Posted on 07/25/2008 9:24:21 PM PDT by PajamaTruthMafia
From NBC's Jim Miklaszewski In his official capacity as a sitting US senator, Obama has every right to stay in touch with America's men and women in uniform. According to Pentagon officials, the problem was that Obama's request to visit Landstuhl included two members of his campaign staff -- retired Major General Jonathan S. Gration and Jeff Kiernan. US military officials in Germany informed the campaign the two political operatives would not be permitted on base.
Pentagon officials say Gration was the campaign's point of contact at Landstuhl in arranging Obama's visit and "got torqued" when he was told he would not be permitted to join Obama. It was Gration who later suggested to reporters that the Pentagon short-circuited Obama's visit.
(Excerpt) Read more at firstread.msnbc.msn.com ...
My guess is that the retired general had everything arranged...with the Pentagon’s rule in place of only Obama making the grand tour of the hospital. Then as arriving in Germany, and working up the final details...the retired general thought that he could push this past the point where the entourage is forbidden...and he would not be viewed as part of the entourage. The PA guy at Landstuhl...likely saw exactly what the retired general was arranging, and said “no”.
One can only speculate...but he likely has a cellphone on him...with numbers for AF generals at Stuttgart and Ramstein...so he starts calling and whining...demanding that they order the Landstuhl staff to let him escort Obama into the hospital and be part of the tour. The Landstuhl PA guy is just smiling...because his or her orders are from the Pentagon, and these generals within Germany have no influence over this entire act.
The second and third operatives of Obamas crew there...probably started to freak out because they don’t want any bad press. So they called Obama Central....halted the entire tour of Landstuhl....and that was it.
The retired general? Well...he probably is just one of fifty of these guys....either paid or doing this free in hopes having major influence on the Obama administration. He becomes a one-act wonder...with no real common sense.
No question. The Media is spinning like a top.
They’re trying to pin this on the Military, when it was Obama’s staff who pulled the deal when they found out that cameras and reporters would be barred. Cameras and reporters are the entire reason for Obama’s trip.
YOU’RE EXACTLY RIGHT - that’s is the real story. BHO was perfectly free to visit them alone if he really cared. And trying to blame it on the military is absolutely disgraceful. But it’s becoming more and more evident that the American people are NOT fooled. Don’t listen to the media - look at the polls and how they’ve changed dramatically, just over the last week.
That sounds about right to me, this ret. Gen Gration thought he could backdoor a minor rule suspension the way he saw it, and Lansthul was not having it.
Generals, even ret. ones, assume that rules do not apply to them, when they do, they tend to see it as disrespect for their rank or service, same in the Business World.
So instead of ret. General screws pooch, Obamao with egg on Nike’s, it is “the mean old pentagon would not bend the rules for sycophantic ex General...”
Darn, sorry for the typo!!!
Read some of the comments on the article...wow, what a bunch of maroons!
Team Obama will use and abuse our troop until he gets what he thinks he deserves. Hummmm... Sounds just like the Bill and Hill nightmare.
Just when you thought that the Democrts couldn’t sink any lower after Clinton, Gore, and Kerry, they cough up this scumbag — worst than the rest by a full order of magnitude.
Just when you thought that the Democrts couldn’t sink any lower after Clinton, Gore, and Kerry, they cough up this scumbag — worse than the rest by a full order of magnitude.
It shows how much he "cares" for the military. He probably can't figure out why they shouldn't display a dog and pony show in front of a bunch of guys who are all busted up.
**a sitting US senator, Obama has every right to stay in touch with America’s men and women in uniform.**
But Obama made the choice NOT to go there without his media cheerleaders.
Even ABC evening news reported this side of the story tonight. I wonder if even the MSM are getting tired of this guy.
It shows how much he “cares” for the military.”
Yes, I believe the tide is beginning to turn. Unbridled arrogance and ego out of control may well be his downfall. I continue to remain optimistic - historically, the American people are much wiser than they’re given credit for.
We should remember the famous front page headline printed up so many years ago on election eve - “Dewey Defeats Truman”.
This strikes me as one of those stories which the public won’t get all the details, but will get the whiff of it—that Obama was playing politics with wounded troops.
Another interesting statement comes out:
Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs initially released a statement saying the senator had decided to cancel out of respect for the troops, because it would be inappropriate on “a trip funded by the campaign.”
That statement said nothing about the Pentagon restriction. Gibbs later said it became apparent the Pentagon “would have tried to politicize this, and then others would try to politicize this.”
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-visit26-2008jul26,0,5392381.story
IT BECAME APPARENT THAT THE PENTAGON WOULD TRY TO POLITICIZE THIS! What a crock.
I think you’re right. The American people are really good at sniffing out BS.
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