Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
By Ben Adler
Charlotte, N.C. — Last week, the Republican National Convention made it abundantly clear what their message was each night. Tuesday was "We Built It!"—a rejoinder to President Obama's mythical admonishment to business executives that their companies were built by government, not their own labor. Wednesday was "We Can Change it!," and Thursday was Mitt Romney's biographical night.
The Democratic convention has not offered any such clear nightly agendas. But that's by design, says the Obama campaign. "Our themes will be weaved throughout all the nights," campaign spokesman Brent Colburn said at a briefing Tuesday. And as an example of a recurrent theme, Colburn pointed to veterans and the military.
Among the military or vet-themed events:
• Tuesday will feature speeches from Lieutenant General Claudia Kennedy (retired), the first woman to reach the rank of three-star general in the U.S. Army, and Tammy Duckworth, a wounded Iraq War vet, candidate for Congress from Illinois and former Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
• First Lady Michelle Obama, also speaking Tuesday, will be introduced by Elaine Brye of Winona, Ohio—a mother of five children, four of whom are each currently serving in a different branch of the armed forces.
• On Wednesday, there will be a video honoring veterans as "American Heroes," along with speeches from veterans advocate Ed Meagher, who served in the Air Force, and from Veterans Administration Secretary, Gen. Erik Shinseki (retired).
• On Thursday, Sen. John Kerry, a Vietnam veteran who chairs the Foreign Relations Committee, will discuss foreign policy.
Why the focus on veterans? Democrats believe that President Obama's strong record on veterans' affairs should enable him to make inroads with the usually Republican-leaning voting bloc.
"He ended the Iraq War responsibly, fully funded the Veterans Administration for the first time in years, and put resources into mental health, which was ignored in previous administrations," Mike Evans, an Army veteran, chair of the Missouri chapter of Veterans for Obama, and a DNC alternate delegate, said in an interview Monday evening. Evans also noted that Obama has opened up access to rural health centers so that veterans—who are often disabled and poor—do not have to drive hundreds of miles for health services. And, Evans pointed out, Obama has created a tax credit for companies that hire unemployed veterans.
Those accomplishments are all real enough. But you might notice something missing from this list: the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. Allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military polls well with the general public, but could it turn off some military or veteran voters? Evans asserts that it won't be a liability for Obama. But that, as well as the cuts to defense spending required by the sequestration process, could provide lines of attack for Republicans.
Still, veterans are a large and important constituency in many swing states. Missouri has over 600,000 veterans, and if Obama is to put it in play—something Democrats think is more possible since Todd Akin, running as a Republican for the Senate from the state, claimed rape victims cannot get pregnant—veteran outreach could be essential to Obama's chances. That's why veterans will be a recurring theme this week in Charlotte.
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What needs to be remembered about President Obama is what an excellent Commander-in-Chief he has been for our troops. He has ended the war in Iraq and is working on winding down the war in Afghanistan. President Obama has created a new type of counter-terror warfare using drone aircraft, Special Forces, and Ranger troops with precision guided weapons that creates a super-precise outcome. About 30 major al Qaida leaders including Osama bin Laden have been eliminated from Yemen to Pakistan. President Obama has shown himself to be a war leader and a diplomat at the same time. Qadaffy was eliminated by his own people after an American supported NATO coalition under NATO command blockaded Libya and drove Qadaffy from power without a single American combat casualty.
Likewise, President Obama deserves very high marks on his handling of the standoff with Iran. President Obama has approved $66 billion in U.S. arms sales to our moderate Arab friends in the Persian Gulf to deter any Iranian aggression. He has dispatched Patriot III short ranged anti-ballistic missiles to guard Persian Gulf oil infrastructure with U.S. Army soldiers from FT Bliss, Texas plus a U.S. Navy Aegis class cruisers. Diplomatic moves have been coalesced around forming tough sanctions with our allies against the Iranian regime.
All of these moves are classic George Kennan out of the policy of containment under President Truman. President Obama has also tried to engage the Iranians with diplomacy with only mixed results so far. But the strategic approach President Obama has taken is one of a multilateral approach to conflict containment of diplomacy, military sales of up to date hardware to our allies in the region, and deployment of military forces to deter any Iranian aggression such as shooting short ranged ballistic missiles at its neighbors. President Obama has also worked closely with Israel to make sure Israeli concerns are addressed. All of these things will work in our favor as the sanctions erodes the public's confidence in the Iranian regime while reckless bombing will rally the Iranian public behind the Iranian regime being counterproductive and extremely dangerous for world peace.
I'm a veteran, and Obama sucks. He's a wuss and makes a terrible CIC.
The GOP right now is down right absurd. I did 20 years on active duty and think Obama is a fine Commander in Chief for all the reasons I wrote above. Good old George Bush sure made some asinine decisions about Iraq. Regardless of what you say Iraq was a horrible stupid war that will by itself cost the taxpayer more than $3 trillion long term. Romney/Ryan seem like they want to pick a fight with Iran. This bellicose attitude right now is absurd because the ground combat units of the Army and the Marine Corps are exhausted after ten years in the Iraq wars and Afghanistan. Also I think the whole Bush strategy of occupying a country is really stupid strategy. President Obama has done a good job with building up a counter-terror strategy with Special Forces and drone aircraft. This type warfare requires few ground troops. Plus President Obama has worked very closely with our NATO allies and our with our coalition partners in the Persian Gulf to isolate Iran, contain Iran militarily, and put economic sanctions without attacking Iran which I regard as suicidal unless of course you like $200 per gallon oil or fuel that costs $8 or $10 per gallon which would be the immediate result of any attack on Iran. I guess this explains why we will never attack Iran because it is suicide for America. Does Romney ever think about this from all his vast military experience?
I'm a Vet also and I totally agree with Rex from Minnesota. I remember when President Bush went into Iraq & Afghanistan, I thought then have you asked the Russians, or the British Government anything at all about the past Wars in this region. As I remember Russia had a hard time in Afghanistan, and England didn't do so well in Iraq. Romney/Ryan and Chaney want to keep the Wars going because Companies Like Halliburton made a lot of money from War. So remember always follow the Money. No One ever said anything about the exclusive Deal Bush Chaney gave Halliburton, but it's is against Government policy not to be inclusive with Government Contracts. As long as their kids are not in these Wars they are for them.