Background. Senator Barack Obama last Friday canceled an informally scheduled visit to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in western Germany, the largest internationally-based US facility and a key destination for wounded soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan. The Pentagon has published restrictions on access to the wounded to prevent their political exploitation; however, Senator Obama, in his official capacity as a national lawmaker, along with his Senate staffers, would be accommodated. Senator Obama declined to visit under specified restrictions, not on the basis of scheduling constraints, but from a concern that any visit would be misconstrued. The McCain campaign subsequently released an ad, noting that Obama declined to exercise his right to visit the nearby wounded, but did find the time to do his regular workout.
Senator Obama, stung by the criticism, noted that he had visited wounded soldiers and veterans at Walter Reed and elsewhere, without the benefit of cameras
Analysis. My first point is that our wounded soldiers from Afghanistan and Iraq deserve, and to the best of my knowledge, receive first-rate medical care and rehabilitation. Our elected leaders should take an active interest in validating these objectives have been met and providing any necessary adjustments in funding, staffing or other resources. In addition, they serve as the surrogates of the American people in acknowledging and appreciating the group cohesion and achievements and the individual contributions, valor and sacrifices made by our injured soldiers and their buddies. The thoughtful, substantive attention of our elected members of Congress and national candidates to the needs of our troops and their families can help boost morale and reassure them that their efforts have not gone unnoticed and do make a difference to us.
I believe that Senator McCain, by suggesting that he would have made the time to meet the troops at Landstuhl, would do well to remember the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Luke 18:10-14). No one doubts McCain's own injuries, sacrifice, and leadership under harrowing circumstances; no one questions his appreciation for and identification with our wounded personnel and veterans. However, he needs to be aware that others could perceive his reaction to Obama's faux pas as smug, self-serving, and condescending. I believe his campaign would have been better served by letting his own record of supporting military personnel and veterans in Congress, mingling with active-duty personnel, and visiting the wounded over the past 26 years, stand on its own merits. I would have limited remarks to my regret that the soldiers at Landstuhl did not get a rare chance to meet with Senator Obama in person and realize firsthand that support of injured soldiers is broad-based and cuts across party lines.
However, Senator Obama's reaction to the controversy is clearly defensive, disingenuous, and ultimately unconvincing. He is not the humble tax collector; the humble person would have admitted to making a mistake in judgment and apologized unconditionally. Senator Obama rattles off a number of unpublicized attempts he's visited wounded soldiers and veterans (which to me sounds more like the Pharisee) and then implies that we should be satisfied with his past efforts in this regard and realize that Landstuhl was just another hospital. But, first, we know that Landstuhl is NOT "just another hospital", but a key medical center for our injured soldiers abroad. We also know that Landstuhl was unoffically on his schedule: If it was unnecessary, what was the purpose of scheduling a visit in the first place?
We are also left with an image of a senator or campaign which had not done due diligence and was not aware of Pentagon restrictions on visits to Landstuhl, and there's no suggestion that the Pentagon was applying its policies arbitrarily. However, the Pentagon made it clear that as a US Senator, Obama had the right to visit the troops in his official capacity by himself or with Senate staffers. So the deal breaker was not being able to bring a campaign staffer? Why? Because the campaign was paying for that part of his trip, not the government?
Senator Obama's decision was unfortunate. As a candidate with at best marginal qualifications to be Commander in Chief, he missed a singular opportunity to connect to the troops in a meaningful way, to underscore his support for the sovereignty of and against terrorism in Afghanistan and the unpleasant consequences to any just cause: its human costs, and to guarantee that the US will stand by its military and veterans, long after bullets have stopped flying. It also calls into question the authenticity of his goal of a post-partisan politics. A post-partisan politician looks for a way to make things happen, not for an implausible excuse. When Senator Obama argues he withdrew from the planned visit to avoid making it political, methinks that Senator Obama doth protesth too much.
I think this is yet another incident where Senator Barack Obama seems thin-skinned, argumentative and shows questionable judgment. One example is the well-circulated photo where Senator Obama is shown with his hands folded together, pointed down, during the playing of the National Anthem (unlike the other candidates). The US Flag Code is quite clear about expected behavior, but instead of conceding he made a mistake, Senator Obama nitpicks that some critics have alleged the photo was taken during the Pledge of Allegiance. Then there was that on-again, off-again wearing of a flag pin (depending on his audience), where he, of the post-partisan persuasion, impugns the integrity and patriotism of people whom honor our national symbol by wearing a pin or otherwise honoring the flag, while questionably arguing by not wearing the flag pin, he is being authentically patriotic .
There was the long saga of Rev. Wright, where Senator Obama, in the aftermath of 9/11 when Republicans and Democrats stood together, failed to distance himself from Rev. Wright's unconscionable anti-American rant, and then, when sermons became an issue during the campaign, stubbornly stood by the pastor as a matter of principle, until the point when the minister criticized him as just another politician.
Finally, there's Senator Obama's longstanding refusal to concede the success of General Petraeus' surge strategy, fundamentally linked with anti-insurgency tactics. Senator Obama is more interested in symbolic meetings with leaders from rogue nations than in substantive discussions with military leaders on our moral obligation to achieve a peaceful, stable Iraq as a prerequisite for full combat troop withdrawal.
