This could actually turn bad for Obama. While I’m sure Obama’s media foot soldiers will do their best to keep this quiet, it will eventually come to the attention of Joe Six Pack.
Will there be public outrage when Obama allows (by not intervening) a loyal officer to be court-martialled for serious crimes and sentenced to lengthy imprisonment and hard labor over a $12 piece of paper?
How will the sentencing of this officer be received by others in the military? Sure, some will say that he got what he deserved for disobeying a direct order. But will others begin to wonder why the staunch refusal from Obama to make absolutely clear that he is a natural born citizen?
Will instances such as this one escalate if the military decides that they’re being lied to regardless of whether or not a proper election took place? For the sake of discussion, let’s take it to the extreme and assume that an officer on duty in one our missile silos begins questioning the handling of Lt. Col. Lakin’s case and decides to join him in his refusal to obey orders?
Maybe I am naive about the innerworkings of the miliary, but this seems like it has the potential to snowball downhill quickly on Obama.
I don’t know military court martial procedure and it’s been way to many moons since I was in the service. However this has some potential to at least further the need of defining how a candidate for the Presidency must show NBC status whether it be state by state or a federal requirement.
As I said I’m not that familiar with the system but I think this has some chance of being elevated to the SCOTUS level at some point. It may also take on a very narrow focus which would remove the broader picture of proving NBC.
This still is a much better chance of getting somewhere than the other attempts, imo.
Good post!
“Maybe I am naive...”
You are not pretentious. Very admirable.
“Maybe I am naive about the innerworkings of the military, but this seems like it has the potential to snowball downhill quickly on Obama.”
It depends on the spin. Since nobody in the MSM takes the birther issue seriously, and neither do most conservative pundits, such as BOR, Beck, Coulter, etc., there seems to be no place for any negative spin to come from. Some blogsites and a few right-wing type radio hosts will come out in support of Lakin, but that will probably engender more reaction from the pro-Obama folks, than extra support for the birthers.
Plus, this is an election year and as we get closer to November, I predict birthers will come under more attacks from the GOP, the Tea Party, and conservatives all who will be trying to distance themselves from the movement.
As a result, the Lakin thing will probably work out to Obama’s benefit.
parsy, who asks why did the wolf chase the rabbit?
First, the "sentenced to a lengthy imprisonment and hard labor" bit, while possible, is not much more than hype coming from Margaret Hemenway, as is most of the press release. There's no official confirmation yet of how the military command will handle this.
Second, this story is currently getting very little attention in the media, so it's difficult to envision any "public outrage" at this point -- particularly from the families and friends of military now serving in Afghanistan, where every doctor is vitally needed. (And where another doctor had to be deployed in Lakin's place, or worse, where a doctor had to remain after expecting to be relieved after a long tour.)