VoteVets: ya know who’s the Messiah – Obama, that’s who
That “nonpartisan” veterans Political Action Committee, VoteVets, weighed in on the remarkable news that the services made their recruiting and retention goals last year (NYT link) – sort of like they’ve made most of their goals over the last eight years. When the services were retaining and recruiting during the Bush years, we listened to dicksmith and others explain it away with excuses like they’d lowered their standards, that they were recruiting racists and boobs. Now, of course, it’s thanks to the magnificence that is Obama.
I think it also must be considered that the American people have more confidence in their new Commander-in-Chief. Some of the success can also be attributed to the increased benefit provided by the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill. While neither of these, nor the economy, alone led to the recruiting success, they are all absolutely important factors.
Yeah, he had to add the other stuff, just so he could pretend that he didn’t just crawl out from under Obama’s desk.
Since dicksmith frequents TAH, maybe he can answer me a question; What has Obama done to inspire such confidence? Is it his diddling over giving the generals what they’ve requested? Attempting to cut our health benefits and increasing our portion of the bill? Is it the excellent way the GI Bill has been administered? Please, just show me one thing in which he’s inspired such confidence.
Yeah, I’m biased, but I’ve never claimed to be “nonpartisan”.
Category: Barack Obama/Joe Biden
Some of you guys just cannot get it thru your heads what a total failure Bush and president Cheney were. You dance around the subject, digress, obfuscate, divert – anything to avoid the only logical conclusion. Once you accept that fact, all the rest falls into place. The proverbial sock puppet could do a better job than W and Cheney, and Obama has done a great job pulling us out from under the pall of the last administration.
What has Obama done in his entire life to deserve the admiration and accolades that you and the other Obama dog washers have foisted upon him? What key elements of his life make him vastly more qualified to be President than anyone else? Could it be his vast executive experience, as say a Governor of a state??? No….that’s not it. Could it be his massive amount of years in the US Senate?? No…..that ain’t it, either. Could it be his enormous amount of foreign policy experience? No….he didn’t/doesn’t have any. So, please list his accomplishments that make him deserving of such adulation.
What made Bush’s Presidency a failure? I doubt I will get anything close to a credible answer from you, since you qualified your ignorance by calling VP Cheney “President”.
The only thing that Obama has acccomplished is that he’s not Bush. Boy, that alone is worth the Nobel Fraud Prize; doncha think?
Joe,
What has he done to “pull us out of the pall”? Name one?
That terrible warrantless wire tapping? Still doing it.
Gitmo? Still open and not going to be closed by the deadline.
Rendition? Still doing it.
You’re claiming the right “obfuscates, digresses, and diverts” and you are looking at a post of all of the things the POTUS has done for veterans and the military and claiming that was way better than before? I realize it can’t top the specific examples you’ve cited……wait, you didn’t. I’m glad you don’t divert or anything.
As an actual veteran of the Iraq war I can tell you this. When I was out there in the streets of Tikrit in 2003 I knew that the Comander in Chief had my back. I knew that if God forbid something happened my President would help hold back the John Kerry’s and Jack Murtha’s that try to use soldiers in the field as political pawns.
Barak is more woried about what Europe thinks about him than what his fighting men and woman do.
Ask most any soldier or sailor if they felt that Bush cared for them. I would bet a dollar to a donut that most would say yes. I would not advise you to take that bet about Obama.
Sure Bush had faults, but that is not to say that he was terrible. Becuase I bet that you would not be willing to say the same thing about Obama.
Also, here is something to think about.
After 9/11 alot of people said that President Bush should have taken steps in his first nine months to strengthen our national security and that 9/11. I find it funny that no one (in the major news outlets, have even mentioned that Obama has not been doing his homework on the wars.
Again, OldTrooper, just by not being Bush he lifted the eight-year pall (see reaction of the rest of the world to Obama’s election). He had an easy act to follow. Yeah, Iron Knight, defective flak jackets, vulnerable Hummers, soldiers electrocuted while taking showers, rotten food sent over by contractors, female soldiers raped, grossly defective strategy, putting Afghanistan on the back burner for an optional war in Iraq, gross negligence in medical care for returning vets who needed long term help, and on and on. If that’s what constitutes the “Commander in Chief having your back”, I’d hate to see the alternative.
Just one example of “negligence in medical care for returning vets”, if you please.
I know what your answer will be, so take care in your research to avoid the taste of my ass.
I just have to ask…Joe, you must truly be a talented individual in order to be able to type that well while simultaneously giving the president a hand job. I’m completely impressed!
Joe I don’t give a fuck what the rest of the world thinks of us. They don’t like it when we stand up against their agendas. Now we have a president who is more than happy to acquiesce to dictators and idiots around the world.
I had more faith is Bush to do the right thing way more than I have faith in Obama. Bush made decisions, they didn’t necessarily make him popular, but he was willing to make them. Obama seems to value his political capitol more than the needs of the soldiers on the ground.
John Lilyea – Think Walter Reed, you big bully….
I read your mind. The so-called scandal at Walter Reed was NOT about medical care. It was about outpatient housing. How’s it taste?
Joe: Per typical leftist fashion (ala the teachings of Alinsky) you have failed to answer the questions I posed to you and instead went on about Bush. I understand that you suffer tremendously from your BDS, however, you need to get over it. He’s not the President. Answer the questions. Besides, the whole rape thing happens on every Presidents watch, so that one can be pulled from your argument on blaming Bush for everything and anything you can think of. It snowed this past weekend; it’s Bush’s fault!!!
You claim to want to come here for in depth discussion, as though you have something on an intellectual level to offer, yet you haven’t said anything in any of your posts that hasn’t been said by the rest of the leftists anywhere else. It’s almost like you have a script of leftist talking points that you read from.
As for what the world thinks of us now? You have to be joking with that comment, because if you aren’t; you really aren’t any higher up the intellectual ladder than Rosie O’Donnell.
JustPlainJason,
You have a bad case of “John Wayne Narcissist Syndrome”. Bush has a defective, borderline sociopathic personality. He used to take pleasure in torturing plebes in college, wouldn’t be surprised if he tortured little animals as a kid. Obama actually gives other cultures and nations credit for having a clue, but that’s not something a narcissitic person, or country could ever understand. Keep believing, “We’re number one, we’re number one”, even if all the empirical data points in an entirely different direction. But I know evaluating empirical data was never a conservative strong point. It’s hard to consider data when reactionary doctrine already provides you with all the answers….
Joe, just to let you know where I stand, am a Libertarian who hates republicrat as well as demican STATISTS alike with equal venom:
1.”see reaction of the rest of the world to Obama’s election”
I am not a “global citizen” and while deployed 2x to the “good war”, the “rest of the world” save the Brits & Dominions, lived up to the “I Suck At Fighting” slur we coined for NATO ISAF.
2.”defective flak jackets” Interceptor Body Armor with SAPI plates for people like YOU who never wore one, were Clinton era inventions. I encountered them while deployed in Bosnia during the Clinton era.
3.”vulnerable Hummers” Bush I and Clinton Somalia era gear that neither party bothered to upgrade despite the fact that a vehicle NOT designed as an armored fighting vehicle will be a stop gap.
4. “female soldiers raped” Gezus H. Christ, do a FOIA and check military MP blotter reports for a few decades… I’m pretty sure you’ll find a Carter or Clinton era female Soldier who was raped.
5.”defective strategy” Obama doesn’t know the difference between a flanking movement and a patrol base any more than Bush did.
6.”gross negligence in medical care for returning vets who needed long term help” Yes, the morons in House and Senate have no input on this & there were NO problems with the VA during Clinton’s tenure & since the One has been elected not one person in my vet orgs has any complaints about the VA.
Joe, you republicrat and demican statist only differ in what bon-bons you chuck to your taget audience. This country, under republicrat and demican rule crossed the Rubicon in 1898 and became an Empire. Do a bit of study and ditch your state education myths, it’s an eye opener.
Joe: You are so full of shit your eyes are brown.
The narcissist is Obama. Everything he says is “I” or “Me”. He has to attach himself to everything. That you have a problem with American exceptionalism is a character flaw in you. That you don’t understand that people come to this country more than any other country BECAUSE of our exceptionalism means you ignore empiracal data, also. That you came on here spouting a flawed number from an extremely flawed study about “45,000” a year die because of no healthcare, shows that you have no fricken clue what empirical data is, either. So, don’t come on here with your leftist bullshit about how conservatives don’t know anything about empirical data when all you have shown is that the left makes shit up as they go.
OldTrooper,
Exceptionalism is exceptionalism, whether American, Israeli, Christian, Muslim, or Nazi. It purports to put you above your fellow human beings, and once you buy into that, any type of atrocity is possible, as history so clearly shows. Here’s a link to an article that explains what it’s like to try and reason with you folks….
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2009/09/25/notes092509.DTL
I guess you don’t see the irony of your own post, do you, Joe?
Nope, John, it’s lost on me……
But I should probably take the articles advice and give up…..
No, Joe don’t quit, just start to question the fairy tales you subscribe to! Ask yourself this, is it just republicrats who use private military companies or, have demicans employed them for nefarious tasks as well??? Subtle hint check out MPRI and who they trained in the Balkans & how many civilian folks were killed/ethnically cleansed by soldiers trained by these folks!
JuniorAG,
I will look at that. I am no great fan of the democrats today either (although I like the original principals, they have strayed far afield), I just think they’re the lesser of two evils. I am still reserving judgement on Obama, I hope he is pacing himself for the long haul. So JuniorAG, if you subscribe to any party or platform, what would that be?
Exceptionalism in thinking that we do more to help this world than harm it? Exceptionalism in thinking that we have gone out of our way to provide for others around the world? In thinking that we have stopped tyranny in many countries around the world? In thinking that many on this planet look at us as a beacon of hope and freedom? That someone can come here and know that their hard work and sacrifice are the path to their own idea of success?
When a crisis happens anywhere in the world; who do they call? That’s right, the US. When bad guys are doing bad things; who do the people look to for help? It sure as fuck ain’t the UN. That you have no pride in your own country or the accomplishments through history (yeah, yeah, we’ve had our issues, however, they aren’t as prevalent as you want us to believe).
No, Joe, you want everyone to be equal; equally miserable. Unfortunately, human nature doesn’t allow for eqaulity in your view of it. Not everyone can be a star runningback in football, not everyone can score 11,000,000 on their SATs. It doesn’t make them less of a person, but it doesn’t mean we can’t reward exceptionalism, either. That’s what seperates us from Europe; they want everyone to be equal, we want people to succeed based on their own desires and abilities. Utopia doesn’t exist; no matter how much you wish it did.
Your thought process is the thought process of the defeatist.
I am still reserving judgement on Obama…
Wow, that is some mighty impressive backtracking/un-hand jobbing in the span of 20 posts!
(see reaction of the rest of the world to Obama’s election).
Ya, I mean they’re falling over themselves to take Gitmo detainees because Obama said pretty please. The IOC couldn’t wait to give Chicago the Olympics. And the troop surge from all of our allies in Afganistan are stellar examples of the worlds reaction…..a great big ol’ “Up yours”!! And Russia was so pleased the we crapped on Eastern Europe that they are demanding more missile concessions and blocking any attemp at sanctions against Iran, our pals after Teh One got elected. Of coarse after we caved in to N.Korea’s demand of direct talks they thanked us by launching more missiles. Japan elected a Prime Minister that ran on a pledge to put distance between the US and Japan AFTER Bush left office……we’re so much better off now that the world really likes us again!
Joe: I have the passport, the wherewithall, and the “clean” name to move to any country on this planet. I choose to stay here because America is an exceptional place. We ARE better than Haiti. We ARE stronger than any other damned country on the planet. We ARE Exceptional! You, and your pimp Obama would have us all equal to the Somalis, the Haitians, and the rest of the planet that won’t wipe their own asses. You would have all of America on the dole, when that is the lowest of the low in freedoms. Your liberal ways have made slaves of those who choose not to put effort in becoming educated, in bettering themselves, in marrying before they get pregnant. Faulty or outdated military equipment? What brand spanking new ideas did we take into WW-II? Korea?, Vietnam? In every war this country has entered, we have begun the war with the same equipment we ended the previous one with. Then, our Exceptionalist mentality comes up with the best of the best. Always! On civilian contractors: You and your liberal jerkoffs would blame GWB for Blackwater, (One of the finest outfits around, and still growing.), being in Iraq. 2 facts here. First, it was Bill Clinton that decided that the US Marines had better things to do than guard our embassies; and second, Contractors, have a much better bang for the buck than detailing military to do what they do, like Blackwater has never, ever had a client injured while in their protection. That you don’t know a damned thing about what did or didn’t happen at the hand of NGO’s, and still spew about them shows the shallowness of your knowledge. After 69 laps around the Sun, I am very proud of all that this country has accomplished both at home and worldwide. As mentioned above, this is still the Country of choice for those fleeing their country, or those wanting to have the best of the best. These aren’t “talking points”, but FACTS. Lay off the Kool Ade, turn of Kieth Olbermann, and attempt to get a life.… Read more »
Joe is simply getting his talking points from the leftist agenda to ‘get out to the right-wing web-sites” and ‘get in their faces’ with pure propaganda bull-shit.
Why anyone would even try to talk to him is beyond me. He’s not here for discussion, he is here to clutter the discussion with white house memes.
Frankly Opinionated,
I couldn’t agree less with everything you’ve stated. I think your catchy tagline reveals a lot. It celebrates that bedrock conservative principle – ingorance is a virtue.
Joe: You really have no fricken clue as to what you are talking about; do you? Why do you constantly throw out bs little snipes as though you are the arbiter of all that makes up conservatives. Maybe I should just throw one out on what is the bedrock of leftists priciples “bullshit and beans”. There; does that bring anything to the conversation? Talk about ignorance; I just saw a rock that was less ignorant than you.
ingorance is a virtue.
…pot, meet kettle….
This thread is actually kind of depressing. I would probably be categorized as a moderate, and usually vote Democrat mostly due to my own personal issues with many conservative social items. Wasn’t a big fan of Bush either. I also am an Iraq combat veteran (outside the wire combat), drill in the reserve component and am very active in the veteran community. Joe seems to be painting everyone as a conservative for not being devoted to Obama and for being expressing pride in America.
I’ll tell tou, I voted for Obama as my lesser of two evils. I now am completely disenchanted with Obama and don’t agree with how he is handling foreign policy, and am more along the lines of the opinions posed here. Unlike Joe, I realize that the world will always walk all over us if we let them, and that popularity in international diplomacy will only take you so far (see now). Point being that I would not regard myself as a conservative, but as an American. It’s comments and faulty arguments like Joe’s that make me really stray from the Dems.
Joe I could give you so many reasons why the US is exceptional, here are just a few. Our flag is fairly simple stripes, stars, field of blue and the only one on the moon. Have you ever seen how many Nobel prizes have been given to an American, not peace but all the other categories? I have friends who have left behind everything they knew to come here for a better life. When the sunami hit South East Asia what country donated the most time, money, and supplies to help the countries devastated?
Jonn…question…are joe and amazed that i can reproduce,socks puppets of the same person,or is joe really a small child suffering from a big case of oppositional behavior? Just curious!
Respect
AHF: No, they are not the same person. Joe isn’t worthy of carrying Amazing’s dirty socks. Amazing is one of those real veterans who left IVAW.
When I wrote comment #24, I didn’t expect Joe to agree with anything that I said. In fact, I would have been leery of him if he had agreed to any of it. I write truth, and that is something that the Liberals find very confusing, and even argumentive. He is a real Dork1
And now for my catchy tag line, which is a totally honest statement.
“Learned all I need to know about Islam on 9/11!”
Read a little more carefully – there is a not so slight distinction. I never said the US was not an exceptional nation; one look at the history books will tell you that. I was speaking of the mental trap of “exceptionalism” – the sense that you (or your country) are somehow above the rules because you are so special. History is replete with the atrocities that an exceptionalist attitude brings – white men can enslave africans because white men are so special; Nazis can conquer sovereigh nations and exterminate people because nazis, and Aryans are so exceptional; Christian missionaries can torture and kill indigenous people who don’t convert because Christians are so exceptional; Islamic terrorists can behead infidels because Muslims are so special; a man can beat his wife because he, and men in general, are superior and exceptional. In order to subscribe to an exceptionalist attitude, you of necessity have to dehumanize all the other unexceptional people. So I will state we are citizens of an exceptional country, and many of us have had material and educational advantages unavailable to other poeple on this planet, but we are not somehow above the law, not exceptional in that sense, which is how we often behave.
Bush/Cheney screwed things up so badly that now we’re stuck with Obama. The reaction to 8 years of right-wing extremism is now (at least) 4 years of left-wing extremism. I’m looking forward to 2010 and 2012. Reality flash : Vote Vets will tongue bath any Dem leader and play it off as pro-vet … Soltz is a gay man … why is that never brought up when he attempts to lead the charge on “don’t ask don’t tell?”
Joe, I’m a Libertarian.
Um, yeah, late to this party but…Wow, Joe. Ignorance must be bliss for you…and all the BDS on display.
Yikes. Wouldn’t wanna be you. I like our exceptionalism and I will never, ever, apologize for it. Nor will I put up with idiots who are willfully blind to what The Pied Piper is doing to our Country and the troops.
Quit apologizing for the way other Countries behave and start appreciating yours. Because you may wake up one day, and find it doesn’t look the same as when you went to sleep. And, You will be sorry.
Get your head out of the Kumbaya clouds, Joe. Utopia is a frame of mind, get some.
The unanswered question: “Why were recruiting goals decreased for 2009 over 2008?” Yes, DoD met their “goals,” but the number recruited was 30,200 (Active & Reserve) less than 2008. Why?
http://waronterrornews.typepad.com/home/2009/10/fy-2009-dod-recruiting-met-decreased-goals.html
The Army reduced its goal by 15,000 Soldiers.
Total Active Duty recruit goal 2009: 163,880
Total Active Duty recruit goal 2008: 184,186
When one lowers the goals, its easier to reach the goal.
Is 108% of 65,000 more or less than 101% of 80,000?
Are we or are we not at war? Has or has not Congress complained that we need more Troops? Has or has not *certain* members of Congress such as Charles Rangel called for the draft?
IF Congress has limited how many can enter/stay in the Military to a lower number, in a time of economic downturn and in a time of war, is it really a sign of success for Obama that recruiting meets the lowered goals?
ON another VoteVets topic, I heard their new commercial this morning, the one on globull warming. If this thing, (can’t really call it a commericial) had been submitted in a middle school video class, it would have gotten a D-, at best.
The gist was, if only we powered everything in the world with unicorn farts and swamp gas, the evil meanies in the world would automatically go out of business. And everyone would love us once again.
What piece of crap, from beginning to it’s not soon enough end.
Just noticed, in #39, it should have been a “middle school multi-media class”, I really wish this site had an “edit” feature.
OnNow, if you think Bush was a “right wing extremist”, you really don’t understand conservativism and liberalism.