Credit where it’s due
posted at 10:55 am on December 27, 2008 by Ed Morrissey
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Barack Obama took an hour out of his Christmas in Hawaii to visit Marines at Kaneche Bay. ABC’s Sunlen Miller makes it sound as though Obama got an unenthusiastic reception:
As Obama entered the room it was absent of the regular fanfare of cheering and clapping. The diners were polite; staying seated at their respective tables and waited for the President-elect to come to them to stand up.
Obama, dressed casually in a blue polo shirt and dark khaki trousers, worked his way around the room – table by table – and took pictures with the service members. He slapped them on the back at times, shook hands, and signed some autographs.
“Hey guys, Merry Christmas,” The President-elect said as he walked from table to table.
In fairness, he walked it while the Marines had already begun eating their holiday meal. That may have accounted for the lack of applause and cheers on entering the room. Obama probably surprised them as well with his visit.
I’m sure some will make hay out of the supposedly lukewarm reception Obama received, but I won’t be one of them. Obama took the time to visit our men and women serving their country on the holiday, something he could have easily skipped since he’s not yet their Commander in Chief and technically no longer a member of the Senate, either. He didn’t make a big deal out of it, either. Obama will give us plenty to criticize in the next few years, and hopefully a few things to cheer as well. Visiting the troops is cause for the latter.
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I am one.
Once a Marine. Now a soldier.
I earned that right.
Professor Blather on December 27, 2008 at 1:13 PM
This place is soft. Boy do I miss Brian.
redrock on December 27, 2008 at 1:14 PM
No actually, you didn’t. You earned the right to speak for yourself. And you didn’t really “earn” that. It’s a birthright all Americans have. You chose to enter the military and you should be commended for that choice. You actually don’t have the right to speak for all soldiers everywhere because you are one. This should be obvious but you’re so busy looking for people to pat you on the back you make grandiose and over the top statements like that. Get it together.
DeathToMediaHacks on December 27, 2008 at 1:15 PM
Fine. I just don’t want to hear you ever complain about Democrats looking down on people, labeling them elitist. There is no greater elitism than calling the American people sheeple who blindly follow the media and can’t reason on their own after gathering facts and information.
DeathToMediaHacks on December 27, 2008 at 1:17 PM
SHAME ON YOU DEATH! KNOCK IT OFF! OUT OF LINE! LEAVE OR BE EATEN ALIVE!
There is a place for you somewhere but NOT here!
What gaul! You do not speak to the very people who preseve your right to be an idiot that way you just did without being called out for the jacka$$ you are now take a leap.
katy on December 27, 2008 at 1:21 PM
I understand where it is your coming from but, this is a whole new ball game. This man who is about to step into the most powerful seat in the world is a virtual unknown. This man who we know nothing about, has voted against America, against our Military, against the life of the unborn, against the life of a child that is born, NOTHING about this man represents America.Barry will get his salute, but it wont come from admiration.
christene on December 27, 2008 at 1:22 PM
WoW! What a friggin’ disgrace!!!!!
katy on December 27, 2008 at 1:23 PM
With all due respect, since there is so much on this blog that you and Mr. Shipley don’t want to hear, I don’t understand why you are here at all. Wouldn’t you be happier among your own kind over at HuffPo or DU or Kos?
Dang, I really thought the lib trolls would leave us alone once the ascension was in the bag.
califcon on December 27, 2008 at 1:23 PM
Over the top. But you’re right. You DO have the right to be an idiot on an internet forum, so congrats in exercising it. And this is exactly what I made reference to in the “love it or leave it” thread. Someone can be a soldier, a patriot and ALSO be a jackass. And I think it’s pretty lame to say “because I am a soldier I can speak for all soldiers.” No..actually, you can’t. Because soldiers are a hugely diverse set of folks from all racial, religious, economic (and yes) sexual backgrounds and they don’t all believe the same thing. Thats why you have leftwing Vet groups like Iraq Veterans Against the War and right wing Vet PACs like the one that did the Dear Sen. Obama commercials/letters. Merely pointing that out doesn’t make me an idiot.
DeathToMediaHacks on December 27, 2008 at 1:26 PM
I’m here for the same reason you are, the entertainment of politics and political debate. And also to bounce ideas off folks who don’t think the way I do, it’s actually an intellectually healthy project.
DeathToMediaHacks on December 27, 2008 at 1:28 PM
You lost all cred with your post above. Go away. apologize to Blather. Do something respectful. Fool! Don’t waste yourself on here today.
katy on December 27, 2008 at 1:28 PM
Pat on the back? Not nearly enough!! We owe EVERYTHING to our Military!! How sad you could even think that!!
christene on December 27, 2008 at 1:30 PM
Hey Ship,
The One received the same reception that I can only imagine Bush would have received entering an NEA convention following the 2000 election (and who would be suprised!) Amongst the many differences though, any cut Bush would have made to education would only effect NEA members livelihoods, but contrastly, an Obama cut to Defense will effect Military servicemen’s lives! I think we all get that.
Goody2Shoes on December 27, 2008 at 1:32 PM
WRONG!! They ALL have ONE important factor in common. Protecting America and Freedom.
christene on December 27, 2008 at 1:33 PM
During my whole time in the service, no leader, military or civilian, would have been gauche enough to intrude on his/her subordinates while they were eating.
baldilocks on December 27, 2008 at 1:35 PM
And this means what about who they would vote in for President or their political ideologies? Quiet as its kept all Americans care about protecting freedom, but there are differing views on the best way to do that. Why you would pretend, despite all evidence to the contrary, that soldiers are monolithic automotons whose entire worldview has been programmed to be the exact same? It seems to be the LEAST respectful thing you can say about a group of people you claim to value over everyone else.
DeathToMediaHacks on December 27, 2008 at 1:36 PM
Would have been better to have eaten with them.
Bubba Redneck on December 27, 2008 at 1:38 PM
Still waiting for an apology to Blather. All glory no guts DEATH. Do the right thing.
katy on December 27, 2008 at 1:39 PM
LOL Everything? Like, jazz music? And principles of republican egalitarianism, was Jefferson a soldier? Soldiers invented all the amazing things Americans have invented? And American art? And the telvision? Chill out. We owe an immeasurable debt to our military (something VA benefits cutting GOP senators and Presidents should remember). But everything? That’s what people say in nations right before the military coup.
DeathToMediaHacks on December 27, 2008 at 1:39 PM
Please do not hold your breath.
DeathToMediaHacks on December 27, 2008 at 1:40 PM
I think every single politician looks ‘down’ on people. Dem or Rep, so blah, blah
Oh, I agree…but, the people are going on the only information they can get…it’s not like there are many REAL journalists out there these days….sheeple or not.
bridgetown on December 27, 2008 at 1:40 PM
No, pointing that out is not what makes you an idiot. What makes you an idiot is the way you talk condescendingly to people who have more honor, valor, and character in their little pinkie than you have in your entire body.
The simple fact is that people who have served or are currently serving in the military have more insight into that particular group than you do. Period. No one here is saying “because I am a soldier I can speak for all soldiers.” You seem to have a history of taking people’s words and twisting them into something they neither say nor insinuate, just so that you can invent an argument. Go hurl your invective somewhere else.
Puddleglum on December 27, 2008 at 1:41 PM
Bubba Redneck on December 27, 2008 at 1:38 PM
yep…or, at least waited until the meal was over…or gone in before the meal began. This is common sense to mere peasants like me.
bridgetown on December 27, 2008 at 1:41 PM
Puddleglum on December 27, 2008 at 1:41 PM
I like what you say, how you say it, and I also like the name, “puddleglum”
I’m just sayin’~
bridgetown on December 27, 2008 at 1:42 PM
But YOU figured it out. Are you demonstrably smarter than the people around you? I don’t mean to be (more of) a jackass, but I think we really don’t credit our fellow citizens enough. Democrats ARE elitist when they wag their finger at pro-lifers and say they are voting against their interest, people are allowed to make value judgements. Equally elitist is the claim that ONLY right wing media outlets have the “real” “objective” story. When like every other outlet they pursue their own bias. And on the issues that really matter, say why Americans have laid down like dogs and allowed wall street banks to ROB the treasury without a single yelp of protest from our elected assholes in both parties, right and leftwing media outlets stand silent together.
DeathToMediaHacks on December 27, 2008 at 1:44 PM
I’m so very sorry. Perhaps if you read one of the fifty-odd biographies on Barack Obama listed on Amazon you might feel better informed?
Or perhpas if you had had a subscription to Time or Newsweek during the election? He was pretty much on the cover ever week. The library still has the copies, I suspect…
How can you possibly say “we hardly know anything about him”? There’s been more written about him than any candidate in the last two years; I dare say there are more books about him in print right now than Hillary or George Bush, let alone John McCain or Sarah Palin. Which college did she finally get her degree from, by the way? And what were her college transcripts like? There’s so much we don’t know about her…
Mal Carne on December 27, 2008 at 1:44 PM
DeathToMediaHacks on December 27, 2008 at 1:44 PM
Nooo, I’m not at ALL smarter…but I’m younger..and I have the knowledge to use the internet. They do not.
Anyone far leftwing and anyone far rightwing..are a bit psychotic in my book.
your wall street bit….yes, and look at what Fannie/FreddiMac did to this country. WHO got blamed? PRESIDENT BUSH…how hilarious is that? And the journalists who spread the lies actually consider themselves serious journalists. How is someone to know better? Unless they live among them…if they don’t use the internet???
I think we agree here. The politicians suck and the media that cover them suck.
bridgetown on December 27, 2008 at 1:47 PM
Because that only happens in one direction on this board.
I’ll agree that they have more personal insight into the community they are a part of.
They did actually
And everyone on here is SUPER touchy, which I think is ironic as its the very claim that’s often levied at the “emotional” liberals.
DeathToMediaHacks on December 27, 2008 at 1:47 PM
Pizza for everybody! :)
DeathToMediaHacks on December 27, 2008 at 1:48 PM
I recommend you talk with a veteran or a young man who has just joined up. As him about why he’s willing to lay down his life for old glory. Ask him about why he would (with out hesitation) give his life for his brother/sister in uniform. Look into his eyes and see the honor and gratitude they have for the mission they take.
Volunteer at a veterans hospital, until you feel the soul of someone so willing to sacrifice it all for a stranger you will never understand what we are trying to say.
christene on December 27, 2008 at 1:49 PM
Is it normal for president-elects to go around visiting our men in uniform, in wartime, before even swearing in? is this a normal thing? I’m curious. I’m clueless.
bridgetown on December 27, 2008 at 1:51 PM
Let’s be real here. If “you” have displayed a decidedly obvious hypocrisy concerning those troops as Obama has done, “you” will be called anti-military among other things. President Bush, Vice President Cheney and even John McCain have steadfastly visited the troops on more occasions than we know of. Whatever is thought of those three, no one accuses them of doing it for personal gain because they rarely do it for the cameras and don’t come home, turn right around and call the troops murderers.
So spare us the image of Obama as some sort of martyr in this area.
baldilocks on December 27, 2008 at 1:51 PM
DEATH – is an idiot. Not one for calling names but this one takes the cake! Leave him alone. Prideful too. Completely disses a marine and refuses to apologize. You’re a sad man death.
Leave…
katy on December 27, 2008 at 1:52 PM
You’re right. I can’t. I am enheartened however to see a conservative articulate that shared history/experience produces a perspective on the world that’s difficult/impossible for outsiders to grasp. It’s a concept I didn’t think folks on this side of the aisle believed in. Perhaps you’ll remember that sentiment the next time a person of a different race/sexuality tries and fails to articulate how x or y makes them feel oppressed or offended and remember how you feel trying to explain your point to me. :)
DeathToMediaHacks on December 27, 2008 at 1:54 PM
The One has the same feeling about soldiers as he does about the flag, our constitution, our legal traditions, women, his grandmother, white people, Christianity, and several other things. We are just objects in his space that bemuse him and that he may want to USE eventually.
Liberal simpletons may like it. They ignored the slips and answers that give him away.
Does anyone here see him?
IlikedAUH2O on December 27, 2008 at 1:56 PM
When did Obama call the troops murderers? Factcheck.org has debunked that smear. And please don’t give me that hooey about Annenburg being biased towards Obama. Folks on this board are CONSTANTLY using Factcheck to debunk smears about Palin and the GOP in general. They are non-partisan group and they have debunked that smear over and over.
DeathToMediaHacks on December 27, 2008 at 1:58 PM
I’ll try to remember this the next time a person of your political persuasion call black Republicans ‘house n*****s.”
baldilocks on December 27, 2008 at 2:00 PM
Air raiding villages and killing civilians is murder.
baldilocks on December 27, 2008 at 2:01 PM
We military dont trust Obama. He is unproven and we are in the dark about his plans for the future. He has taken many opportunities to bash our men and women in uniform and the mission they are on. Bush has shown he is an honorable man with regards to the military. I am unaware of any visit to a military facility that the soldiers did not stop what they were doing and cheer and applause President Bush.
Per my New Years Resolution-I am getting an early start.
canditaylor68 on December 27, 2008 at 2:01 PM
While i am glad that Obama at least is paying attention to the symbolism of the Office (he is top notch on symbolism) Of Pres Elect and will no doubt pay attention to such as President on and after January 20, 2009, one merely has to compare the responses of our soldiers to Pres Bush’s appearances before the military in Iraq/Afghanistan and elsewhere, whether or not they were eating or preparing to eat, to notice the sharp difference in appreciation of the two.
However, in the spirit of Christmas, I shall not harp on Obama’s shortcomings in that regard, but will wait to see what happens when he actually takes over the Oval Office.
eaglewingz08 on December 27, 2008 at 2:02 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S26C-rxIVW8
christene on December 27, 2008 at 2:12 PM
I earned that right.
So you feel comfortable speaking for the soldiers on that base and saying that they don’t like Obama.
Tom_Shipley on December 27, 2008 at 2:14 PM
No that did not cause the lack of excitement.
So Obama finally found a way to get reporters in with him.
allrsn on December 27, 2008 at 2:23 PM
+1
wise_man on December 27, 2008 at 2:25 PM
Yes we owe all that and much much more to our military. We owe them EVERYTHING including your existance.
allrsn on December 27, 2008 at 2:29 PM
Please…. He drove all the way across the island… (a Hawaiian Island no less) to visit the troops. If he was being political about the whole “visit/photo-op” thing we might hear him say that it was the least he could do for the troops…
/sarcasm
RalphyBoy on December 27, 2008 at 2:32 PM
“Kaneche Bay”? Lived in Hawaii for a few years and never heard of any “Kaneche Bay”.
Maybe Kaneohe Bay. My grandfather was there on 12/07/1941 and finally retired there in the mid-60s. I’d bet there was more than one ghost around giving Obama the 1-finger salute.
DarkCurrent on December 27, 2008 at 2:33 PM
Baldilocks you can add my 21 years of Naval Service to your statement!
RedLizard64 on December 27, 2008 at 2:34 PM
Don’t you think it’s odd that your clip is 12 seconds long. Do check out the non-partisan Factcheck.org’s take on the matter. Obama was not “smearing” the troops.
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/dishonorable.html
DeathToMediaHacks on December 27, 2008 at 2:38 PM
Video HERE if ya need it…
JetBoy on December 27, 2008 at 2:39 PM
Oops! bah…christene beat me to it ;-)
sorry *sulks away slowly*
JetBoy on December 27, 2008 at 2:40 PM
In case clicking on the actual link is too hard.
DeathToMediaHacks on December 27, 2008 at 2:42 PM
Tom_Shipley on December 27, 2008 at 11:45 AM
I read all the comments hoping you were rightfully slammed for the association you made between Sen.McCain’s statement and Sen.Obama’s statement. No one has pointed out how absurd that association was, so, here you go.
Sen.McCain was criticizing President BJ Clinton’s tactical use of our air force, without preparing for a ground operation that COULD HAVE lessened civilian casualties. It was a critique of how he fought that conflict, not a critique of the actual pilots dropping the bombs. There is a vast difference between that statement, and saying our forces are ‘air raiding villages and killing civilians’. If Sen.Obama had said that PREISDENT BUSH’S tactic of ‘air raiding villages and killing civilians’ was wrong, your arguement would be valid. But he didn’t. He was saying what he thought about our troops…
I’ll wait for your next example.
dish on December 27, 2008 at 2:43 PM
Also don’t forget that these soldiers must surely remember what Obamas cabinet member said regarding going to college or ending up in Iraq, like a moron.
malkinmania on December 27, 2008 at 2:44 PM
Totally 100% wrong, if you follow the link I provided you’ll notice that military brass admitted than over reliance on air power had led to an unacceptable increase in civilian casualties. Why must conservatives exist in a fairy land on this issue. No one is saying that troops were killing civillians for kicks. There was a failed strategy and it lead to civilian casualties. Period. Obama was correct in calling out that failed strategy and Robert Gates and George Bush agreed. I guess they hate the troops too?
DeathToMediaHacks on December 27, 2008 at 2:46 PM
John Kerry isn’t IN the cabinet. Jeez.
DeathToMediaHacks on December 27, 2008 at 2:47 PM
Which side?
DarkCurrent on December 27, 2008 at 2:49 PM
“The diners were polite; staying seated at their respective tables and waited for the President-elect to come to them to stand up.”
Evidently the military personnel know something the MSM does not. Obama has NO ‘military standing’ at this time. He’s a CIVILIAN, the President-Elect. Period. Evidently the MSM believes the troops should have kissed his ass like they do.
GarandFan on December 27, 2008 at 2:56 PM
DeathToMediaHacks on December 27, 2008 at 2:47 PM
“We’ve got to get the job done there and that requires us to have enough troops so that we’re not just air-raiding villages and killing civilians, which is causing enormous pressure over there.”
Isn’t that what he said? Soooooo, that’s ALL we were doing there? JUST air raiding villages and bombing civilians was the entire extent in the Afghan theater? Because civilians were being killed in air raids doesn’t mean that was ALL the Air Force was accomplishing in Afghanistan, not to mention any ground troops that were in theater at the time….
dish on December 27, 2008 at 2:56 PM
Sorry, hit submit instead of preview…
Deathtomediahacks — I understand that Sen.Obama was criticizing how the war in Iraq was diminishing (in his mind) our efforts in Afghanistan. He just said it very, very, very poorly. Maybe the ummms got in the way.
dish on December 27, 2008 at 3:00 PM
In speech, after speech and statement after statement Obama has balanced a critic of military strategy under the Bush Administration with praise for the service of individual troops. Maybe he shouldn’t have used the word “just” in this particular 12 second clip, but if you take that in balance with everything else the man has said on the subject his overwhelming message is in support of troops and their families. There’s a reason Michelle is so popular among the blue start set.
Now before you say “but it’s just a speech” in response to his pro-troop statements, so was this comment. Why was this 12 seconds a genuine reflection of Obama’s hate of the troops, but everything else he’s said in favor of troops is “disingenuous.” The standard you’ve created is both unfair and internally inconsistent, and bravo to you, that takes work. Obama has voted for VA benefits that McCain voted against, who’s more “pro troops”? again. Or were those votes disingenuous too. How on earth are you reading this man’s moind.
DeathToMediaHacks on December 27, 2008 at 3:01 PM
Your response about what others said in critical analysis of tactics DOES NOT answer OBama’s use of the “present tense” “ARE”!!!!!!
RedLizard64 on December 27, 2008 at 3:06 PM
DeathToMediaHacks on December 27, 2008 at 3:01 PM
I was trying to point out that Tom Shipley’s quote from John McCain was a PROPERLY worded critique of a PRESIDENTIAL tactic. So it didn’t fit the challenge that Jailbones gave. I understand what Sen.Obama meant, but I heard what he SAID. I also understood what ‘No new taxes’, ’strategery’, ‘the bombing will begin in three seconds’ etc, etc, etc, meant. Just giving the same level of understanding as have been given the last eight or so years…
And exactly where do YOU get your evidence about Michelle and the ‘blue start set’?
dish on December 27, 2008 at 3:09 PM
I agree, but I’m responding to over the top claims that Obama “hates” the troops. And “hates” the military. And “called the troops murdererers.” Like the one below.
OMG The politics of parsing indeed! I thought it was Clinton who made a big deal out of this type of minutia. There’s nothing to excuse, he made an accurate assesment of the current problems with the strategy in Afghanistan. Period. So what Bush said is OK because he…said that he was too concerned? What Gates said is OK because…well why?
DeathToMediaHacks on December 27, 2008 at 3:11 PM
The same right that Obama Wannabee had to wear a Marines t-shirt during a pickup basketball game during his campaign.
In other words, the same right you have.
unclesmrgol on December 27, 2008 at 3:12 PM
So he hides behind a faux support of the troops to legitimize his disgust of his country. He opposed the war, he opposed the surge, he opposed the commander in chief, and despite his few comments about “supporting” the troops he has waged and endless campaign to discredit, malign, and verbally work against their efforts. Should he really expect their support as CinC we he worked so vociferiously against them for the last 5 years and seems to only want to be in their company when the MSM lapdogs are in close pursuit? I’ve read dozens of articles of Bushes visits to the wounded…I’ll bet you that if he does ever visit them after the inauguration that 1) it will be minimal compared to an equivelent time during the Bush administration and 2) it will be lauded and praised to high heaven wherein Bush kept it low-key and the press wouldn’t hardley report on it anyhow!
RedLizard64 on December 27, 2008 at 3:14 PM
“Once a Marine. Now a soldier.
I earned that right.
Professor Blather on December 27, 2008 at 1:13 PM”
You know, if you’ve ever been a Marine, then you’re not supposed to refer to being one in the past tense. That’s what all my Marine co-workers tell me, anyways.
NorthernCross on December 27, 2008 at 3:15 PM
Murtha did. Just one example.
allrsn on December 27, 2008 at 3:15 PM
Want respect?
Earn it.
diogenes on December 27, 2008 at 3:17 PM
LMAO!
katy on December 27, 2008 at 3:17 PM
DeathToMediaHacks on December 27, 2008 at 3:11 PM
Because the MSM still has sway in the minds of people. The sound bite played over and over again DOES make it sound like Sen.Obama hates the military. When you couple that with his insistence that the surge was a failure, and the general discourse on the Democrat side (Murtha, Reid, Pelosi, Code Pink, etc) it looks bad for him. The company you keep and so forth.
dish on December 27, 2008 at 3:20 PM
Wait for anything.
“Kerry is set to become chairman of the Foreign Relations committee”
christene on December 27, 2008 at 3:20 PM
Yup, that one almost sent beer shooting out my nose.
califcon on December 27, 2008 at 3:24 PM
Obama has said that in the first 100 days he will jet off to a Muslim capital city and make a major address to Islam. It’ll be interesting to see if before he makes that great journey to soothe the ire of Islam he bothers to visit the troops in Iraq or Afghanistan, Bethesda or Walter Reed, or maybe Arlington.
My money is on no.
johnsteele on December 27, 2008 at 3:38 PM
DarkCurrent on December 27, 2008 at 2:49 PM
Say anything you like about me, but don’t disparage my grandfather (who fought for the United States of America) or any of my other family members for that matter. Douche bag.
Tom_Shipley on December 27, 2008 at 3:44 PM
DarkCurrent on December 27, 2008 at 2:49 PM
Say anything you like about me, but don’t disparage my grandfather (who fought for the United States of America) or any of my other family members for that matter. Douche bag.
Tom_Shipley on December 27, 2008 at 3:44 PM
All he did was ask a question . . . why so touchy? You seem to have no problem disparaging entire groups of people about whom you clearly know less than nothing. Double standard?
califcon on December 27, 2008 at 3:49 PM
Which isn’t a cabinet position, nor is it one that Obama appoints. It’s a matter of seniority within the Senate. I guess Obama is to blame for the everyday operation of the senate now? Christ.
Again, where did you get this spectacular mind reading powers, it’s something I’d be interested in attaining for myself. You claim the “air raiding” clip is evidence of his genuine hate of the troops but everything else he’s done in support of troops is “faux.” How do you know that exactly. What if his critic of air raiding was “faux” to appease the anti-war crowd, and all his work on veterans benefits is the “genuine” Obama. Considering that the air raiding comment isn’t even anti-troop, I’d say there’s a stronger set of facts in favor of my interpretation.
That’s not being anti-troop.
And you will oppose him, does that mean you hate the troops. There will still be a war going on will you blindly support all the decisions he makes as CIC, or like a thinking human being will you assess his policies and judge them on their merits. Disagreement does not = hating the troops. And it’s an increasinly lame ploy on the part of the right.
Do you have some evidence of that please?
Obama has spent many hours with troops without cameras. Here’s some evidence. Something you don’t have for any of your claims.
http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/did_obama_snub_us_troops_in_afghanistan.html
Wait a minute. How did you read about all these articles of Bush going to see the troops if the media wasn’t allowed in and it wasn’t a photo op. Was this investigative journalism? Did someine file a Freedom of Information Act? Of course not. Bush engaged in military photo ops like ALL Presidents do. You are only projecting your own enjoyment of Bush, you know as much about the man’s actual thoughts and feelings as you do about Obama.
DeathToMediaHacks on December 27, 2008 at 3:50 PM
Sen.McCain was criticizing President BJ Clinton’s tactical use of our air force, without preparing for a ground operation that COULD HAVE lessened civilian casualties.
Yeah, and so was Obama. Here’s his quote:
“We’ve got to get the job done there and that requires us to have enough troops so that we’re not just air-raiding villages and killing civilians, which is causing enormous problems there,” Obama said.
Obama was making THE SAME EXACT POINT that McCain was making. He was saying we needed more troops so that we didn’t have to rely on bombing campaign which inenvitabely lead to civilian casualties. He was not saying or suggesting troops were responsible for the strategy of using air strikes. He was saying we needed more troops in there (a decision the president makes) so that we didn’t have to rely so heavily on air strikes.
No one else challenged my quote because no one else was dumb enough not to see that both men were making the same point.
Tom_Shipley on December 27, 2008 at 3:52 PM
califcon on December 27, 2008 at 3:49 PM
Who have I disparaged?
Tom_Shipley on December 27, 2008 at 3:53 PM
LOL. Why should anyone here respect your wishes? Because you are so respectful to Ed and the commenters here?
Oh, by the way, I believe it was a joke, tenderfoot.
hillbillyjim on December 27, 2008 at 3:53 PM
LOL. Why should anyone here respect your wishes? Because you are so respectful to Ed and the commenters here?
Show me one instance where I made anything near a personal attack on a commentator or Ed. I also keep my comments to the issue at hand. And I NEVER speak of anyone else’s family.
Tom_Shipley on December 27, 2008 at 3:56 PM
Oh, by the way, I believe it was a joke, tenderfoot.
Yeah, and I don’t take jokes about my grandfather possibly being a Nazi lightly.
Tom_Shipley on December 27, 2008 at 4:00 PM
I apologize if what I have to say is offensive but I have to say it. THEY CAME HERE AND BLEW US UP. The Afghan government is too weak to fight them on their own and too infiltrated by them to defeat them(Islamic extremist). This was made into America’s problem, if the governments that are hosting the terrorists have no answers to the problem then they must accept the solutions we offer. Even if the cost is civilian lives. I know many wont agree with me.
Come into the light and let me share with you a story of 1500 years of war. Islam has one goal –to convert or kill. We are losing American culturalism-it is under attack from the left, multiculuralists and from an insidious attack by Islam that is in the process of infiltrating every culture on Earth. One by one the countries fall victim to it. Even those we have helped. We have chosen to stand and fight it,our biggest problem is that many do not realize what is at stake. Do moderate muslims exist? Possibly. But mark these words when you come to America you should retain your pride of your roots,but should assimilate into American culture,not try to force American culture to assimilate into others. This is after all the American identity. My worst fears were realized the day I read,”I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction. From Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama. Please accept my heartfelt apologies if I have offended anyone by my personal opinions. Twenty three years as a military spouse and my husband is once again preparing to leave for his 5th (1 yr-16 month) tour to either Iraq or Afghanistan. As a family member I am especially fearful of this tour because I dont trust Obama and what I know of him I dont like.
Patriotism is standing by your country,it does not mean standing by your president-Roosevelt.
canditaylor68 on December 27, 2008 at 4:00 PM
Neither did darkcurrent. All he did was ask a question. And then you got your panties in a bunch.
califcon on December 27, 2008 at 4:01 PM
I said nothing about a personal attack. I implied that you are disrespectful. I haven’t the time nor the inclination to search through your distasteful screeds to prove my point, but you and I know that the proof is there.
As I already said, I believe it was a joke. Good grief.
hillbillyjim on December 27, 2008 at 4:02 PM
It’s spelled Kaneohe Bay, Ed. I ate in that chow hall myself for three years, and was there for three of Clinton’s visits to the place during his many Hawaiian vacations. You’re fooling yourself with your utterly lame “maybe the Marines were too busy eating to notice” nonsense. The Marines noticed, and the silence Obama received was no accident. It is a symbol of distrust and of lack of respect. Not disrespect, mind you, just a quiet comment that this yokel hasn’t earned anyones’ respect in that room. Many of the Marines in that room are probably war veterans at this point, and to see that immature, empty-suit jackass wander into the room to see what Marines look like won’t be taken well at any military base.
Well, maybe an Air Force base or two. ;-)
commenter on December 27, 2008 at 4:16 PM
I just re-read your article, Ed, and I’m moved to post again and say that you sound downright dense in it. The Marines knew exactly what comment they were making with their unenthusiastic reception. This is not some of your best work, to be honest.
commenter on December 27, 2008 at 4:19 PM
I hadn’t intended to disparage your grandfather. As an American warrior he has my greatest respect. One of my own grandfathers was sitting in a German POW camp at the time and no doubt praying for your grandfather’s success. The other was fighting the Japs in the Pacific theater as he’d been since they’d bombed him at Kaneohe.
That said, I was under the impression you weren’t an American. Please accept my apologies.
DarkCurrent on December 27, 2008 at 4:23 PM
Wow, he took an entire hour out of his nine day vacation filled with golfing and topless photo ops. My bad, I stand corrected……he isn’t a surrender monkey that damned the military mission but still loves the troops. This photo op really changed my mind.
David in ATL on December 27, 2008 at 4:24 PM
Please accept my apologies.
Accepted. Sorry for calling you a douche bag.
Tom_Shipley on December 27, 2008 at 4:28 PM
No need for that. I will just readjust all your meds so you won’t feel oppressed and offended so much.
Sigmund on December 27, 2008 at 4:34 PM
Never does Obama sound more insincere than when he talks about his respect for the military and the job they do. He deserves no better than respectful silence.
CarolynM on December 27, 2008 at 4:39 PM
Fortunately, Al Gore unwittingly conceded that the Military is made up primarily of republicans.
In a strongly worded memo during the 2000 election recount, Al Gore ordered his legal operatives to attack and attempt to disqualify every single military ballot. Not every ballot in Florida, not some military ballots: EVERY MILITARY ballot in the State of Florida.
When even the mentally unhinged Al Gore admits that the military — as a group — disproportionately favors republicans over democrats, maybe it’s not too late for Shipley and DeathToMediaHacks can climb on board the Reality Train.
Toot toot!
jeff_from_mpls on December 27, 2008 at 4:42 PM
What an utterly disassociative piece of crap. Character is what you do when people aren’t watching. Obama is a filthy Chicago politician who never showed anything but contempt fot the troops while in the Senate- or do you have some other explanation for the bastards repeated assertion that the troops are indiscriminate killers? Why give him the benefit of the doubt for a single visit to the troops now on the cusp of taking over as their leader and knowing full well that there is tepid support at best for him among the uniformed military?
I’ve just retired from the Navy after 23 years. As such, I see this as nothing but a PR stunt by a filthy politician who is about to destroy the military. Showing up for an hour is nothing. Turning out to protect the troops is what is needed and Obama is not a friend to the troops.
highhopes on December 27, 2008 at 4:56 PM
If Obama joined the troops in singing a rousing rendition of The Taliban Soldier Song that would go a long way in thawing the tension between our future Commander-in Chief and our soldiers.
CarolynM on December 27, 2008 at 4:58 PM
It should be illegal to put this much bullshit in one paragraph.
Venusian Visitor on December 27, 2008 at 5:05 PM
Me disagree with Ed Morrisey?
I’m a conservative libertarian. Ed is a libertarian conservative. I don’t think there’s a single thing we disagree on.
For the first time I’m aware of EVAH! I am disagreeing with our beloved HA leader. Ed, what got into your Wheaties this morning? You’re totally out-of-step with your readership.
The posts are like 10 to 1 against viewing Obama’s visit as “well received.”
As a Veteran I agree with those who say, if the Marines had respected him, wouldn’t matter that they were chowin’ down; they would have stood up and cheered. They didn’t.
Shows they absolutely despise him.
ericdondero on December 27, 2008 at 5:16 PM
Nah, no need to apologize. Our Professor has more cojones in his removed appendix (should it be removed), than any of the liberal ninnies, in the entire world, in any part of their bodies. He doesn’t need any apologies – yes, I speak for him, just because I want to, and because I can, and, no, I have not been in the services, at least not in the Military ones.
Tom, the “good” per Ed one, and I did believe that, until I saw your Grinch comment on the “Merry Christmas” thread – you were down right mean that day and it will take a long time to get back to that old collegial “just the opposition” state. I don’t mind you lefties at all. You are my raison d’être now. You’ll need 1000 years to convince me that what you believe in is good – I lived it for way too long, and unless you have, you can ‘dream’ and ‘wish’ all you want, along with your misguided coaches and ‘leaders’.
All the lefties here, your Schadenfreude will come back to eat your asses, like sharks – just ask those of us on the other side. It will change for you, again, just you wait. If cancer doesn’t strike me, I’ll be here to remind you.
baldi, always a delight. You are a true treasure to the world, and one to HA.
Entelechy on December 27, 2008 at 5:17 PM
Tom_Shipley on December 27, 2008 at 3:52 PM
What Sen.Obama said or meant wasn’t the point of my comment. The quote you used from Sen.McCain had NOTHING to do with disparaging the troops. Which is what Jailbones challenged you to find. If the quote had the same ‘meaning’ as the Obama quote, there are those who think Sen.Obama said it so poorly that it opens the comment to interpretation. There is no such problem with the McCain quote, only willful misinterpretation. Sen.McCain said “…when the President of the United States refused…” there is no doubt that it is the tactics of the current President that he is commenting on. When Sen.Obama says “…just air raiding villages and bombing civilians” he isn’t being clear about who his is disparaging. The many comments since show that there is doubt as to the meaning of his comment in many people’s minds. So…back to waiting for a comment from one of the Republican that Jailbones mentioned disparaging the troops.
dish on December 27, 2008 at 5:18 PM
They know their rules and etiquette better than any of us. They don’t have to do anything now, and after Jan. 20th he’ll be their CiC, for me Cipher in Chief. They will respect the office and do what will be necessary, as they always do.
If he would so “love” them he’d have visited them in Germany. They, like us, know people, and they can sense as good as we do.
He did nothing wrong, they didn’t either. He could have spared them the interruption, but it’s meaningless.
Entelechy on December 27, 2008 at 5:21 PM
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