Next Big Smear: Obama Snubs Wounded Troops

[TwilightGardener]

While in Germany, Obama exercises and cancels visit with U.S. troops
Posted July 24, 2008 11:38 AM

by Jill Zuckman

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."

"Barack Obama will not be coming to us," a spokesperson for the US military hospital in Landstuhl announced. "I don't know why."


http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/politics/blog/2008/07/barack_obama_us_troops_germany.html

Someone please tell me the connection between a workout today (probably a stress-reliever before Obama's big speech) and a planned and scrapped hospital visit tomorrow...

[elehhhhna]

1. Bush probably made them cancel Obama.

[TwilightGardener]

2. Something is up with it: they announced the trip, and then almost

immediately canceled it. May have been logistics, too much media hoopla, too much disruption, who knows--I'm sure there's a good reason.

[geek tragedy]

3. Give it one star--everyone gets a vote! n/t

[Imagevision]

4. Repugs canceled it

[wmbrew0206]

5. I hope this is not true, but if it is, it is a tactical mistake

The right will use this to say "Obama cares more about the Europeans then wounded American Servicemen."

I doubt it will stick, but I'd rather not give them the ammo.

[TwilightGardener]

6. He can't win either way--if he goes, there will be accusations of

using wounded troops as campaign props (remember, he's campaigning now--the CODEL is over), and if he doesn't, he snubs the troops. He makes quiet visits to Walter Reed, maybe this was too much campaign attention for him to feel comfortable with.

[wmbrew0206]

7. I agree he can't win, but I'd rather have him visit the troops too much, than not enough

Obama could easily couch this as "I have said that I will have to earn the troops trust and that is what I am doing." or something to that effect.

[elehhhhna]

8. Cheney probably phoned in a threat.

[Skwmom]

9. He should take it off his schedule, then ditch the press and go there

for a "quiet" visit.

[TwilightGardener]

10. I agree--unless there's some other reason why he planned to go and canceled.

He obviously wanted and planned to visit--we don't know the full story behind this.