Keywords: Barack Obama, John McCain, first Black president, White House, U.S. troops, election, false rumors, debunk, myth, rumor
First Sen. Barack Obama was labeled as unpatriotic because he reportedly wouldn't wear an American-flag lapel pin. Then, it was charged he wouldn't place his hand over his heart during the Pledge of Allegiance. Both of these rumors turned out to be false.
The latest stab at Obama's patriotism came from Sen. John McCain's camp. He charged Obama with ducking out on scheduled visits with wounded U.S. soldiers at the Ramstein Airbase and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center during a recent trip to Germany because cameras wouldn't be allowed to capture the event.
"I'm sure that Sen. Obama could have made no better use of his time than to meet with our men and women in uniform there," Michael J. Durant, a retired Army soldier, said in a statement released by the McCain campaign, according to The New York Times. "That Barack Obama believes otherwise casts serious doubt on his judgment and calls into question his priorities."
Durant said the stop "was canceled after it became clear that campaign staff and the traveling press corps would not be allowed to accompany Sen. Obama."
Obama canceling a visit with the troops? It sounded like a tailor-made controversy, and the McCain camp pounced, denouncing the move as callous and insensitive. When Obama was asked to address the issue of the canceled visit, he said there was a concern that "our visit was going to be perceived as political, and the last thing that I wanted to do is have injured soldiers and the staff at these wonderful institutions having to sort through whether this is political or not or get caught in the crossfire between campaigns," Obama said.
McCain chimed in, "I know that, according to reports, that he wanted to bring media people and cameras and his campaign staffers," he said on CNN's "Larry King Live."
The only problem is it wasn't true, according to several newspapers that took the time to investigate the allegation. Among others, The Washington Post wrote that the charges against Obama lacked credible evidence. The New York Times also wrote extensively about the incident, saying Obama advisers were aware well in advance that cameras and the press corps were off-limits. "Before his visit to Ramstein Air Base, which is near the medical center, was canceled, the plan called for reporters to stay behind at an airport terminal while Mr. Obama and one adviser met with the troops. Why? The Pentagon does not allow reporters and photographers inside Landstuhl," the Times wrote.
"But two days before the visit, Pentagon officials told the campaign that only Mr. Obama would be allowed inside the medical center in his capacity as a senator. The adviser who had intended to join Mr. Obama, Scott Gration, a retired major general in the Air Force, was told he could not go along because he was a volunteer campaign adviser," the Times wrote.
That's when Obama pulled out, fearing the entire visit was on the verge of being politicized--which, of course, is exactly what happened anyway.
"Rather than go forward and potentially get caught up in what might have been considered a political controversy of some sort, what we decided was that we not make a visit and instead I would call some of the troops that were there," Obama said when addressing the issue.
But that explanation didn't stop the McCain campaign from rolling out a TV ad suggesting Obama chose to go to a gym instead of visiting troops, an assertion which the Atlanta Journal-Constitution also labeled as inaccurate.
McCain's response, both on the airwaves and in his own blog, is part of a revised strategy, writes The Washington Post. "The attacks are part of a newly aggressive McCain operation whose aim is to portray the Democratic presidential candidate as a craven politician more interested in his image than in ailing soldiers," the Post wrote, citing a senior McCain adviser.
Rumors such as these are largely why the Obama camp recently created the web site Fight the Smears. The latest rumor is also debunked addressed on the web site.
Readers' Comments
"That's when Obama pulled out, fearing the entire visit was on the verge of being politicized--which, of course, is exactly what happened anyway."
Obama's campaign should know that whatever he does will be politized..he IS running for President afterall, and that in itself creates perceived politcal moves in everyone's mind. A great President would stick to his convictions and not worry about the political pundits. Obama could have still visited the troops as a Senator; like so many other Senators have done.
How about being fair and diverse, and clearing up some of the Obama camp's misconceptions conveyed about McCain.
Editor's Note:
Senator Obama has visited wounded troops as a Senator. From Reuters, posted on Yahoo News: "Senior Obama aide Robert Gibbs noted the senator had visited troops during the earlier part of his foreign tour in Iraq and Afghanistan, including a stop at a combat support hospital in the Green Zone in Baghdad.
Obama also visited wounded soldiers at the Walter Reed military hospital in Washington last month.
"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," Gibbs said.
Obama drops visit to wounded U.S. troops in Germany
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