the military’s Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in southern Germany.
>>>>>>>
So if Obama can’t take his campaign and the media in to get big pictures then he determines the troops are not worth a visit.
Just like Obama, he is just for the glitter & glamor.
The bottom line is he could have visited them without the press and asked for no press at the hospital which would have not violated any rules. It cannot be political if there is no press! He could have gone as a concerned citizen or “world citizen” in his own words but i really believe this man feels uncomfortable in the presence of these hero’s. He is not worthy of tying their bootstraps….
Rice sent all government employees memo they are not to help Barack Obama at all. Republicans controlled overseas embassy not allowed to help Barack Obama at all. Republican controlled Pentagon interfered with trip plans. Facts are facts!!! It is very embarrassing a private citizen as you and I would have much more protection than Barack Obama did overseas. Republicans and John McCain - disgraceful actions!! And then they deny. Thank goodness we have modern technology and correct information past and present available for correct facts. Both parties can play mean. Republican do it real big time though. They are very nasty. Borders on being illegal.
Lets get to the truth of all this BS…Obama wouldn’t go because he couldn’t bring his Dog and Pony show and camp followers with him…..He could have gone as a US Senator, but refused. He had plenty of time for the terrorist HAMAS, but no time for our wounded military personnel..
This rebuke of our troops will be rememberd in November…..
Signed
JoeDe, U.S.NAVY, (Retired 1975)
Barack Obama visited Germany on his tour of the Middle East and Europe in an eight day crash course in world politics. While in Germany, he gave a speech to 200,000 European citizens, carried live by every news network. The entire speech. For free, worldwide press coverage for as long as the speech lasted. What a political coup!
What did Senator Obama miss to get even more photo ops? Well, he didn’t visit the wounded troops at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. O’ wait, the military said no press could come on the visit. O’ well, no photo op, scratch that off the itinerary. Instead, Barack Obama spent time at the gym, before going to his adoring European fans.
Worldwide covered photo op. Visit wounded troops. Hmmm.. have to do the thing that gets the best political gain and adds to his ‘god-like’ fan worship. Photo op it is.
Sharon,
Are you really that stupid? I mean really…are you?
the fact is that there is no rule that says that US Senators, Congressman/women, the President and any other elected official CAN NOT visit with troops overseas. they simply CAN NOT use the visit as a campaign tool (meaning he could not be accompanied by the press, cameras etc). obama was NOT told that he couyld not go. He could have and should have. instead he showed America what he really thinks about the US military and he also showed our military that he has no probme throwinf them under the bus either. I dont care how he tries to explain it, he is not getting my vote. he could have gone to the hospital as a Senator and not a presidential contender but he chose to stay away. maybe he was afraid of what the soldiers would say. funny how he chose not to go after he leartned in iraq that most military persons there listen and watch foxnews.
How does the Obama camp get anything done? Sounds like Gibbs spends most of his time double checking something to make sure it is absolutely the perfect answer. Must be on hourly wage.
i think it’s amazing how the left wing spins this as well as his trip abroad, when he visited the troops the only ones there were black so i guess BO is qualified to lead our black troops just like the majority of the people who voted for him so far. i don’t point this out to be racist but the last time i checked America has many different colors brought together by the freedom provided and defended by our Soldiers, Sailors, Air Force and Marines of which i served proudly and was wounded defending the rights of the left leaning America hating hypocrites. If BO wants to be a leader of the USA, then he better go see our wounded troops even if the majority of them could care less about him. as far as i can remember the only time politicians go to see troops there is no pictures just reports it happened except for the President because thats His responsability as Commander in Chief. of course it is apparent dems don’t understand that. it reminds me of that quote from Jack Nicholsen ” i would rather you say thank you and move on because i have to do things you don’t want to know about nor understand” i’m sure it wasn’t completly accurate but i know you hypocrites will dismiss what i say any way. GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS
Let’s stop the bs. Obama could have agreed to leave all of his reporters, photographers etc. on the plane and gone humbly to visit our wounded heroes. He, in effect, said that without the publicity he was not going. Obama is a disgrace!
This is a classic US military stunt. Last-minute pull the rug out from underneath. Put Obama in the damned-if-you do, damned-if-you don’t situation, on the defensive either way, with no time for a remedy. Its been going on for as long as I can remember, was commonplace during that years-ago other illegal and bogus war, Vietnam, the one McCain’t knew how to win (?) Every area of a government whose job it is to serve the people has become politicized and serves its OWN self-preservation and self-interest. The Republicans will rig and snare every thing they possibly can, you can count on it. It would be laughable, the way Bush has been a laughable failure of an excuse for a President, except the consequences of his incompetence and crimes have been disastrous, and tragic.
I have one question for this President to answer. Mr. Bush, are you still sniffing glue ?
The long and short of it all is that Obama was only interested in visiting the troops if he could get some good campaign shots out of it. As soon as the Pentagon said no film crews, his entire purpose for visiting was gone and a lot of injured American soldiers looking forward to the visit were left disappointed.
For him to now say he didn’t want to make a campaign issue out of these troops is a joke - he stood them up precisely because he couldn’t make a campaign issue out of them and they therefore had no value to him.
One thing I know about a politican is that they can just about get into anywhere they wanted to go. If he really wanted to visit the troops, he could have do so with a simple phone call to the Pentagon…It was only after they said no camera’s did BO balk about going and chose the gym… This trip was all about the photo OP… No photo..No visit…Time to work out…
Obama continues to frighten me as a potential leader of our country–not because he to avoid meeting with wounded vets, but because he chose to meet with non-U.S. voting German and European citizens instead of meeting with wounded vets. Perhaps Obama finds something more appealing than meeting with the wounded troops–like the camera, or the fainting fans in Europe, or a chance to talk rather than listen? As for Obama’s claim that he didn’t want meeting with the troops to become a media spectacle, Obama should consider the fact that he and his staff created the very media spectacle on this trip that he now blames for his decision. Therefore, he either lacks the ability to control the media spectacles he creates or he lacks the courage to try to assert some control and risk his media-darling status. Important point: Anyone who has ever visited wounded troops knows it is very easy to control the media and avoid spectacles. Other politicians and celebrities do it all the time, including the sitting President of the U.S. So, for Obama to claim this as his reason only tells me he has never spent a lot of time with troops–especially wounded troops–and as usual, can’t back up his hollow rhetoric.
Nobody so far has considered the schedule of the caregivers aka the hospital in question or any hospital when scheduling a tour of any upper statesman and any type of tour will have a serious effect of care given for it does change the routine of that hospital or caregiver for that period of day and therefore the rest of that day for schedules get behind when the normal routines have to stop and get caught up later.. Then the operations/surgeries might be rescheduled at that time and that would really offset the medical staff.. I am all for the tour schedule that Obama took for it was showing that a president in the US has to have, #1 Good speech #2 Convincing speech #3 Good mannerism and appearance #4 Ability to attract crowds #5 Be a leader and so far we only have Barack Obama with these qualifications for all Mclane does is relive history and complain..
I agree that Obama’s not visiting the troops was completely wrong!!! HOWEVER, we the American People have to be careful with critizing Obama, because as I read some of the other comments, everytime Obama (African-American) makes an error, OH its a conspiracy against a black man, it was set up by Bush (a white man)… Same old story, I am a hispanic and I have heard this line so many times that I am sick and tire of hearing it… I don’t buy it and I will oppose consipiracy theories in NOVEMBER 2008!
Sincerely,
A Hispanic military Democrat veteran who has switch from
Obama to McCain!!!!
Comment by Larry Clifton
July 25th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
“The closer you get, the worse Obama smells!”
Larry, that smell is really your mouth is too close to your nose
Comment by pam
July 25th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
“Didn’t want to use them for political gain?? If he couldn’t take his press with him to take pics, he didn’t want to go! All senators, or any elected official can see the wounded troops, you just can’t use them for your own purpose! Shame on Obama, McCain would have left everyone in the plane and went, and I think everyone really knows this.”
Pam, getting some other prospectives may help you evolve.
This story is one of many that is relative to the contradications that are part of the McCain camp. Why does the media bury this stuff when it revolves around McCain?
http://www.vetvoice.com/showDiary.do;jsessionid=4FE8823D79B012540EA163C17A17164E?diaryId=1671
I’m tired of Obama reneging on personal promises, not just the campaign ones:
Some of you people are exactly the type of folks that this new McCain ad thats slams Obama for not visiting the troops is designed to appeal to.
People who have no understanding of geography (but then what can you say when McCain himself doesn’t seem to understand that Iraq doesn’t have a border with Pakistan). The McCain ad tries to sell the message that all Senator Obama had to do was drive down the block to visit the troops at Landstuhl. The reality is that Landstuhl RMC is over 400 miles from Berlin. Once the military took away his ability to land the campaign plane on a military base there was no close air field that could accomodate a 757. The worst part of this ad is that it smells of hypocrisy. When McCain visited Europe in March with Sen. Lindsey Graham and Sen. Joseph Lieberman they all had ample opportunity to vist the troops at Landstuhl. Actually they were significantly closer to Landstuhl than Senator Obama was.
http://www.jedreport.com/2008/07/why-didnt-mccai.html
Perhaps Senator McCain decided the fund raiser in London was MORE important than visiting troops in Europe.
Some of you people are exactly the type of folks that this new McCain ad is designed to appeal to.
People who have no understanding of geography (but then what can you say when McCain himself doesn’t seem to understand that Iraq doesn’t have a border with Pakistan). The McCain ad tries to sell the message that all Senator Obama had to do was drive down the block to visit the troops at Landstuhl. The reality is that Landstuhl RMC is over 400 miles from Berlin. Once the military took away his ability to land the campaign plane on a military base there was no close air field that could accomodate a 757. The worst part of this ad is that it smells of hypocrisy. When McCain visited Europe in March with Sen. Lindsey Graham and Sen. Joseph Lieberman they all had ample opportunity to vist the troops at Landstuhl. Actually they were significantly closer to Landstuhl than Senator Obama was.
http://www.jedreport.com/2008/07/why-didnt-mccai.html
Perhaps Senator McCain decided the fund raiser in London was MORE important than visiting troops in Europe.
As for your comment about FOX on TV I need to explain to you that AFN TV News channel provides a wide variety of News programs from various network sources. For example Countdown is followed by the O’Reilly Factor which is followed by the Today Show etc etc. I have never bothered to calculate whether they show more Fox programs than CNN programs. I believe its pretty fairly divided. The only fulltime direct feeds of Fox CNN domestic and CNN headline news are on classified systems because they show domestic commercials (unlike AFN) and would violate licensing restrictions in various countries if they were available on unclassified sources.
[...] Even so, Obama planned to leave reporters behind for a visit to Landstuhl, according to a press briefing by campaign spokesman Robert Gibbs. Gibbs said reporters would have been left behind, though there [...]
All I have read on this site is foxnews,hannity,and others TALKING POINTS ,he frightens me ,he’s scary he’s this or that COME ON PEOPLE THINK FOR YOURSELF. John did not go in march WAIT READ THIS AGAIN JOHN I WOULD GO ANYTIME MCCAIN DID NOT VISIT THE WOUNDED SOLDIERS IN MARCH 08 LOOK IT UP.OIL SPILL IS WHY MCCAIN DIDN’T LAND ON THAT OIL PLATFORM NOT THE WEATHER, COAST OF NEW ORLEANS 420,000 GAL OIL SPILL NO FISH OR SEAFOOD FROM NEW ORLEANS FOR ME THANK YOU