Bild (a German tabloid) reporter has picture taken with Senator Barack Obama
Senator Barack Obama cancelled his visit last week to our wounded troops at the U.S, military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, allegedly because it would have been “inappropriate” to visit there with a campaign advisor. Huh? Surely, he could have gone only accompanied by his Secret Service detail. Senator Obama must be unfamilar with a long-time military adage, “The maximum effective range of an excuse is zero meters.”
Mark Levin pointed out an AP news report last night ‘Analysis: US now winning Iraq war that seemed lost‘ where they said it was, “…a transition that many found almost unthinkable as recently as one year ago.” Yet none of those “many” are mentioned by name; they quoted none of the leading Democrats, e.g. Barack Obama, about why their judgment about the surge and our military’s ability to win in Iraq was wrong. It seems as if whenever there are tough questions to ask and answer, the lib media and politicians are AWOL (or perhaps at the gym):
To add to what Mark said last night, a brief Wall Street Journal commentary this morning indicates the Germans are not quite as thrilled with Barack Obama as our lib media seems to be:
Barack Obama said more NATO troops would allow the U.S. to cut its presence in Afghanistan. The “billions of dollars” saved, he told CNN on Friday could “finance lower taxes for middle-class families.”
[56 second audio clip from CNN interview added mine]
Ah, not so fast. On Sunday the Secretary General of the opposition German Free Democrats, Dieter Niebel, responded to Mr. Obama by telling the Bild am Sonntag that “Under no circumstances will the German taxpayer pay with more money and more troops for Afghanistan for tax cuts in the U.S.”
Nor was Herr Niebel the only one there with that opinion:
[German tabloid] Bild warned that an Obama presidency would place fresh demands on traditional allies such as Germany, which fell out with Washington over the war in Iraq and has refused to contribute combat troops to NATO operations in Afghanistan.
“He didn’t say what he expects, but it’s not hard to figure it out. He’ll call for more German participation during international crises; he’ll call for more German soldiers,” said Bild. But it concluded: “No matter how you might feel about this: A President Obama would be Germany’s friend — and a fan of Berlin!”
Munich’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung [English translation: Munich's southern Germany general newspaper] sounded a more cautious note, warning that an Obama presidency would be “expensive for Germany.”
“He explicitly called for German soldiers for Afghanistan — he did not say ‘more soldiers’ but that was what he meant,” said commentator Reymer Kluever. “And Obama also indicated this: he will want support as president to wind up the Iraq adventure.”
The paper noted too that the speech had been intended less for the crowds gathered in Berlin’s Tiergarten park than for “hesitant white voters in Ohio and Pennsylvania, Colorado and Virginia” and said that Obama had proved himself to be a clever tactician, capable of shifting positions to suit his audience.
“He wants to convince (voters) that the world will also listen to a black president… And there’s one other thing one shouldn’t forget when talking about Obama: He easily reworks even positions that have been written in stone and adjusts to new requirements.
Barack Obama was wrong about Iraq and the surge, has promised to draw down the number of brigades in Iraq and send them to Afghanistan to win “the right war” there, and would “save billions” to provide a “tax cut” to America’s middle class by replacing some U.S. troops in Afghanistan with German troops, with the costs shifted to unhappy German people.
Is that change you can believe in? I think not und unsere Freunde in Deutschland glauben ihm nicht auch nicht (and our friends in Germany do not believe it either).
Hannity looks nicer in person
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Ja. Ich spreche Deutsches aber nur ein wenig.
I think Obama didn’t meet with the troops because both he and Bill Clinton lack any military credentials and have an inherent fear of how they would be received and what could have been reported. He was riding high and didn’t wish to take a risk and blemish what was largely a successful media event.
Of course his excuse makes no sense. If you really care for wounded soldiers you would do anything to make that meeting a reality.
Any time you offer free beer you can put together a crowd of Germans; when you offer free bratwurst as well expect an enormous showing. After they drink the beer and eat the bratwurst any discussion about what is wrong with the US will invoke a loud applause.
When the Germans sobered up the sobering thought of contributing more troops into NATO, to help in Afghanistan, could not have gone well. In fact they should be thrilled that we are essentially alone in Iraq and cut the critique since their purse strings have been tightly shut. They expected us to pick up the NATO expense when we were right next-door in Bosnia. When it comes to bull the UN and NATO have many members. When it comes to expending blood and money most of it comes from the US and Britain and everyone else forgets that they are part of the deal.
The recent Batman movie, “The Dark Knight†has been compared to W because of the way Batman deals with real World evil. I would say that analogy is largely correct. On the other had there is no real Batman and there is no real Barack Obama. Both are media creations. To elect Obama to be the US Presidency would be no different than electing Christian Beale, the actor who played Batman. They are both actors who are larger than life only as fictional characters. This election is about real facts vs. fake image. The image is media created and as I see the facts are in the process of being created and shaped in the same fashion.
Hey, just for grins and not to prove anything, Obama could have visited Landstuhl and “but never announce it” (like when he visited Walter Reed we now learn) and taken a load of free beer to the troops there. That would have drawn a crowd.
What RPMO (break that down for yourself) is those wounded troops literally gave of themselves to their country to be where they are, likely face months of surgery and grueling physical therapy to recover what they can of their lives, and would have appreciated the visit. Yet their presumptive “Commander-in-Chief” couldn’t dump his campaign advisor, skip his workout in a nice hotel gym, or pass up a photo op with an obviously smitten reporter for them.
Yes, I got the whole drift loud and clear. I said to my wife: “If it were possible, some would put themselves in the place of the wounded so they could get out of there and would not have to endure the pain and suffering that is on all of our minds. Some would give up organs for these men and women yet Obama could not even go to that place for even a brief visit.” The job he is applying for is Commander-In-Chief. In an instant he becomes the Stepfather for the entire military. That becomes his immediate family and I would think that he would wish to get to know them, now, while they are enduring their darkest hours.
It is strange that the rest of us are more disturbed than the man who is applying for the job that requires him to be the most disturbed. When you read about his explanation you know it doesn’t sound right; when you look at the video you instantly know why. He is glib and remorseless because he really doesn’t understand the military and self-sacrifice in that way. If there is any one single reason to select a President, all other reasons placed on the side, it would have to what type of Commander-In-Chief he/she would make. Suddenly the difference between him and McCain takes on an undeniable new meaning, that should have been seen all along, except for the blinding light of a false media lighthouse, that is just as reckless and uncaring as their “golden calf” candidate.
Never forget that McCain did not deliberately go to visit the suffering and dying in the Hanoi Hilton but when he was there, as a prisoner, he stayed and refused to leave so that others could leave in his place. That is a true record of the events and so was Obama’s German trip.