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Pentagon Told Obama He Couldn't Visit Army Base With Staff
tpmelectioncentral.talkingpoin… — After being told this, the Obama campaign announced yesterday that it had decided it was "inappropriate" to make the visit as part of a campaign trip. In fairness, the Obama campaign's first statement should have been clearer about what happened, but the larger point is that the McCain campaign criticism appears unfounded.
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- elf202, on 07/25/2008, -2/+3...A Pentagon spokesperson confirms ... that because of longstanding Department of Defense regulations, Pentagon officials told Obama aides that he couldn't visit the base with campaign staff. This left Obama with little choice but to cancel the trip, since the plan to visit with campaign aides had been in the works for weeks.
- drhex31, on 07/25/2008, -3/+3well guess if he can't make it a photo shoot for the election it is just not worth his time.
- paintgrl, on 07/25/2008, -1/+3Obama did visit wounded military personal in Iraq with no campaign staff and no photos. From what I have read else where the German base said it be traumatic right after a big speech, and look to political.
- michaelwong38, on 07/26/2008, -3/+1What about the men in the black and the centre for paranormal research?
- NoDrama, on 07/26/2008, -2/+1Pentagon officials told Obama aides that he couldn't visit the base with campaign staff. This left Obama with little choice but to cancel the trip, since the plan to visit with campaign aides had been in the works for weeks.
The Obama campaign yesterday announced that it had decided to cancel the visit to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, saying that it would be "inappropriate" to make such a visit as part of a campaign trip.
The McCain camp has nonetheless been using Obama's canceled trip to insinuate that he's anti-troops. "Barack Obama is wrong," McCain spokesperson Brian Rogers said in a statement yesterday. "It is never 'inappropriate' to visit our men and women in the military."
But it turns out that the Pentagon did in fact tell Obama that in this case, it was not only "inappropriate," but against DOD rules, for him to conduct the visit with campaign staff.
"We have longstanding Department of Defense policy in regards to political campaigns and elections," Pentagon spokesperson Elizabeth Hibner told me. "We informed the Obama staff that he was more than welcome to visit as Senator Obama, with Senate staff. However, he could not conduct the visit with campaign staff."
After being told this, the Obama campaign announced yesterday that it had decided it was "inappropriate" to make the visit as part of a campaign trip. - vexingmodstwo, on 07/26/2008, -1/+3Stop lying. Buried. He was allowed to go as long as they didn't take campaign staff and decided not to go because it wouldn't be a photo op. ***** off.
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