While Barack Obama was on his 2008 European Tour, he was scheduled to visit injured service members in Landstuhl and Ramstein. He didn’t.
The USA Today says it was because Obama felt it would be seen as a campaign event and not true appreciation:
“Senator Obama had hoped to and had every intention of visiting our troops to express his appreciation and gratitude for their service to our country.
“We learned from the Pentagon last night that the visit would be viewed instead as a campaign event. Senator Obama did not want to have a trip to see our wounded warriors perceived as a campaign event when his visit was to show his appreciation for our troops and decided instead not to go.”
John McCain’s campaign offered a lukewarm, “Barack Obama is wrong. It is never ‘inappropriate’ to visit our men and women in the military.”
However, the really interesting perspective on this comes from NBC. Yes, that NBC:
A U.S. military official tells NBC News they were making preparations for Sen. Barack Obama to visit wounded troops at the Landstuhl Medical Center at Ramstein, Germany on Friday, but “for some reason the visit was called off.”
One military official who was working on the Obama visit said because political candidates are prohibited from using military installations as campaign backdrops, Obama’s representatives were told, “he could only bring two or three of his Senate staff member, no campaign officials or workers.” In addition, “Obama could not bring any media. Only military photographers would be permitted to record Obama’s visit.”
The official said “We didn’t know why” the request to visit the wounded troops was withdrawn. “He (Obama) was more than welcome. We were all ready for him.”
The military said it didn’t allow military installations to be used as campaign backdrops. So, really, the Pentagon didn’t say what Obama said it did. The Pentagon said, “Go ahead, but you can’t take your campaign there with you. You have to go without your entourage.”
No media, no Obama. Shows you his true appreciation for their service.
Hat Tip on the NBC Story: Ed Morrissey
