Posted on 07/25/2008 7:31:34 AM PDT by kristinn
The Pentagon said Barack Obama phoned wounded U.S. soldiers at Landstuhl Regional Medical center in Germany today a day after a firestorm developed over his cancellation of plans to visit the base and Ramstein Air Force Base.
Pentagon spokeswoman Elizabeth Hibner told Bloomberg News that Obama was told by the military he could visit the bases as an offical but not as a candidate and without campaign staff.
Obama chose to cancel the visit and instead phoned it in to the troops.
That’s what would cheer up a wounded U. S. soldier: a telephone visit from a trojan horse muslim pinko.
Leni
yeah the one where he is holding the phone upside down lol
This from a blog at NW Republican:
Received this from someone who was in Afghanistan when Obama blew in. I only blanked out the last name and unit:
FYI—for what freedom is worth.
Tiffany and Jeff are friends who live in Virginia .
(Below is from Tiffany)
I don’t know each of your personal political convictions, and apologize if anyone finds this offensive. I thought it was important enough to share. This is Jeff’s first hand view of Senator Obama.
————— Forwarded Message —————
Hello everyone,
As you know I am not a very political person. I just wanted to pass along that Senator Obama came to Bagram Afghanistan for about an hour on his visit to ‘The War Zone’. I wanted to share with you what happened. He got off the plane and got into a bullet proof vehicle, got to the area to meet with the Major General (2 Star) who is the commander here at Bagram.
As the Soldiers where lined up to shake his hand he blew them off and
didn’t say a word as he went into the conference room to meet the General. As he finished, the vehicles took him to the ClamShell (pretty much a big top tent that military personnel can play basketball or work out with weights) so he could take his publicity pictures playing basketball. He again shunned the opportunity to talk to Soldiers to thank them for their service.
So really he was just here to make a showing for the Americans back home that he is their candidate for President. I think that if you are going to make an effort to come all the way over here you would thank those that are providing the freedom that they are providing for you.
I swear we got more thanks from the NBA Basketball Players or the Dallas Cowboy Cheer leaders than from one of the Senators, who wants to be the President of the United States . I just don’t understand how anyone would want him to be our Commander-and-Chief. It was almost that he was scared to be around those that provide the freedom for him and our great country.
If this is blunt and to the point I am sorry but I wanted you all to know
what kind of caliber of person he really is. What you see in the news is mostly all fake.
In service,
CPT Jeff
Battle Captain
American Soldier
10:11 PM
And obama wants to become commander-in-chief? How does he think he can do that if he wont even go see the troops that he’s supposed to command if he were to get elected?
With obama it’s all about obama.
You hit the critical point. The visit to the wounded was scheduled and the Military was, in their own words, “ready and waiting for him”, but in transit the Obama camp found out it was SOP not to allow camera crews and he blew it off. It would seem beyond dispute that if Obama canceled because there would be no pictures the entire point of the visit was a photo op. It also validates the pentagon policy, which has been in effect for years, of refusing to allow shot up soldiers to be used as props for anybody. The military made it clear that he was welcome and his staff was welcome but his campaign did not think to clear the camera crew before scheduling the visit - an error that betrayed the cynical nature of his decision to stop in Landstuhl.
Unbelievable.
Then why is Andrea Mitchell passing off the rumor that McCain blocked Obama from visiting the trooops?
I got this from my cousin, whose son is flying over there.
Subject: From our friend who is serving in Afghanistan (Captain Jeffrey Porter)
Hello everyone,
As you know I am not a very political person. I just wanted to pass along that Senator Obama came to Bagram Afghanistan for about an hour on his visit to ‘The War Zone’. I wanted to share with you what happened.
He got off the plane and got into a bullet proof vehicle, got to the area to meet with the Major General (2 Star) who is the commander here at Bagram.
As the Soldiers were lined up to shake his hand he blew them off and didn’t say a word as he went into the conference room to meet the General. As he finished, the vehicles took him to the ClamShell (pretty much a big top tent that military personnel can play basketball or work out in with weights) so he could take his publicity pictures playing basketball. He again shunned the opportunity to talk to Soldiers to thank them for their service.
So really he was just here to make a showing for the Americans back home that he is their candidate for President. I think that if you are going to make an effort to come all the way over here you would thank those that are providing the freedom that they are providing for you.
I swear we got more thanks from the NBA Basketball Players or the Dallas Cowboy Cheer leaders than from one of the Senators, who wants to be the President of the United States. I just don’t understand how anyone would want him to be our Commander-in-Chief. It was almost that he was scared to be around those that provide the freedom for him and our great country.
If this is blunt and to the point I am sorry but I wanted you all to know what kind of caliber of person he really is. What you see in the news is all fake.
In service,
CPT Jeffrey S. Porter
Battle Captain
TF Wasatch
American Soldier
“All better now. /s”
Thus, He has spoken, and so it shall pass.
As Johnny Cochran would have said:
“If there’s no photo op, Obama does not stop”
UPDATE: My colleague Carrie Budoff Brown, traveling with Obama, sends over more information from a briefing ofered by Gibbs:
Senior strategist Robert Gibbs said the visit to the military hospital in Germany had been in the works for about three weeks, with Gration serving as the campaign's contact with the Pentagon.
The Pentagon cleared the Obama plan to land at the base on either July 15 or 16, Gibbs said. The plane needed the clearance because of restrictions on landing nonmilitary aircraft there, he said.
But then on Wednesday, Gration told Obama aides that the Pentagon had informed him that the visit could be viewed as a campaign stop.
"They cited a regulation," Gibbs said of their point of contact, described as legislative affairs in the office of the secretary.
"We believed that based on the information we received that any presence, even his own and only his own, would get into a back and forth on whether his own presence was a campaign event," Gibbs said.
Obama decided on the flight Wednesday from Tel Aviv to Berlin not to visit the hospital.
Asked why he believed the Pentagon would clear the visit, then raised questions about it, Gibbs declined to speculate: "I don't know what to make of it."
Asked whether he thought the Pentagon set up the campaign for a political embarrassment, Gibbs said no.
And Michelle wanted me to tell you that for the first time in her life, she has never been more proud of you troops.
...”and I’m cutting off your Fox news coverage when I’m da man”
*******.
He still doesn't get "WAR". He's too busy promoting communism.
Thanks for posting that Snopes link.
I tracked at least 5 FR postings yesterday as FReepers were getting this e-mail in their inbox and then began to post it to FR as if nobody else was.
Hospital visit Cancellation
By Peter from San Diego, CA - Jul 24th, 2008 at 8:25 pm EDT
Hello all!
I am a die hard Obama supporter and thoroughly enjoyed the speech tonight, however I am disappointed that Mr. Obama cancelled plans to come to visit our wounded troops at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center! I am a nurse here at the Landstuhl Hospital and I as well as many of the wounded soldiers here were elated when we heard Mr. Obama was coming to visit. Let me tell you the troops would have appreciated it! I hope it is not too late to change the plans! We would welcome him with open arms!
For those of you in Rio Linda, yes, it's photoshopped.
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