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Military “establishment” worried ’bout Obama presidency…
Posted by Duncan on February 26th, 2008
Members of Washington’s military and defense establishment are expressing trepidation about Sen. Barack Obama, as the Illinois senator comes closer to winning the Democratic presidential nomination and leads in national polls to become commander in chief.
But his backers, including a former Air Force chief of staff, say the rookie senator believes in a strong military, and with it, a larger Army and Marine Corps.“Any military person who concludes he’s a left-wing, hair-on-fire, Kumbaya child of the ’60s has sadly misunderestimated him, to use George Bush’s term,” said retired Gen. Merrill McPeak.
Let me tell you something ’bout the “senior retired military officer” who happens to be a former USAF Chief of Staff who backs the ObaMessiah, General Merrill McPeak.
He was out of the USAF before I was out of high school. That being said, when I joined the USAF five years after his departure, there was not a single person who had one nice thing to say about the man. Not one. According to his wikipedia page, which is slightly more up to date than his offical USAF biography,
His legacy as Chief of Staff has been the subject of much debate. Many accuse him of trying to run the Air Force as a corporation, with his introduction of Total Quality Management and the uniform changes which strayed from the traditional military style. Some of his uniform changes were soon undone after his retirement. He was often accused of ignoring the needs of enlisted men, and looking out solely for his officers. There was a large debate over the somewhat traditional act of inducting the outgoing chief of staff into the Order of the Sword. Most members of the Air Force that served with or for Gen McPeak have a poor opinion of his judgment.
And that is exactly how he was described to me by senior officers and NCOs. The respect they had for that man stayed on the stars on his shoulders… no further. So imagine my lack of surprise at this man’s lack of judgement when he withdrew his support for President Bush and replaced it with support for Senator John F. Kerry :
Meanwhile, retired Gen. Merrill A. McPeak, who was Air Force chief of staff during the first Gulf War, said Saturday in the Democrats’ weekly radio address that he withdrew his support from President Bush to support Kerry on the strength of Kerry’s wartime service and experience in Vietnam.
“The real deal for me is not whether a strategy or a plan or an idea is Republican or Democrat, but whether it makes us safer,” he said. “And it means an awful lot to me that John Kerry fought for his country as a young man.”
Because we all know that John Kerry is such a big war hero and all, and Bush just dodged war by flying high performance jet aircraft. But here is the interesting part. John Kerry fought for this nation… honorably (his actions afterwards as part of the anti-war movement were dishonorable to be sure). Senator John McCain, actually spent time with the enemy for five and a half years, face to face and suffered much more for his country than John Kerry did with his scratches.
So, using McPeak logic, Senator John McCain fought for his country as a young man, so should General McPeak lend him his support. Nope. The ObaMessiah is going to save us all with “HOPE” and “CHANGE”. Wave his magic wand. And the world will sing in perfect harmony.
Everytime a military member supports a leftwing liberal in this country, you should really take a good look at ‘em. If you can find out what their peers or soldiers really think ’bout them… then many times you’ll find that they’re probably not held in very high esteem.
February 26th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
it makes sense…liberals hate the military- they’re threatened by “it”. They’re ashamed of it. One thing I cannot stand is liberal whiney ass generals and others of high brass rank. Because they never got where they are due to true bravery. Rather, through true ass kissing.
February 26th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
Bush has done more to harm the military than any recent president. I will support Obama as President so that the military gets the management it deserves.
February 26th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
Bush has done more to harm the military than any recent president.
I beg to differ. Under Carter (whom I’m old enough to remember), many of our aircraft couldn’t fly because parts were understocked. Under Clinton, the military was greatly downsized, while increasing the places where it was deployed (mainly in “peace-keeping” operations, some under UN auspices), thus stretching it thin. Bush has indeed put our military in a difficult situation, fighting wars against an enemy that has flip-the-bird contempt for the rules of war (with just about zero complaints from the left, I might add), but unlike the Clintons and Obama, he has faced the reality that the only way to defeat the islamo-nazi monsters is to fight them, not to withdraw and surrender, or endulge the fantasy that we can negotiate with them.
February 26th, 2008 at 11:41 pm
It’s about time the military quit squabbling among themselves and leaking to the press and closed ranks against the real enemy-Liberals.
February 26th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
And let’s not forget how Clinton changed the reimbursements for college for service members.
Bush was left with a weaker military- and when 9-11 happened we saw this pan out.
We reap what we sow…vote for weaklings and you’re gonna get a weak defense for the nation. Weaklings tend to be liberals.