[Cincinatus' Wife]

President Bush and U.S. Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez (left) react during the president's secret visit to Iraq. AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, Pool

Iraqi Governing Counsel member Ahmad Chalabi (C) smiles while U.S. military troops applaud U. S. President George W. Bush who surprised U.S. military troops stationed in Iraq with a secret Thanksgiving Day visit to personally honor their service and sacrifice at the Baghdad International Airport, November 27, 2003. The president arrived in Iraq unannounced and met with troops before returning to his Central Texas ranch for the weekend. REUTERS/Larry Downing

[martin_fierro]

Al Gore -- who fought counting the military's absentee ballots -- is deeply saddened.

[alloysteel]

Since many if not most of the active-duty military by necessity vote as absentees, it is more important than ever to assure that the absentee vote is properly and accurately tallied and included in the final totals, and not simply just flatly trashed. And as a larger percentage of the military is of minority designation than the general population, this may also be a civil rights question.

[Vigilanteman]

George Bush could have a real problem getting the military vote if the Democrats would run a pro-defense candidate like Zell Miller or the late Scoop Jackson. We know the chances of that happening.

I've heard Hillary's sock puppet, General Wesley Clark, is about as popular in military ranks as a skunk at a picnic.

[patj]

In the Florida recount, Bush's partisans fought vigorously to prevent Al Gore's advocates from excluding disqualified military absentee ballots from the presidential vote recount.

DISQUALIFIED ballots? Lots wrong with that statement. I believe this article is wishful thinking.

[R. Scott]

One item was left out. Mr. Bush – like his predecessors – has fought against repeal of the Disabled Veterans Tax. This tax costs me $801 a month.
Of course this only affects a few hundred thousand veterans, so we’re not a big political voting block.

[SkyPilot]

Wow--I actualy started to read this thinking it was a news article. Then I realized it was propaganda from the Atlanta Urinal Constipation.

[jocon307]

"What makes me mad the most is, past presidents have gone to funerals and he hasn't gone to any," - Lori Hartman

My understanding it that this it not true. With a couple of exceptions (persons known personally by the president) and group memorial services, past Presidents have NOT attended servicemembers funerals.

It is easy to understand why. First of all, which do you go to? You certainly couldn't go to all, in any large scale conflict you'd be spending all your time going to funerals.

If this article in any way reflects Dem party thinking that the military, or veterans, will help them win the White House in '04, they are worse off than I thought.

And I do not like the implication, which was also made in the first Gulf War, that the military is just some glorified welfare program with uniforms and dangerous toys. The military does not exist to provide housing, education, medical benefits, etc. for its members. Obviously these things must be provided, but they are not it's reason for existing. It exists to defend our country from people, like the Islamofacists, who want to kill us. If we don't want to have a military anymore we'd have to completely close the borders, allow no air traffic, and return to the way we lived life circa 1900. That would be fine with me, but it would be the only way. It would also require the dismantling of the UN, or it's relocation without us as member elsewhere, a noteworthy benefit.

[SandRat]

Military could be the swing vote in 04 --- Yeah, if the DIMS let the military absentee ballots be counted!

Those lieing, backstabbing, conniving, two-timing, bottom-deal..................................

Sorry I wandered too far afield describing DIMS.

[pfflier]

The military is not the swing vote. As a voting block it is way too small.

It is the military and its supporters that form the significant block. These are relatives of the troops, veterans, people who are predisposed to identify with the military, service organizations allied with the military etc. They have one thing in common: awareness.

The vocal anti-war types typically have virtually zero experience with the military and don't want to start now. Their criticisms of the President and the military stem from socio-political ideology. They crave any appearance of military failure to reinforce their political agenda.

In contrast, the military network position is based on familiarity of military tradition, LIKE A COMMANDER BEING WITH HIS TROOPS ON A HOLIDAY, and operational aspects of the military. They are aware of successes and failures where the layman with no insight just sees failure. To juxtapose D-Day into the present for example, the anti-military types would be screaming and screeching over the casualties while completely ignoring the attainment of a foothold on the European continent. BTW More American lives were lost in D+30 minutes than 10 Iraqs.

The support, by the military, of the President, shows that the people, with their boots on the ground, strongly approve (for you pollsters) of this president's actions.

[fightin kentuckian]

If, as many have said, people vote their pocketbook. Try this on for size.

Under Clinton the gap between military pay and civilian pay had grown to 13.5 percent. And pay raises were capped at .5 percent below, I SAY AGAIN, .05 PERCENT BELOW the rate of inflation, guaranteeing that the gap would grow.

Under Bush, the gap has decreased to about 5.5 percent (in less than three years) and the pay raises have been capped at .5 percent above, ABOVE, the rate of inflation.

Also, the pay scales have been reworked to favor mid career and Sr NCOs and mid career officers. This was done without affecting pay raises for anyone else.

Another thing, now we are soldiers doing a soldiers job instead of these endless and thankless peace keeping missions where we were nothing more than UN lackeys with wishy washy rules of engagement that was sure to get us killed, all for a blue helmet. We finally have a purpose and are doing the job that we were trained to do.

Believe me, many soldiers know where their bread is buttered and will vote for Bush. As long as Bush gives us the tools to do what we have to and stays out of our way when we're doing it, he can't go wrong. (However, if he promised to close the pay gap in the next year, that wouldn't hurt at all)

[TrueBeliever9]

Before Clinton's Secretary of Defense - Cohen - left office he issued an order to stop voting on many military installations. How he and Clinton determined which forts, bases, camps, etc. they wanted to enforce that the military could not vote on them I do not know. I do know that this will make it very difficult for many of our military to vote as they will have to go off base.

Information Technology Association of America

http://www.itaa.org/

Is the leading the effort for electronic voting and this is what they want to enforce upon the military. Harris Miller, President, is a good friend and huge supporter of the Clintons. He works closely with Bill and Hill.

[VOA]

bump

[Criminal Number 18F]

Note that the only two reps of veteran's groups quoted are two Democrat-aligned fringe groups, the VVA (which descended from the wing of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War which was not overtly Marxist, and which has a long history of being led by phonies and wannabees) and some group of "Veterans for Apeasement in Iraq" or some such essentially Democrat, white-flag outfit.

The VVA is responsible for a lot of people's misconceptions of Vietnam vets as drugged out, homeless losers. They can always produce a batch of drugged-out scraggly-bearded losers in camouflage on demand for a press event -- it's damn rare to find a veteran in the batch, let alone a Vietnam veteran.

Funny that none of the several much larger groups (American Legion, VFW, Amvets, DAV) were asked for their opinion. Maybe they were and it didn't fit into this opinion piece.

The idea that the active military would support surrender bunnies like Dean or a stands-for-nothing appeasenik like most of the rest of the Nine Dwarves (a term that is insulting to Micro-Americans) is a candidate for Pipe Dream of the Week. My advice to hopeful partisans like Scott Shepard of the AJC: "put down the bong and come out with your hands up!"

d.o.l.

Criminal Number 18F