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Please join Senator John McCain and Bob McDonnell, candidate for Governor, for a Veterans for McDonnell Rally on Saturday, October 17th at 10:00am at General MacArthur Memorial VFW Post 392 2408 Bowland Parkway, Virginia Beach To RSVP, please e-mail: Vets@BobMcDonnell.com

John McCain's most powerful ad -- an open letter to Barack Obama in which an Iraq War veteran criticizes his stand on the war -- didn't cost the Republican candidate a dime. In "Dear Mr. Obama," army veteran Joe Cook stands in front of the camera and scolds the Democratic presidential candidate for calling the Iraq war a mistake. The two-minute video, which was posted on YouTube, has gotten more than 11 million hits and is the most popular election video on the site.

Former Gov. Jim Gilmore picked up the endorsements of two veterans groups today. Vets for Freedom and Iraqi Veterans Group said they are backing Gilmore's U.S. Senate campaign because of his military background and experience in fighting terrorism. Appearing with veterans at a news conference at the General Assembly Building, Gilmore said he supports the U.S. military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which allows gays and lesbians to serve in the military until their behavior becomes overt. Gilmore, a Republican, is running against Democrat Mark R. Warner, also a former governor, for the seat of Sen. John W. Warner, a...

PEEKSKILL – Some 200 people, veterans and supporters, rallied at Peekskill’s Riverfront Green Park in support of the McCain-Palin ticket as well as for Republican Kieran Lalor, who is challenging Democratic incumbent Congressman John Hall in next month’s election. The groups New York Vets for McCain and Iraq Vets for Congress rallied on Saturday and heard speeches from Senator William Larkin, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, and rally organizer Ret. Gen. Patrick Garvey, Marine Corps. Reserves, among others. Lalor is former Marine who served in the Iraqi war.

This commercial was done by a local kid. You have to watch the whole thing. When he finishes talking and walks away, you get a sense of how this could be the commercial of the campaign season. Hi, My son Joe just did a commercial for John McCain. Please pass this on. Thanks Bob Cook http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG4fe9GlWS8

In its zeal to get tough on Sen. John McCain, who has taken the lead in the presidential race, Sen. Barack Obama's campaign released a television ad today, titled "Still," making fun of Sen. McCain for being old fashioned. In the ad, the Obama campaign says that McCain hasn't changed much since he went to Congress in 1982, to make the case that McCain's campaign does not represent change. But the campaign crossed a line when it ridiculed McCain because he "can't send an e-mail," and unwittingly embroiled itself in another controversy that will throw the campaign off message. The...

The White House race between Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain came back to Colorado this week as Democratic veterans credited Obama with supporting broad increases in veteran benefits while Republicans countered that McCain was the best man on gun-owner rights and Western issues. Colorado is viewed as one of the key "swing" states in the November election, which is why the television channels are full of Obama and McCain advertising. Obama's campaign pulled together a conference call of veterans backing the Illinois senator Wednesday, while the GOP got Colorado Sen. Wayne Allard and Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., to tell...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG4fe9GlWS8

Moving Ad Made by Iraq War Vet September 11, 2008BEGIN TRANSCRIPTRUSH: This is such a great thing. I found it on YouTube yesterday. There is mild controversy surrounding this ad because it is suggested by Democrats that it was paid for by John McCain and his campaign. It has not been. It was not paid for by anybody other than the man who did it. His name is Joe Cook, and Joe Cook is an injured Iraq war vet, lost his lower leg, foot. But you don't know that until the end of the piece. The piece starts with...

DO NOT MISS THIS VIDEO OF A WAR HERO WHO SUPPORTS McCAIN

This is a very moving commercial made by a Iraq War Vet

Wow! Vets for Freedom is out with this fantastic ad called, "I am the Surge." It features American heroes saying, "I am the Surge," and they call on viewers to call Sen. Barack Obama and ask him to support a Senate Resolution 636 introduced to recognize the success of the Surge Strategy in Iraq. The resolution was introduced by Sen. Joe Lieberman and Sen. Lindsey Graham. Very powerful! . . . (see video)

DENVER — The conservative group Vets for Freedom is launching a $1.1 million ad buy during the Democratic National Convention, using video of Iraq war veterans to take Barack Obama to task for not giving the surge policy sufficient credit for improvement in battleground conditions. ADVERTISEMENT The 30-second spot, called “I Am the Surge,” features three Iraq war veterans who served in the surge of U.S. military forces into Iraq: Gabriel Herrera, David Thul and Travis Quinlan. The ad will run in Denver and Minnesota during the conventions, and for the next four weeks in the swing states of Ohio,...

Democrat Barack Obama used his appearance Tuesday at a Veterans of Foreign Wars convention to attack Republican John McCain's critique of him to the group a day earlier - but got a cooler reception than did the Vietnam veteran running against him for president. Obama denied McCain's assertions that he was for failure in Iraq, or shifting his anti-war stance out of expediency, or in any way basing his foreign policy on a strategy to win the presidency. "Let's have a serious debate, and let's debate our disagreements on the merits of policy - not personal attacks," Obama said. Obama...

Days before Denver's Democratic Convention, Barrack Obama is standing tall and striking back. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama Tuesday urged his Republican opponent, Senator John McCain, to stop questioning his character and patriotism. Obama spoke to the same veterans group in Florida that McCain addressed the day before when he accused Obama of putting his political ambitions ahead of U.S. national interests. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has the latest on the presidential campaign from Washington. Senator Obama told the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Orlando, Florida, that Afghanistan remains the central front in the war on terrorism, and...

PRINCETON, NJ -- With both presidential candidates addressing the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention this week (John McCain on Monday and Barack Obama on Tuesday), Gallup finds that registered voters who have served in the U.S. military solidly back McCain over Obama, 56% to 34%. This is based on aggregated data from Aug. 5-17 Gallup Poll Daily tracking, involving interviews with more than 11,000 registered voters, including 2,238 military veterans. Veterans are defined as those who are or have been members of the U.S. military. Obama leads McCain 46% to 43% among all registered voters during this time.

ORLANDO, FLA. -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama defended his patriotism today, chiding rival John McCain for impugning his integrity and challenging the Republican to acknowledge that they can disagree without maligning each other. "I have never suggested that Sen. McCain picks his positions on national security based on politics or personal ambition," Obama told an audience of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. "I have not suggested it because I believe that he genuinely wants to serve America's national interest. Now it's time for him to acknowledge that I want to do the same." One day after McCain addressed the...

US Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) speaks at the VFW's Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida, August 19, 2008. REUTERS/Jim Young (UNITED STATES) US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN 2008 (USA)

<p>Addressing the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention, Obama reaffirmed his early opposition to the U.S. invasion of Iraq and said the so-called "surge" strategy of sending 30,000 additional troops to Iraq last year had not produced the political reconciliation necessary to achieve lasting peace in the country. McCain supported the Iraq invasion and was an early champion of the surge.</p>

Obama calls on McCain to acknowledge his patriotism Obama tries to push back McCain's shots at his character, without impugning McCain's, in a speech to veterans today. In particular, he's demanding that McCain call him a patriot -- forcing the direct question to a candidate who, at times, shies away from his own harsh attacks; and pressing a storyline Obama likes: That McCain is Mr. Negative. From the prepared remarks: But one of the things that we have to change in this country is the idea that people can't disagree without challenging each other's character and patriotism. I have never...

Here is video of a major portion of John McCain's remarks to the National VFW Convention meeting in Orlando, Florida, August 18, 2008. He hammered Barack Obama for his opposition to the Surge Strategy in Iraq, saying Obama not only predicted the Surge would fail but tried to "legislate failure" by opposing funding for the troops. . . (see video)

Here is video of Sen. John McCain hammering Barack Obama on his opposition to the Surge Strategy in Iraq in pursuit of his ambition to be President. McCain pointed out that Obama not only predicted failure of the Surge Strategy, he tired to "legislate failure" once the Surge was underway be voting against funding for the U.S. Troops in the field who were carrying out the Surge. McCain made the remarks during an address before the National VFW Convention meeting in Orlando, Florida today, August 18, 2008. . . . (see video)

Republican presidential candidate and former prisoner of war John McCain took off the gloves at the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) convention in Florida on Monday, accusing his opponent of putting personal ambition in front of national interest in opposing the troop surge in Iraq. McCain accused Democratic rival Barack Obama of "shifting positions" on the surge, adding that the Illinois senator's opposition to the surge and subsequent troop funding bills provided a "clarifying moment." "Not content to merely predict failure in Iraq, my opponent tried to legislate failure," McCain said. He added: "It was a moment when political self-interest...

ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign today announced that John McCain will speak at the 109th Annual Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States National Convention in Orlando, Florida on Monday, August 18th. Monday, August 18, 2008 ORLANDO, FLORIDA WHO: John McCain WHAT: Speech WHEN: Monday, August 18, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. EDT WHERE: Orange County Convention Center 9800 International Drive Orlando, Florida 32819

A Voice We Can Trust As a young man, Jim Gilmore volunteered for the United States Army during the Vietnam Era when many people were trying to avoid military service. He graduated with honors from the Army Intelligence School and Defense Language Institute and he was placed in the 650th Military Intelligence Group stationed in Germany. ... After his service in the U.S. Army, Jim Gilmore received a law degree at the University of Virginia and received assistance as a result of the G.I. Bill. As Governor of Virginia, Jim Gilmore reduced Virginia taxes. Later he was appointed Chairman of...

There’s an old saying in politics that elections are won or lost one vote at a time. On Friday, DFL-endorsed U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken demonstrated how true that saying can be, when a roundtable on veterans issues at Brigitte’s Cafe his campaign scheduled drew only one participant. Josh John, a St. Cloud resident who said he served in the Navy from 2000-04, had Franken to himself for an hour as he described difficulties he faced returning from his tour of duty and the help he received from his Veterans Services Office and the St. Cloud VA Medical Center.

INDIANAPOLIS, IN -- U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign today announced the leadership of Indiana Veterans for McCain, a statewide grassroots organization that will work to bolster John McCain's support within Indiana's veterans' community. With 150 members representing all service branches, the group's membership spans generations, including veterans from World War II to the combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. "John McCain's distinguished service in the United States Navy is a matter of record and there is no doubting his sacrifice for America as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. His history of putting his country first, from Hanoi to...

Retired Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Lambert is scheduled to campaign in Fayetteville today on behalf of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. Lambert is the former commanding general of the Army Special Forces Command (Airborne) and the school for Green Berets at Fort Bragg.

When I heard Barack Obama had planned a trip to visit Landstuhl Military Hospital in Germany, I knew from personal experience how much of a lift it would have given the hundreds of soldiers recovering from war wounds there. As fate would have it, I was sent to Landstuhl two years ago, after my lower legs were shattered by shrapnel from a mortar round in Iraq. After undergoing surgery, I spent nearly a month as a bedridden patient in the recovery care unit, uncertain whether or not I would ever walk again. It was around July 4th and I was...

Both major presidential candidates have been invited to the event, which CBS has agreed to broadcast live. So far, only Mr. McCain has agreed to attend. [...] Obama campaign spokeswoman Shannon Gilson said that while the senator has a scheduling conflict on Aug. 11, he "strongly supports" veterans and military families, and he has worked hard on their behalf in the Senate. U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois is expected to attend a private fundraiser for his presidential campaign on Aug. 12 at the Halekulani Hotel, several sources said.

(dpa) - Senator John McCain, 71, heads to the unlikely town of Sturgis, South Dakota, on Monday to rub elbows with the rowdy tattooed rebels of the American roads at a campground rock concert. With a population of 780,000, South Dakota on the Great Plains is hardly an election-day prize for either McCain's Republican Party or rival Democrats. But the state doubles in population during the annual August motorcycle rally in Sturgis, at the foot of the Black Hills, that draws an estimated 500,000 to 600,000 out-of-state "wild hogs" who roar cross country to celebrate their bike culture. McCain plans...

DENVER, July 25 (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain slammed Democratic rival Barack Obama on Friday for poor judgment on the Iraq war, laying out in sharp terms his argument the Illinois senator should not be commander in chief. McCain, a Vietnam War veteran, said if Obama had succeeded in his effort to prevent last year's boost in U.S. troop levels in Iraq, American forces would have had to retreat under fire, the Iraqi army would have collapsed and al Qaeda would have found a safe haven. "Had his position been adopted, we would have lost both wars" in...

Here is video of Sen. John McCain telling a group of Hispanic Veterans in Denver that, "Fortunately, Sen. Obama failed; not our military." McCain was speaking of Obama's attempts to block the Surge Strategy in Iraq, a failure in judgment McCain says he cannot conceive of in a Commander-in-Chief. . . . (see video)

Thank you for that kind introduction and warm welcome. I want to begin by talking about an issue in this campaign that I know concerns you as it concerns all Americans: the war in Iraq. Thankfully, the news from Iraq today is much more encouraging than I could have reported to you last year. Eighteen months ago, America faced a crisis as profound as any in our history. Iraq was in flames, torn apart by violence that was escaping our control. Al Qaeda was succeeding in what Osama bin Laden called the central front in their war against us. The...

My heart was in my throat. Someone say McCain can’t give a good speech? Well, the live speech he just gave at the American GI Forum in Denver was something that really moved me, and I believe it would any true American. Especially the story of Benavidez, whom honestly I knew nothing about. I was watching on FOX News, cable. Prior to McCain describing us the story of Benavidez (and I’m sorry and ashamed, I am so ignorant of him that I do not even know if I am spelling his name correctly, and yet such an American hero should...

Prepared text of speech delivered at the 2008 American GI Forum of the United States National Convention in Denver:Thank you for that kind introduction and warm welcome. I want to begin by talking about an issue in this campaign that I know concerns you as it concerns all Americans: the war in Iraq. Thankfully, the news from Iraq today is much more encouraging than I could have reported to you last year. Eighteen months ago, America faced a crisis as profound as any in our history. Iraq was in flames, torn apart by violence that was escaping our control. Al...

McCain is going after Obama on funding for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Live on Foxnews Give em hell! The more I hear McCain speak the more I'm liking...

Voters who have served in the U.S. military favor John McCain over Barack Obama by a 56% to 37% margin. This data, from a Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey, is based upon interviews with 3,000 Likely Voters, including 588 voters who have served in the military. Voters with no military service favor Obama 50% to 43%. The survey was conducted July 21-23 while Obama was on an overseas tour that included Afghanistan and Iraq. Overall, the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll showed Obama leading 48% to 45% (with leaners) over those three days.

Barack Obama Wisconsin campaign officials today used local veteran Obama backers in seeking to counter an ad by Republican presidential candidate John McCain that accuses the Democrat of shifting his views on the war in Iraq. At a press event next to the Wisconsin Veterans Museum, Chief Warrant Officer David Boetcher, a 27-year veteran of the Wisconsin Army National Guard, blasted McCain's voting record on veteran's health care, hospital funding, veteran's education benefits and equipping soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. "It shows that he's no longer voting for veterans. He's voting for something else," Boetcher said. Boetcher, a Waunakee...

As retired military officers, we share a natural hesitancy to engage actively in politics. There is a healthy discomfort in our profession with any political involvement because the country rightly depends on our military to support any commander in chief with our best military advice and our actions. But two factors compel us to speak out now and openly support John McCain for President: first, the surprising and inaccurate questioning of his record by some of Senator Obama's leading supporters; and second, the importance to our national security of winning the war we are fighting. The United States is confronted...

Vets for Freedom 'Four Months to Victory' Campaign On July 9, 2008, Vets for Freedom (VFF) kicked off a nationwide campaign entitled “Four Months For Victory.� This grassroots effort, combined with a $1.5 million media buy, will remind Virginians of the importance of success in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the War on Terror as a whole. VFF was founded two years ago by combat veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. Today, our organization carries membership of 25,000 in all fifty states. The Virginia organization has 350 registered members, as well as countless supporters. We represent the courage, conviction and commitment...

In the decades since they shared a prison cell in North Vietnam, George "Bud" Day has remained a close friend of Republican John McCain and emerged as a staunch opponent of Democrats seeking the presidency. As he did in 2004, when he took the lead in questioning Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry's Vietnam War record, Day is eager this fall to do whatever he can to retain the White House for the Republicans _ especially this Republican. "I just want everyone to understand the difference between a board-certified physician and a student in medical school, because that is the difference,"...

For the first time, the presidential campaign of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is about to get a substantial hand from advertisements by an outside group. Conservative and Republican groups have been largely quiet, leaving McCain heavily outmatched by Sen. Barack Obama's campaign fundraising juggernaut. Next week, Vets for Freedom — a 20,000-member, nonpartisan organization established by combat veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — plans to begin spending more than $1 million on a TV campaign that will include Ohio, Virginia and New Mexico. The group plans to spend millions more and to add other states to the...

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is scheduled to pay a solemn visit to wounded Iraq veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington on Saturday, Politico has learned. The visit will be Obama’s third. Obama’s staff is keeping his trip low key. It is not on his public schedule, and his campaign would not confirm it. A pool of reporters will go with him, but will not accompany him inside. (snip) McCain occasionally visits soldiers at Walter Reed on weekends when he is in Washington, most recently May 31. McCain’s visits are usually unannounced to the press, and sometimes he...

The McCain campaign's flat-footedness amid revelations of dangerous government drug testing on veterans reflects very unfavorably on the candidate. Whereas Barack Obama swiftly condemned the Department of Veterans Affairs on Tuesday morning, John McCain, perhaps the nation's most famous wounded veteran, still had not made any public remarks by our deadline last evening. Some scandals require studious silence until the facts emerge. This isn't one of them. As a three-month Washington Times/ABC News investigation revealed this week, the VA is administering drugs with severe potential side effects to hundreds of military veterans participating in studies that fail Medical Ethics 101:...

On Friday, Vets for Freedom PAC released an advertisement featuring Iraq war veteran Sergeant Garrett Anderson. The ad points out that Senator Obama was unwilling to meet with Illinois veterans, has never met with General Petraeus, and hasn’t visited Iraq in over two years. The facts are the facts, and the ad speaks for itself.

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...

On a gray Tuesday morning on Capitol Hill Sen. John McCain addressed several hundred members of Vets for Freedom -- the largest Iraq and Afghanistan veterans' organizations in the country. In DC's upper Senate Park, McCain and other pro-victory Senators and Congressmen rallied for success in Iraq. The event was timed to support the same day U.S. Commander in Iraq Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker returned to Washington to present their latest progress reports. Washington was one of VFF's last stops in the three-week National Heroes Tour, on which members spoke to and encouraged crowds...

Here is video in three parts of today's speech (April 7, 2008) by Sen. John McCain to the Veterans of Foreign Wars Headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri. From the introduction McCain received, it is clear how VFW feels about the need to elect a President who will not say with words alone he/she "supports the troops," but will prove it by supporting the mission they have sacrificed and died for as well. McCain delivers a great speech here, making it clear that the Democrats are offering a recipe for disaster in calling for a "reckless and irresponsible retreat from Iraq,"...