Posted on 04/19/2008 11:54:50 AM PDT by smoothsailing
DECISION 2008
Veterans have dominated presidential races for years
Friday, April 18, 2008
BY JIM LEWIS
Of The Patriot-News
To O.P. Ditch, a retired Air Force colonel, the choice for president is as clear as the headline on his Web site touting Republican John McCain, a fellow veteran: "Our troops deserve a qualified Commander in Chief."
The next president should possess a military record, particularly while we're waging a protracted war in Iraq, Ditch asserts on his site, Vets4McCain.com.
"I'm with him all the way that victory is the only answer," Ditch, of Virginia, says of McCain.
If American history holds true, the odds are in McCain's favor.
Military veterans have dominated the presidency, winning 33 of the country's 55 presidential elections.
In November, McCain, a Vietnam War veteran and prisoner of war, is expected to face a civilian Democrat with no military record, either Sen. Barack Obama or Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Both Democrats have enlisted veterans in their campaigns.
Wave of popularity:
Their effort comes at a time when the military is riding a wave of popularity with the American public that hadn't existed after Vietnam.
That war was so unpopular that a candidate's military record could be a blemish, not an asset, between 1970 and 1990, said G. Terry Madonna, a professor and political analyst at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster.
Now the military is embraced even by anti-war protesters who often say they support those serving, Madonna said.
The public's loyalty to the troops has brought forward the question of the candidates' devotion to the military, he said.
It might especially resonate in Pennsylvania, which has 1.1 million veterans, the fifth most in the country, according to the U.S. Census.
"The candidates are struggling over each other to pay homage to the troops and how they're treated at home with veterans' benefits," Madonna said.
"They understand that in this environment, it's pretty important that they be careful they don't appear to be criticizing our troops," he said.
War record often resonates:
Though American government -- a government "of the people, by the people" according to Abraham Lincoln, a veteran -- has had civilian sensibilities since its inception, American voters often have been impressed by the country's war heroes, electing generals such as Washington, Jackson, Grant and Eisenhower to the presidency.
Veterans have dominated the presidential race for almost 50 years, as well as the White House -- until the 1990s, when Bill Clinton, a civilian, defeated military veterans George H.W. Bush and Bob Dole to win back-to-back terms.
Before that, the last civilian to win a presidential election had been Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose fourth and final victory came in 1944.
With the war in Iraq passing its fifth anniversary and concerns about adequate health care and other benefits for troops returning from Iraq, the candidates' stand on the treatment of veterans has become a major point, discussed in detail on their campaign Web sites.
To Melita McCully, a retired Army colonel and former commander of the 7th Signal Brigade, Obama's performance as a member of the Senate's committee on veterans' affairs proves that he cares about veterans -- even if he didn't serve in the military himself.
Obama has supported laws to help homeless veterans and improve health care for troops returning from Iraq, she said.
"He understands it's not just about being able to say, 'I'm a proud veteran,' but also, 'What can I do for veterans?'" said McCully, of West Hanover Twp. "He gets that it's also about how we treat our veterans after they come home."
To Larry Babitts, an Army veteran from Boiling Springs who was wounded in both the Korean and Vietnam wars, Hillary Clinton is a congressional fighter who has supported funding for veterans benefits.
Babitts, who often lobbies in Washington for veterans, credits Clinton with getting the Purple Heart on a U.S. postage stamp amid government opposition.
"I don't know how she did it -- the Postal Service fought it, the White House fought it," Babitts said. "She's never wavered or waffled on the issue of mandatory funding for the Veterans Administration."
McCain has challenged pork-barrel spending in Congress, a stand that could benefit veterans, Ditch said.
The '3 a.m.' issue:
But how would each candidate handle that theoretical 3 a.m. phone call -- a scenario that has become popular in this campaign -- if it were about an attack on the U.S.? Veterans for each of the presidential hopefuls say they believe their candidate would handle it best.
Even though Ditch, like McCain, favors continuing to fight in Iraq, he supports the Republican veteran because he believes McCain would not rush to war, he said. He bristles when critics predict that as president, McCain would be "pro-war."
"He wouldn't shoot from the hip, being a veteran and prisoner of war," Ditch said. "He knows the grave consequences of war. I would think he's not likely to get us involved in something unless it's in our vital interests."
To McCully, a decorated veteran and military strategist who once deployed troops in Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia and other countries, Obama is qualified to make important military decisions.
"He would do what is right based on intellect, not based on vendettas," she said. "Being a veteran is not the only qualification for being president -- being a student of history is a qualification. We have a president who is a veteran but who isn't a student of history."
Clinton has the toughness to make military decisions, Babitts said. "You don't have to be a war veteran to be president -- you have to be ready to fight for the people. You have to fight off lobbyists. That sounds trite, but it's true.
"We need someone to stand up for America's interests. The president's got to be a fighter. She is a fighter, no question about it."
JIM LEWIS: 255-8479 or jlewis@patriot-news.com
©2008 The Patriot-News © 2008 PennLive.com All Rights Reserved.
Fine by me, if the vet hasn’t strayed to the other side.
O.P. Ditch bump!
Agreed.It is hard for me to comprehend how any honorable veteran could be a democrat.
So they’re finally admitting that the present President Bush is a veteran: I seem to remember a different story from the 2004 campaign, especially with a couple of people at CBS. What were their names again?
I was a soldierette during the END of the VietNam and Cold Wars, so I never had to battle (Girls seldom did then, anyway); but that safety is in retrospect. While stationed on the east side of the Rhine, we knew that the Russians could reach the Rhine within 24 hours. There is some “veteran-ness” in that knowledge. I can't compare, even a sliver's amount, to our current soldiers in danger; and I'm not trying. I just am trying to point out that, when one enlists in apparent “peace time,” he/she has no idea if they will END their enlistment in a time of peace.
All of that to say, being willing, yourself, to stand up for your nation in battle is a nice prerequisite for making decisions about those who are willing.
Obviously not a qualification to be a voter since McCully is ignorant of Obama's own history.
http://www.iraqvetsforcongress.com/
...and FOR the people! Ahhhh, the good old days.
We have a president who is a veteran but who isn't a student of history."
Nope, President George W. Bush is no student of history.
He simply attended Yale University, where he received a Bachelor's degree in history in 1968 for the fun of it.
Geeeezzzzzzz!
Vets won as presidents when vets made up the majority of the electorate. That isn’t the case anymore. Lately the leadership on both sides of the aisles have been made up primarily of men who avoided military service.
Veterans have running for President from the very beginning
You are so right. The majority of politicians nowadays are draft dodgers or "silver spoon in the mouth babies" that would never have to serve. It irritates me that former college athletes are revered by the electorate higher than a soldier that put his/her life on the line for the country.
This happened recently in a local election where IMO the qualified candidate was not elected and the Democrat candidate was elected because he played football for Ole' Miss.
Wanna hear something awful?
Walter B. Jones (R in wolf’s clothing who sides with john murtha) called in his favor on Ilario Pantano.
Pantano has been on the airwaves endorsing Walter.
Listen. While I always respect a veteran's service, the fact remains that they have their share who ain't rocket scientists when it comes to politics. For example, some are turned sour by their military experience and like anyone else, use their personal grievances to rule their judgment. Others just never gave it much thought, again like many of the rest of the population, and get sucked in by a tempting campaign promise. Having worked for many years serving veterans with the VA, I can assure you that the "what's in it for me" crowd is amply represented there.
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