Did Obama Snub Wounded Troops?

Question

Nah! Just more rhetoric from McCain! See for yourself!

A new McCain ad says Obama "made time to go to the gym, but canceled a visit with wounded troops. Seems the Pentagon wouldn't allow him to bring cameras."

McCain's facts are literally true, but his insinuation – that the visit was canceled because of the press ban or the desire for gym time – is false. In fact, Obama visited wounded troops earlier – without cameras or press – both in the U.S. and Iraq. And his gym workouts are a daily routine.

http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/snubbing_wounded_troops.html

Why would John McCain sink so low?

What happened to the good ol' "Maverick"?

Why would ANYONE vote for someone like McCain who is PURPOSELY misleading the American people?

Answer 1

yes, the pentagon told him not to go, that troops were not for political propaganda.... strange how the GOP doesnt get that....

Answer 2

This was a trap by the right wing and McCain for Obama.

If he visited the troops, they would be screaming "How dare he use the troops like that for a political stunt! He's shameless!"

If he doesn't visit the troops they will say he's cold, and doesn't care about them, like they did.  

In fact Obama did what he had to do in this situation.  He didn't go see the wounded troops.  He didn't use them for political gain.  But McCain is and it was McCain, by making an issue out of this that is exploiting them.

Answer 3

because he only cares about the military when it provides a photo op.

Since the media wasnt allowed to go with him he went and shot hoops instead of visiting our troops that have been injured.

The man is unfit to run this nation

" the pentagon told him not to go"

False, they told him the media could not go with him but he was welcome to go without them. He chose to skip it since he couldnt cheese for the camera and pretend to care about the troops

Answer 4

Fox news has been busy I see - Busy telling the Americans what their reactions are to that -

But McCain was in a win win situation and waited with baited breathe -

He goes and that b*****d - exploited our boys in a phot op he is scum

He doesn't go and that is because he hates the troops - Oh and I head he is a Muslim etc etc

Fine it is all politics and spin -



But when the news is able to tell the people how they felt about somthing and then they end up feeling that way --- it is a wake up call isn't it ??

The old question does life imitate art Or does Art imitate life ????

Apparently being told what your reaction is equals your reaction - The public imitates the journalist - and that is a scary prospect considering the news is owned by a billionare who has a self serveing opinion that suits less than 1 % of the population

And the other 99% are told they believe that too - and the sheep believe it

Whats next ? Convinceing the sheep they like being sheered and eaten ?

Answer 5

NO !!  Sen. Obama honors, likes, and respects our wounded heros, and if it were not for him they would still be getting substandard care or NO care at Walter Reed Army Hospital. And they'd have no GI Bill to help them retrain for civilan life either.

Sen. McBush and the Shrub fought the new GI Bill tooth and nail !!!

Answer 6

McCain is a typical Republican - shedding his skin for whatever audience is around. Perhaps he is lying so much because he knows that lies appeal to his base. Perhaps his Maverick image was just another of those personas that McCain puts up while pandering for votes. Maybe his flip flopping has to do with his mild stroke a few years back. Who knows? Who cares?

Answer 7

The fact is Obama snubbed the wounded troops in Germany because the Pentagon would not let him take his media circus into the hospital with him. THAT IS A FACT. Whether he has visited troops in the past is NOT the point. The pressure for a media blitze wasn't on then, like it is now. The focus RIGHT NOW is on him running for President. He didn't need the photo op then... he needed it now. He couldn't get it... so he didn't go. What else is to be deducted from that scenario?

Nothing "low" about it. It is a valid observation and true accounting of the situation.

Answer 8

THIS IS PURE BS FROM THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW THAT B. HUSSEIN OBAMA WAS TOLD HE COULDN'T BRING HIS ENTOURAGE IN WITH HIM. HE COULD ALSO VISIT THE WOUNDED TROOPS IF HE LEFT HIS MEDIA FOLLOWERS OUTSIDE THE HOSPITAL BUT HE DIDN'T WANT TO. THAT IS THE REAL TRUTH.

Answer 9

Actually source said Mccain ask his buddy in the Petango to send a warning signal to Obama, that visit wounded troops is not appropiate becaue they don't wanna involve political, is punch of B.S. McCain out of the navy like 20+ years yet he still wear his navy ballcap all the time.

Answer 10

Political b.s.

Answer 11

Are these those same tricky buggers that tricked Slick Willy into his "non-sexual" relations with that woman.

C'mon is anyone responsible for their own decisions - Obama seems kinda like Madonna  - no cameras? no press? no interst

Answer 12

And this is what the Trigger Happy Pappy gets for his 'dirty tricks':

July 28, 2008

Gallup Daily: Obama 48%, McCain 40%

http://www.gallup.com/poll/109126/Gallup...

Good going, Johnno!

Answer 13

Bottom line is he should have visited the troops. If the man is that easily swayed from doing what's right or he is that easily pressured thenwhat kind of Commander in Chief is he going to be?

There is no excuse for it, Obama should have gone, it was a big mistake on his part. It drives me crazy that a man as talented as he is keeps stepping into doo-doo.

Answer 14

Nope.

There are eight sentences in this campaign commercial, and the only honest one was McCain approving of this message.

There are three angles to this ad worth considering: what it says, what it tells us about McCain, and what it tells us about the state of the race.

First, in terms of the substance, the ad the demonstrably ridiculous and the most fundamentally dishonest campaign commercial of the cycle thus far. The claim about Senate hearings is wildly misleading. The attack about voting against funding the troops is ridiculous. The argument about Obama not spending time in Iraq is disingenuous. The notion that Obama would rather go to the gym than visit wounded troops is insane. The claim that Obama would only visit troops if he could bring cameras is an inflammatory, transparent lie. The notion that McCain is “always there for our troops” is demonstrably false.

The media is using predictable words to describe this new ad. We’re hearing words like “tough,” “hard-hitting,” and “aggressive.”

But let’s cut through the nonsense. The ad is a work of fiction. It’s a sucker punch thrown by a pugilist willing to cheat to win. John McCain is lying, and he knows it.

Perhaps the greatest irony of the ad is that it shows Obama playing basketball in a gym, while blurring the image to prevent the viewer from noting that Obama was surrounded by U.S. troops at the time, and the gym was actually on a U.S. military base in Kuwait. McCain’s ad, in other words, attacks Obama for blowing off the troops, while literally showing him hanging out with the troops.

Second, the ad is instructive, inasmuch as it tells us a great deal about McCain’s character, or in this case, the lack thereof. McCain, after hiring the leaders of Karl Rove’s operation, seems to have come to the conclusion that he prefers dishonor to honor. Lies to the truth. Smears to the issues. This isn’t a mystery — it’s about doing whatever has to be done to win. There is no dignity in McCain’s tactics, but for McCain, this isn’t about acting honorably, it’s about winning at all costs. Anyone who still respects John McCain simply isn’t paying attention.

And third, let’s not lose sight of the broader context here. It’s July, and the McCain gang is rolling out an attack ad better suited for October. What this tell us is the sense of panic at McCain campaign headquarters must be palpable. The tracking polls over the last couple of days have shown Obama’s lead going up, and one assumes, McCain’s internal polling shows the same trend. If McCain were closing the gap, and making real headway this week, there’s no way the campaign would green-light a reality-challenged hatchet-job ad like this one. It’s impossible — the campaign wouldn’t want to take the risk. That it launched the ad anyway suggests these guys are watching the campaign slip away, and they’re feeling more than a little desperate.

Other random tidbits I noticed this morning about this:

* Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), who accompanied Obama to the Middle East, said, “I was with Senator Obama last week as we met privately with troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Senator Obama listened to their concerns and expressed his gratitude for their service without press or fanfare. He cares for our troops deeply and has worked hard to give them not only the resources they need, but also honor their service with a clearly defined mission and by providing them with the support they have earned when they come home. And just as Senator McCain’s support of President Bush’s veto of funding for our troops doesn’t mean he does not support them, neither does Senator Obama’s insistence that we not give George Bush a blank check.”

* When he Pentagon asked Obama not to visit wounded troops, Obama called them instead.

* Obama visits wounded troops all the time, without cameras, and without telling the press.

* “John McCain is an honorable man who is running an increasingly dishonorable campaign,” said Obama campaign spokesman Tommy Vietor in an email to reporters Saturday evening, adding: “Senator McCain knows full well that Senator Obama strongly supports and honors our troops, which is what makes this attack so disingenuous. Senator Obama was honored to meet with our men and women in uniform in Iraq and Afghanistan this week and has visited wounded soldiers at Walter Reed numerous times. This politicization of our soldiers is exactly what Senator Obama sought to avoid, and it’s not worthy of Senator McCain or the ‘civil’ campaign he claimed he would run.”

Answer 15

I like John McCain alot, but am losing respect for the guy rapidly. He needs to stop listening to the filth that got Bush elected and just be himself.

Answer 16

Simply put, McCain doesn't believe in playing fair. If he would purposefully mislead the American public on something like this then just what will he want to do as President? Just like President Bush, his focus will probably be not on the majority

of people in the country but on that special interest that does not have the interest of the American people in mind.......

Answer 17

Good points.  Something weird happened here for sure.  Obama's explanation of why he didn't go seems reasonable, he gets talked bad about by McCain either way.  If he went he was using troops for politics and if he doesn't, he doesn't care about troops.  Obama obviously cares about troops, so McCain need to find a better argument.

Answer 18

Of course not.  Bush had the pentagon blind side him to make McLame look better.  He (McLame) needs something!