Buchanan again falsely suggested Obama did not visit wounded troops while abroad
SUMMARY: In his column, Pat Buchanan falsely suggested that Sen. Barack Obama did not visit wounded troops during his recent trip abroad. Buchanan asserted: "While the first half of his foreign trip, to Afghanistan and Iraq, was official, the European tour was campaign related. Yet, it was on this leg that a visit to wounded U.S. soldiers had been scheduled. As campaigning in a military hospital is prohibited, the visit was canceled." In fact, according to Buchanan's colleague, NBC News chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell, Obama did visit with wounded troops during the "official" part of his tour.
In his syndicated column Pat Buchanan again falsely suggested that Sen. Barack Obama did not visit wounded troops during his recent trip abroad. In his August 5 column, Buchanan, an MSNBC contributor, asserted: "While the first half of his foreign trip, to Afghanistan and Iraq, was official, the European tour was campaign related. Yet, it was on this leg that a visit to wounded U.S. soldiers had been scheduled. As campaigning in a military hospital is prohibited, the visit was canceled." In fact, according to Buchanan's colleague, NBC News chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell, Obama did visit with wounded troops during the "official" part of his tour, as Media Matters for America has noted.
Mitchell reported on July 25 that while in Iraq, Obama "visited a casualty unit in the Green Zone, without photographers, as part of the congressional delegation." Obama has also reportedly visited wounded troops at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Indeed, on July 28, Mitchell confirmed her previous reporting, saying, "I can attest to the fact that he did visit troops in Iraq only four or five days earlier, that there was no notice of it, that I confirmed that it happened, but they had no video of any type and no reporters. And that he's been to Walter Reed. So let's at least get that off the table."
Buchanan previously asserted that Obama's cancellation of his planned trip to visit the wounded troops in Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany gave "the sense that, you know, Barack is not one of us. He's just not a normal guy who would go see the wounded troops."
From Buchanan's column, headlined "Mr. Obama, Welcome to the NFL":
For all its gracelessness, the McCain campaign, given openings by Barack, stepped in and put Muhammad Ali on the canvas.
The first opening was the clumsiness with which Barack dealt with a planned visit to wounded U.S. troops in Landshul [sic], Germany.
While the first half of his foreign trip, to Afghanistan and Iraq, was official, the European tour was campaign related. Yet, it was on this leg that a visit to wounded U.S. soldiers had been scheduled. As campaigning in a military hospital is prohibited, the visit was canceled.
But, instead of going ahead and visiting the troops alone, without aides, press or cameras, Barack bailed out and flew on to Paris.
Ask, and ye shall receive...
Fur ell its grecelessness, zee McCeeen cempeeegn, geefee oopeneengs by Bereck, stepped in und poot Moohemmed Elee oon zee cunfes. Um gesh dee bork, bork! Zee furst oopeneeng ves zee cloomseeness veet vheech Bereck deelt veet a plunned feesit tu vuoonded U.S. truups in Lundshool [seec], Germuny. Bork bork bork! Vheele-a zee furst helff ooff hees fureeegn treep, tu Effghuneestun und Ireq, ves ooffffeeciel, zee Ioorupeun tuoor ves cempeeegn releted. Bork bork bork! Yet, it ves oon thees leg thet a feesit tu vuoonded U.S. suldeeers hed beee schedooled. Bork bork bork! Es cempeeegning in a meelitery huspeetel is pruheebited, zee feesit ves cunceled. Bork bork bork! Boot, insteed ooff gueeng eheed und feesiting zee truups elune-a, veethuoot eeedes, press oor cemeres, Bereck beeeled oooot und floo oon tu Perees. Um gesh dee bork, bork!
We can do it in moron, too...
We can do it in moron, too...
MMFA already took care of that with this article
You mean the transcripts of Buchanan's comments? That would indicate that you're calling Pat a moron. You've gotta think the zingers through, take a little time before shooting your foot.
Would a five day waiting period for comedy be sensible for convicted wingnuts? It might give you time to cool down, preventing these half-cocked, tragic acts of self-mutilation.
Pat simply hates the idea of a woman, in this case Andrea Mitchell, being correct about something so he continues to lie and insult the intelligence of intelligent people who are armed with the facts. And that's no surprise - Pat's a chauvinistic racist.
What a shame as he is smart as a whip when it comes to history and SOME of his analyses are spot on...
Pat Buchanan is just that Pat Buchanan. On his last legs as a celebrity and still pushing the Con agenda. He will lie, he tell the truth, he will engage, he will back off. Pat is hanging on to a past life. Seems to me that Mr. Buchanan is being kept around until after this election by the media type as the grandfatherly analyst.
Mr. B, it would be nice if you were honest all the time or at least be fair-minded in your columns. You have an agenda, fine. Follow it but why lie about things? P.S. I never voted for you. But I like your dad, James.
I loved his grandfather Edgar's movies.
It was a serious PR disaster. Obama and his handlers were politically tone deaf to the symbolism of canceling their plans.
I don't think they believed McCain would attack him for it. McCain's principles went out the window in his quest for the republican nomination. They apparently thought he was still an honorable person. I'm hoping they've learned their lesson.
Ewe,
Visiting the troops comes to mind.
And you would be the first one in here complaining about how Obama was "using the troops to further his campaign" if he HAD visited them. I think Obama, in this case, took the high road.
Yeah, Obama had some really bad PR coming off of his trip overseas. Hard for McCain and Company to sell us that Obama's trip overseas was a bad thing, when he essentially dared Obama to go in the first place with his counter on his website about how long it had been since Obama had been over to Iraq / middle east. He goes. He kicks butt, takes names, and comes home to vile nasty attack ads from McCain. Yep, McCain has lost any and all respect that I once had for him that's for sure, especially after talking a great game about a positive campaign, and yet, he's attacking hard core. Funny how that goes. And not attacking his policy positions. No sir. Straight up ad hom personal attacks. Such as equating Obama's celebrity to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.
Mags,
Had Obama not made it a political issue and followed DOD guidelines, I doubt anyone would have known he went and visited those wounded soldiers.
Any fallout from that would have been infinitely better than canceling the visit. That made it look to the casual bystander that it was simply a political ploy to begin with.
Had Obama not made it a political issue and followed DOD guidelines, I doubt anyone would have known he went and visited those wounded soldiers.
Are you that naive? If he went overseas and no one knew he visited wounded troops, he would have been attacked mercilessly.
How is it determined which part of the trip is political and which is official?
Seems to me that it's like making phone calls from the White House when contributions are offered, but not requested. Is that politicking?
AA, not that you deal in facts but:
MITCHELL: Did he make a bad call deciding not to go to Ramstein? He had every right to go to Ramstein, to visit the troops in Landstuhl. He had already been to visit the troops in Iraq. Without cameras, without an entourage. And he got-his people, rather-got so backed off by warnings from the Pentagon. Now please be careful, don’t bring your military aide, because he’s now a political aide. The Pentagon was way too aggressive probably in that. And they got so nervous: oh this is going to look political. And they were damned if they did or damned if they didn’t. Let me just finish what I was saying…just this one point…there was never any intention-let me be absolutely clear about this-the entourage was never going to go. There was never an intention to make this political. But by tacking it on to the tail end of a political-the political leg of the trip, they opened themselves up they feared to the criticism, and if they’d gone, they’d be criticized and not going, they were criticized and the McCain commercial on this subject is completely wrong! Factually wrong.
Pearlene,
I see the quote. However I also saw a few days ago, people ripping Mitchell for some other comments. My memory is foggy. Were you one of them?
Regardless, can you provide some backing or link for what it is that Mitchell claimed the McCain ad got factually wrong?
Without that, iIt is like you saying here are the facts and not providing any. I know you wouldn't purposefully do that. If you could fill in the blanks left by the Mitchell quote that would be great.
I see the quote. However I also saw a few days ago, people ripping Mitchell for some other comments. My memory is foggy. Were you one of them?
Short answer, no, but what if I was?
Regardless, can you provide some backing or link for what it is that Mitchell claimed the McCain ad got factually wrong?
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/07/30/andrea-mitchell-debunks-mccains-attack-ads-on-obamas-european-trip/
Without that, iIt is like you saying here are the facts and not providing any. I know you wouldn't purposefully do that. If you could fill in the blanks left by the Mitchell quote that would be great.
LOL
AA, you are truly a card carrying member of the Straight Jacket Express! Like McCain you seem to forget about videos. http://www.crooksandliars.com/Media/Play/31429/1/hb-mitchell-obama-visit-072808.wmv/
You really believe that wouldn't have raised a hissy fit somehow in the media? I mean they've managed to make a mountain out of being careful of your tire pressure.
How bout. "Instead of focussing on dealing with our important allies, he bothers our recovering troopers with a another trip to another military hospital."
"He's supposed to be showing his supposed statesmanlike qualities on this trip. While its nice that he's showing some(belated) concern for our troops, thats not what we were hoping for on this handshaking tour of the middle east and europe. Will some missed opportunity here cause truoble down the road with our allies and friends in other countries."
A bit crude perhaps, but I believe something similar would have circulated and brought out questions of what kind of leader detours from his stated mission to essentially bother our injured troops.
As wingnuts cannot concieve of any democrat doing other than hating the troops their would be other hidden reasons for his "sudden" trip anonamously to a military hospital. "He got a charlie horse playing basketball and had to take up a military hospitals valuable resources to have it treated."
"Do you think our troops suffered much do to this."
"Its something to be looked into certainly."
You don't recognize your own sides abilities ability to find some important fault at the drop of a microphone?
Yeah, Conger, I saw that too, that he had two ads to cover his bases.I think that's what EWeston was alluding to on his question above. I thought everybody had this figured out, but AA stepped right up for a red hot mouthful.
I stumbled on that work of art while looking for another gif at work, right after reading AA's comment. I have no idea what Barney looks like, but that dead-on how I picture him.
AA, how close is that?
In fact, according to Buchanan's colleague, NBC News chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell, Obama did visit with wounded troops during the "official" part of his tour.
Maybe Pat should just pick up the phone and talk to Andrea, it will finally stick in his thick head.
It's a fact that Obama canceled a visit to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center at the last minute after planning it for weeks. And it's a fact that reporters and their cameras would not have been allowed to accompany him. Furthermore, Obama probably did go to the gym that day, as he does practically every day. So the bare facts stated in the ad are true, but they don't support McCain's insinuation.
We can't read minds and so are in no position to know Obama's motives, or McCain's for that matter. It's unlikely, however, that the absence of press coverage would have been a factor in Obama's decision, as the ad implies. Obama says he never planned to take reporters on the Landstuhl visit, and Department of Defense rules prohibited him from taking reporters on previous visits he made with wounded troops.
Source: factcheck.org
"While the first half of his foreign trip, to Afghanistan and Iraq, was official, the European tour was campaign related. Yet, it was on this leg that a visit to wounded U.S. soldiers had been scheduled."
It was on this leg that a visit had been scheduled, meaning that there was no visit during the "official" part of the trip.
Hey Pat this one is for you:
http://greatday.com/v.html?2040p06KGfzj