Did the Pentagon Help Smear Obama Yesterday?

The smear against Obama--that he cancelled a visit to Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany to visit wounded troops--was perpetrated with the help of outlets like the Drudge Report overnight. But, curiously, the headline has now vanished from the front page of the site. Could it be because there was Pentagon interference in the cancellation?

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama scrubbed a planned visit to see wounded American servicemen and women in Germany after Pentagon objections that the stop at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center could be seen as a political event, according to Obama's campaign.

Although the Illinois senator visited troops in Afghanistan and Iraq on the first part of his overseas trip, those stops were part of an official Congressional delegation, and therefore deemed apolitical. The European tour, which included a speech in Berlin last night before an enthusiastic crowd of 200,000, is funded by the campaign and as such is not official government business.

"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," retired Air Force Major General Scott Gration, an Obama adviser, said in a statement.

"We learned from the Pentagon [Wednesday] 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...and decided instead not to go."

This is the price you pay for being too successful--did the Pentagon bow to pressure from the Republican Party and throw a spanner in the works so that the stories of his visit with wounded troops wouldn't bookmark his visit to Germany? The flyers for the Berlin event had the visit printed on them but the Obama campaign said the flyers were incorrect because the decision to cancel had been a last minute decision. The McCain campaign quickly denounced the move, almost seeming to have a ready-made smear in hand:

The spokesman, Robert Gibbs, said Thursday that Obama made his decision out of respect for the servicemen and women, but Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign immediately criticized the move.

"Barack Obama is wrong. It is never inappropriate to visit our men and women in the military," said Brian Rogers, a spokesman for the Republican contender.

Pretty clever for an off-the-cuff remark, since the cancellation happened at the last minute. And, no, the press wasn't going with Obama, Hagel and Reed to the medical facility--that had already been decided.

What isn't clear is whether or not we can expect the Pentagon to continue working alongside the McCain campaign.

UPDATE: Brandon Friedman at Vote Vets has more.

--WS

Parsing the Ridiculous

Context matters when you're nitpicking.

How not to make a political ad--don't try to use an inclusive, positive and bold statement of unity against someone well-liked and popular:

“America, this is our moment. This is our time” – Obama, speaking in MN the night he officially won the Dem nomination (6/3).

“People of Berlin -- people of the world -- this is our moment. This is our time” – Obama, in his first formal speech of his foreign tour (7/24).

What ad guru won’t be tempted to play the clips back-to-back, only one to a widely ecstatic cheering crowd of Europeans? Insert announcer with an appropriately unnerving, deep voice, asking: “Which is it, Obama? Who’s moment? Who’s time?”

On 6/3, Obama addressed a crowd in the packed arena where John McCain will accept his party's nomination--the context of his speech was to that specific crowd and the Democratic Party that nominated him, and a broader appeal to voters that he hoped would support him this fall.

[Barack Obama, Berlin]

Today, Obama spoke on German soil to a foreign crowd, but addressed his remarks to a US audience and to the world at large, in a speech with broader context that addressed a broader audience. I think people are smart enough to figure out the context here--Obama is going to give a lot more speeches to a lot more audiences, including a speech at the Democratic Convention soon--and they get who he's addressing and including and talking to. Obama's popularity is the terrifying development that has the Republicans scrambling. They're used to, and were counting on, a figure that just about less than half of all Americans would like and accept. Obama has skated past that dynamic and entered Ronald Reagan territory.

The arrival of a Democratic Ronald Reagan has them shitting themselves with fear. Kennedy wasn't as popular as Obama and won no landslide in 1960. If current trends continue, and if McCain's gaffes and his amped-up Cotton Hill routine continues, he might win a dozen states, if that. If it gets any worse, he'll lose his home state and win seven southern states and perhaps Utah. Not quite winning everything but Minnesota and the District of Columbia, but close enough to frighten a Republican consultant. Hopefully, Obama won't have Reagan's policies or daftness but be similar in his ability to inspire his followers--the Democratic Party--and communicate with voters. Substance would definitely be an improvement. This is an important distinction--we may have a Democrat with actual charisma and appeal beyond the usual level we've seen in our lifetimes. I know--I can't get used to that idea, either.

[John F. Kennedy, Berlin]

Of course, if you're a fucking idiot, it all looks sinister and un-American to you. As in, how did the man with dark skin get to be liked by so many people? What the Republicans should really fear is the fact that Germany, a country known for a certain strain of xenophobia, has embraced Obama in a way that means Obama is likely to be embraced by the American people.

Hopefully, that will be as a, as the, as our President.

--WS