Obama Nixes Visit with Wounded Troops to Work on his Abs at the Gym.

July 25, 2008 Iron Mill Interactive Media politics 0

BARACK OBAMA

A Workout at the Ritz Instead of Meeting U.S. Troops? Bad Move, Senator Obama.

By Albert N. Milliron, Editor, Politisite.com, Opinion-Editorial

Scheduling Snafus happen, we all are aware that Obama had to cancel some dates due to his plane having mechanical problems.  But in this case, not so.  Based on multiple sources, Senator Obama went to the Ritz Gym instead of visiting the major medical center in which our troops come out of the battlefield and receive care prior to being returned to the United States. 

So visiting national leaders, going to the wailing wall, giving a wonderful speech about how he Loves America, then goes to the Gym at the Ritz to wind down from all of his world wide recognition and campaigning.  The final thing he accomplished is that a Public Relations Officer at both hospitals had to tell the wounded and recovering troops he would be not be visiting them.

How proud the Obama camp must be.

The following sources tell the story better then I as they were eye witness accounts.  The photo of Barack Obama  is displayed here

So who is to blame?  In the Obama Campaign, who has always been the blame.  A staffer.  Yes the potential commander in chief blamed a staffer because a campaign staffer refused to go to the hospital citing some obscure rule that campaign staff can’t be present while visiting troops.  Well presidential candidate Obama, your should have left the staffer behind and visited the troops.  Lets be presidential. 

Remember in my former writings, on Politisite and NowPublic, The Obama Rule?  The Obama rule is, “When Obama is wrong, Blame a staffer”.

The trip was not a campaign trip.  Not a campaign Rally.  It was a Senator who sits on certain committees who have some jurisdiction over the region.  He was on a fact finding mission.  The campaign trip excuse doesn’t pass the sniff test.

Schedule snafus happen SPIEGEL ONLINE has learned that Obama has canceled a planned short visit to the Rammstein and Landstuhl US military bases in the southwest German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The visits were planned for Friday. “Barack Obama will not be coming to us,” a spokesperson for the US military hospital in Landstuhl announced. “I don’t know why.” Shortly before the same spokeswoman had announced a planned visit by Obama.

coupled with this…

Obama noted that in a break from his whirlwind schedule, “we’ve got some down time tonight. What are you guys gonna do in Berlin? Huh? Huh? You guys got any big. plans? …I’ve never been to Berlin, so…I would love to tour around a little bit.”

and this report of Obama using the fitness room of the Berlin Ritz Carlton suggest that Obama and/or the people around him have egregious sensibilities on what his priorities ought to be.

You just don’t cancel on the troops. You just don’t.

You particular don’t cancel on the troops, but go on with other events like the rally. He’ll get tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of Germans to chant his name? Terrific. Too bad he’s not campaigning to represent them. Let him immigrate and run for Chancellor if he wants.

UPDATE: Obama, on the plane to Berlin:

Aboard his plane early this morning, someone asked what was the high point of the trip so far. “This,” Obama deadpanned, referring to his 15-minute appearance in the back cabin with reporters. “I had to earn it,” he said. “I said, ‘When do I get a chance to go back and talk to the press?’ “

Amid laughter, he was asked for his second-favorite moment. He paused. “You know I really get a kick out of spending time with the troops. Their morale is high, but they really appreciate acknowledgement of what they’re doing,” Obama said. “You know, everywhere we went in Afghanistan and Iraq they were just really eager to tell their story, what they were doing. And it was moving. And it’s neat to see the mix. You have a bunch of 20-year olds and then you’ll get a 40-year old or 50-year old who’s in the Guard; a Missouri banker who’s helping to try to set up a agricultural project. You know, that’s pretty spectacular.”

Who decided that Obama had spent enough time with the troops?

UPDATE: A very interesting email from a source I must protect suggests that Obama’s visit to the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center had the green light until a campaign staffer raised a stink about going with Obama. (There are rules meant to ensure candidates do not use soldiers or military bases for campaign purposes, and they state that personal and committee staff may accompany a sitting senator on a visit but campaign staff may not.) I am told that when one of Obama’s campaign staff was told he or she would be denied access, the visit was canceled.

The last-minute cancellation speaks more poorly of this unidentified staffer than of Obama himself. But in the end, shouldn’t Obama have been able to say, “fine, the staffer stays in Berlin (or where-ever) and I’m going to Landstuhl? Can he still say so?

Obama Blows Off Visit to Wounded Troops

While making sure he got in his campaign rally in Berlin, Barack Obama ended up blowing off a visit to wounded soldiers in Landstuhl. According to Der Spiegel, Obama “cancelled a planned short visit to the Rammstein and Landstuhl U.S. military bases in the southwest German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The visits were planned for Friday.”

Obama’s campaign had this excuse:

“During his trip as part of the CODEL to Afghanistan and Iraq, Senator Obama visited the combat support hospital in the Green Zone in Baghdad and had a number of other visits with the troops.  For the second part of his trip, the senator wanted to visit the men and women at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center to express his gratitude for their service and sacrifice. The senator decided out of respect for these servicemen and women that it would be inappropriate to make a stop to visit troops at a U.S. military facility as part of a trip funded by the campaign.”

A Republican friend of the Swamp helpfully points out that Sen. Barack Obama seems to have time to visit the gym for a workout today, but not to visit the troops during his stay in Germany tomorrow.

According to Spiegel Online, which is tracking Obama’s every move, at 1:42 p.m. it learned that “Obama has cancelled a planned short visit to the Rammstein and Landstuhl US military bases in the southwest German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The visits were planned for Friday.”

Thanks to a statement from senior adviser Robert Gibbs, the issue seems to be one of ethics and propriety, rather than time.

“During his trip as part of the CODEL to Afghanistan and Iraq, Senator Obama visited the combat support hospital in the Green Zone in Baghdad and had a number of other visits with the troops,” Gibbs said. “For the second part of his trip, the senator wanted to visit the men and women at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center to express his gratitude for their service and sacrifice. The senator decided out of respect for these servicemen and women that it would be inappropriate to make a stop to visit troops at a U.S. military facility as part of a trip funded by the campaign.”

But that didn’t cut it for the McCain campaign: “Barack Obama is wrong. It is never ‘inappropriate’ to visit our men and women in the military,” said McCain spokesman Brian Rogers.

This is an related account from a USAF Capt. in Afghanistan not Germany.

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 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 Cheerleaders 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 all fake.         

In service,

CPT J
Bagram, Afghanistan

Politisite has been asked if The Obama Trip to Iraq was a Campaign activity or as part of his duties as a U.S. Sentator.  His Congressional website posted a Press release on July 21, 2008.  This indicates that this trip was part of his senatorial respocibilies.  Senator Obama did take some of his campain advisors and may not have been allowed to partisipate in a hospital visit.  But since his entire trip was due to his responcibilites are a sentator there would be no prohibiting this staffer to go to the hospital with Senator Obama to visit the wounded troops.  Here is a portion of his PR Statement of Senators Obama, Reed, and Hagel on Trip to Iraq

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Michael Ortiz (Obama), Chip Unruh (Reed), or Jordan Stark (Hagel)

BAGHDAD, IRAQ – U.S. Senators Barack Obama, Jack Reed and Chuck Hagel traveled today to Iraq, first to Basra, then to Baghdad. In Basra, they met with U.S., British and Iraqi troops; Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin, Commander Multinational Corps – Iraq; Major General Barney White-Spunner (UK), Commander, Multinational Division Southeast; and Major General Abdul Aziz, Commander, 14th Iraqi Army Division. In Baghdad, the Senators met with U.S. troops; Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki; President Jalal Talabani; Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi; and Vice President Adil Abdulmahdi. They received a detailed briefing from and consulted extensively with U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and General David Petraeus, Commander, MNF Iraq. They visited with doctors, nurses and patients at the 86th Combat Support Hospital and took part in a helicopter over flight of Baghdad conducted by General Petraeus.

“We are in Iraq to thank our troops, diplomats and civilians for the remarkable job they are doing and to let them know that, back home, Americans are proud of them. We came to consult with our military leaders, embassy team and the Iraqi government about a way forward in Iraq that advances the interests of the United States, Iraq and the entire region.

Obama Nixes Visit with Wounded Troops to Work on his Abs at the Gym. Obama Nixes Visit with Wounded Troops to Work on his Abs at the Gym. Obama Nixes Visit with Wounded Troops to Work on his Abs at the Gym.

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