Poll: Six in 10 active-duty service members uncertain or pessimistic about Obama

Not surprising — Military Times subscribers favored McCain by 45 points in October — but not good news either.

The survey overrepresents soldiers and underrepresents minorities, women and junior enlisted service members, so bear that in mind.

In follow-up interviews, respondents expressed concerns about Obama’s lack of military service and experience leading men and women in uniform.

“Being that the Marine Corps can be sent anywhere in the world with the snap of his fingers, nobody has confidence in this guy as commander in chief,” said one lance corporal who asked not to be identified…

“How are you going to safely pull combat troops out of Iraq?” said Air Force 1st Lt. Rachel Kleinpeter, an intelligence officer with the 100th Operations Support Squadron at RAF Mildenhall, England. “And if you’re pulling out combat troops, who are you leaving to help support what’s left? What happens if Iraq falls back into chaos? Are we going to be there in five years doing the same thing over again?”…

While nearly half of the respondents said they disapprove of Obama’s proposal to withdraw combat brigades from Iraq within 16 months of taking office, a slightly higher percentage said they support the Status of Forces Agreement calling for U.S. forces to leave the country by the end of 2011.

I’ve always wondered to what extent Clinton’s ongoing intervention in Somalia in 1993 (which was launched by Bush after the 1992 election in concert with the UN) was designed as a show of strength, not just to enemies who might otherwise perceive a young Democrat as “soft” but to our own troops who might harbor the same doubts. If so, it, er, ended poorly. Are there any obvious trouble spots where The One might project a little force of his own to assert command? Eight in 10 respondents surveyed by MT support a build-up in Afghanistan, as of course does Obama, so he’s bound to earn some goodwill when he follows through on that. Same goes for any predator strikes in Waziristan, of course. Exit question: If that’s not enough, how about … Somalia!