(I re-edited this in a hurry as I hold my stomach about to throw up, but read on, I think it is now coherent - despite my rage!)
It makes me sick to the stomach to read about the stupid press people at camp Obama reiterating how both McCain and Obama both love the troops, support the troops, and all that bullshit. This stupid press department did the same during the primaries, leaving me wondering exactly which candidate they were working for. While the primaries involved battling against fellow Democrats, and a delicate balancing act indeed that was, particularly when battling a woman, this is the general, and the Rethugs need us never, not once be their spokesperson for any of their virtues (if there are indeed any)
cnn's skewed coverage
This staying above the fray will just never work with Rethugs, and this is the perfect example of why this should never have been allowed to happen! I honestly don't know that the Obama candidacy can survive this onslaught!
I have no idea who came up with the brilliant idea of covering up for Condi, Gates, Bush and Co! I can just picture the Clintons and all Clintonistas now saying, "I told you so! He couldn't battle the Rethugs and this is an example! "
After Andrea Mitchell, in a rare attack of even handedness, pointed out that the McCain attacks on Obama for his "lofty rhetoric" while failing to visit the wounded troops in Germany, was actually an attack that seems to have been engineered and designed from above in advance. Obama was refused access to the wounded troops in Germany, from a directive by the Pentagon!
They didn't need to fight with the military or even the pentagon over the politicization of the trip. All team Obama would have needed would be a fight to emerge between Obama and "our troops" to show just how "elitist", "out-of-touch" and "against our troops" he is.
They needed to put the blame squarely where it indeed lies, with The Rethug Administration, Condi, Gates, Bush, Cheney, McCain and Co, neatly tying them into one tidy corrupt bunch, and bundling McCain off into the wonderful retirement he so deserves, after his half a century plus period of service!
I cannot believe that team Obama is allowing this to slide. They should sidestep the back and forth with the military and attack Gates, Condi, Bush and McCain putting them all in the same basket a) and b) pointing the finger squarely at all four as the culprits who gave the orders that attempted to politicize an issue as important as "a visit by a sitting US Senator to troops", thus denying the wounded troops "the very important visit from a US Senator to show that congress cares", and who as a Congressman, is in a unique position to effect useful policies to help them. If congressmen and women cannot visit the wounded men and women of our military, then, how are they supposed to understand the issues that face our "men and women in the military?"
From a documentary I watched on PBS, I gather that Condi is now one of the most powerful people in Washington outside the White House or Congress, and indeed, Defense Secretary Gates was appointed on her recommendation, and is an old confidante of hers. I can’t help wondering then, if having failed in her hopes of sabotaging Obama’s overseas trip in any way possible, she didn’t turn to her old friend, Gates and instruct that he do his part as well, to lay the ground for these attempts at attacks on Obama!
Bush went to Israel and broke an age old tradition of not attacking political opponents overseas. Obama went abroad and adhered to this rule. Not one single incident of Hagel whispering in his ears to help him with a gaffe. Great speech. Great pictures with the military. Lots of whining from team McCain, and bing! lightbulb at State. "Not only will we deny him the photo op with troops in Germany (He was leaving the press corps behind btw, as in Iraq) but we will create a story about him not visiting wounded troops, by refusing him access!"
Meanwhile McCain is climbing in the polls, still hitting hard on the one possible point he has been able to score on – "the Surge has Worked" and again scoring points on that. Meanwhile, camp Obama despite the brilliant week we have had, is not enjoying a bump... yet... from his trip, and is still allowing team McCain to get away with the lie that the surge has worked, arguing on team McCain’s turf on that, and failing to attack the thugs for what they are doing and getting away with. How about team Obama jumping on the whining about the media bandwagon, and point out Katie Couric’s unethical alteration of a story in favor of McConfused, the media’s failure to take McSame to task for apparently not knowing that Iraq does not border Afghanistan, along with all the other McConfusions, which would have been explained away were they one-offs, but they are constant!
Why is camp Obama still so weak when it comes to fighting the GOP. Obama as great as he is, as great as his oratory is, his lofty rhetoric and apparent grasp of the issues, this alone will not win him the election, faced with a McCain who is determined to raise Obama’s negatives, while he himself remains unattacked, and unchallenged.
I feel that the Obama campaign relies and depends too heavily on the candidate to carry the campaign and the day, and again, I level my accusation that you sir are a great leader but you have a press department that is failing you time and again. They need to be stronger with attacks, stronger with counter attacks and quit playing merely defense. The best defense, of course is always attack, and that is why McCain is climbing in the polls! This was a great week, but it is clearly not enough. You have to attack harder, more forthright and quicker and you cannot let the Mccain campaign continue to get away with everything they have been getting away with!