"Commander In Chief" Obama To Appear With Military Brass

[southern_belle]

Source: The Huffington Post

As the Clinton campaign continues to hammer Barack Obama on defense issues -- chief Clinton strategist Mark Penn tells the New Yorker that Obama is "not ready" to be commander in chief -- Obama will appear today with former secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force (all of whom served in Bill Clinton's administration).

Read the press release:

Washington, DC - Today, former service secretaries for each of the Armed Forces - Clifford Alexander, Jr. (US Army), Richard Danzig (US Navy), and F. Whitten Peters (US Air Force) - will host a press conference in Washington, DC to discuss why Obama has demonstrated the judgment and has the experience to be Commander In Chief.

WHAT: Press Conference with Top Military Advisors for the Obama Campaign

WHO: Former Service Secretaries for each of the Armed Forces

Secretary Clifford Alexander, Jr. (US Army - Carter Administration)

Secretary Richard Danzig (US Navy - Clinton Administration)

Secretary F. Whitten Peters (US Air Force - Clinton Administration)

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/10/commander-in-chief-obam_n_90698.html

---

It doesn't state the time.

Edited to add blockquotes.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

1. and his cabinet will be "well stocked"

Glad to see this.

[papau]

42. A reserve grunt and navy reserve "officer" and a nothing - quite a list of "Commanders"

[Just-plain-Kathy]

44. "former service SECRETARIES FOR EACH OF THE ARMED FORCES"

Truth be told.

[papau]

53. true - and they did wonders with better education and cutting the budget

[fjc]

50. And how did you serve, bub?

[SoxFan]

68. Another armchair Rambo

Papau, that is.

[babylonsister]

2. Love it! Thanks! nt

[southern_belle]

4. Thanks. Me too!

It should be awesome! :toast:

[0007]

Yahoo!

[goclark]

3. Bring them on ~ that's the way to work with the CLINTON's

[democrank]

5. Yes he can!

~PEACE~

[jimlup]

6. Clinton resorts to the standard republican arguement

I don't think the same old tired repuklian arguement will play with real democrates. I'm sick of Hillary and her self righteousness. Time for Obama!

[MagsDem]

58. The rethug argument is that experience is necessary?

I don't think so. They elected George Bush, remember? The rethug argument seems to be that experience is not required, which is also Obama's argument.

[niceypoo]

59. And Obama responds by insinuating he will be like Bill Clinton

via appearing with his military brass, how bizarre is that?

[Bryan]

7. Impressive!

Good to see that Obama is already makig inroads with the military.

[Cha]

75. Oh yeah, we had 24 year old Marine on here from

Dallas who said he was supporting Obama because he was against bombing Iraq in Oct 2002! And he said a lot in the military felt that way.

[Inuca]

8. Excellent

Strange that there is no time... I wonder whether BO will actually be present since he has events at 9:30 and 5:00 in MS http://www.barackobama.com/index.php

[qnr]

9. Ha ha ha ha ha

Dream on.

[southern_belle]

10. More info on news conference

The press conference will be held in Washington, DC to discuss why Obama has demonstrated the judgment and has the experience to be Commander In Chief."

"The event will be held at the United Food and Commercial Workers, 1775 K Street, NW - 11th Floor at 1pm today."

Source: http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Clinton_military_brass_join_ranks_with_0310.html

[Inuca]

11. 1:00 ET

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/3/10/8156/43690/504/473428

[southern_belle]

13. Thanks, Inuca

:hi:

[flor de jasmim]

12. Does anyone know how to find out if it'll be livestreamed?

[Inuca]

14. No idea, but

since neither the House nor the Senate are in session until 2, maybe CSPAN will oblige. It may be covered, at least in part, on the news channels I guess...

[flor de jasmim]

Thanks -

[flor de jasmim]

15. Thanks -

[femmedem]

16. Woot!

What a smartly run campaign.

[catgirl]

17. Kick! (nt)

[Divernan]

18. Clinton's own Service Secretaries don't want HRC near that red phone!

How can the Clintonistas spin THIS one? These were Bill Clinton's TOP military brass.
If HRC claims she was so intimately involved in Bill's White House decisions, these guys would have gotten a good look at her - and didn't like what they saw. OR, she WASN'T involved in any military matters, and the top brass are judging her solely on her actions in the Senate, and prefer Obama.

The 80 distinguished lawyers (including Don Guter, recently retired head of Navy JAG w/ rank of Vice Admiral, and now Dean of the Duquesne University School of Law) working to restore habeas corpus and with the Guantanamo military courts, endorsed Obama because Obama made his offices and staff available to help them lobby Congress, as opposed to Hillary who gave them a smile and a handshake and that's all.

[txaslftist]

55. I was reading somewhere today that Obama should run that ad...

...and have a woman's voice pick up the phone, and in a flat midwestern voice say, "Bill... it's for you."

[YOY]

19. I wish there was a way to know just how snuggly prospective secretaries would be with the MIC

If Obama can refocus the Military Industrial Complex into doing soemthing USEFULL for a change I'd be even more behind him.

[eridani]

69. Both Obama and Clinton are pretty snuggly that way

If they weren't, they wouldn't be allowed to be frontrunners.

[grahamhgreen]

20. 3AM

A phone rings.

Hillary Answers.

"Ms. President, we've just been attacked by 16 Saudi's flying a jet into the WTC."

Hillary: "Great. Let's attack Iraq!"

............

Version 2:

Mcain answers: He starts singing "Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran".

[indio55555]

21. naa.

3 A.m. Phone rings...


Hillary: "Get the phone Bill... I have 35 years of experience".

[earthlover]

29. "why do I always get the first question?"...

[lark]

48. Phone rings, Obama says

"yes they can", or votes present and hangs up, one or the other.

[humbled_opinion]

22. Smart move

Giving Obama the CINC credibility now can be cushion for the inevitable attacks by the repukes. I can hear them now... "The country is at War, how can we trust this junior Senator to run the Military", and "Obama will sit down to negotiate with our adversaries, rewarding them for the bad behavior that they exhibit" and of course the old... "Obama will turn the military controls over to NATO"...

LOL... Hopefully America is smart enough to see through that crap but in the event people aren't doing things like this only helps.

[mcollier]

23. Experience is a debate Obama can win...

Helping real people, resolve real issues is the experience Obama has been engaged in for many years. He can be trusted because he has the judgment and the proven record of the kind of responsible honorable respresentative of the people he has represented in the past. We can expect greater things from Barack Obama in the future.

The argument of being ready on national security is a hard sell considering the Bush Administration leaders, G. Bush 1, G. Bush 2, Dick Cheney, Don Rumsfeld, Paul Wofliwiz, and others having connected 30 years of experience inside the leadership of the US Government have made more mistakes that have seriously hurt 100s of millions... It was their judgment, perverted grasp for power, and corporate interests that were influencial in their capacity to FUBAR the US standing in the world.

Hillary siding with John Mccain over Barack Obama on experience does not help Democrats nor all of Americans.

All Hillary supporters, I appreciate your attention to this matter... I ask you to join the Obama team to help take our country in an new direction, one of openness, honesty, integrity, hope, respect, wise judgment and prosperity... Together we can make the difference. We all have worked hard to get power back to the people. With Barack Obama, we have that opportunity...

[JPZenger]

24. Would be nice to have former Sec. of Navy Webb There

I wish Sen. Webb would be there. He was Sec. of the Navy under Reagan, and is credited with cleaning up after a disastrous predecessor.

[humbled_opinion]

52. I had Received a Navy Commendation Medal

Signed by Jim Webb....

[indimuse]

25. Just like President Hillary!! can you say...

copy cat...meow!

[shadowknows69]

30. Copy cat?

What are you four?

[HCE SuiGeneris]

51. An "Ignored" acting like a 4 y/o?

Who woulda thunk... ;-)

[gtar100]

71. Only some people would consider that a picture of anger - the gullible kind

Nice try. Stick with the dumbed-down part of America, if you want to. But smarter people understand the dynamics of emotion and expression. This is not anger, this is passion and conviction. Michelle Obama will make a wonderful First Lady. Do you prefer to wallow in condescension? No one can stop you but you. We'll miss you until you come to your senses.

[ensho]

26. but what do the current top brass think of Obama?

if he wins he will be working with the current top brass who are all neo cons.

like, how can that happen?

[Divernan]

28. He can replace the neocons. Active duty military are not allowed to voice political opinions.

[ensho]

49. until he replaces them he has to work with them, they are neo con

and don't play well with others.

[Cogito ergo doleo]

27. Perfect.

That's the way to do it. :woohoo:

[Tyler Durden]

31. Is Huffingtonpost a REAL news source, or a glorified blog?

I mean, I like to read their stuff, it isn't exactly BBC or REUTERS now, is it?

[krkaufman]

32. This has been posted for an hour and a half ...

... and no one's noted that these guys don't matter??

[Divernan]

35. HILLARYous!. clintonistas can't trash Bill's choices for Service Secretaries.

[happygoluckytoyou]

33. BREAKING NEWS ----------> PLEASE CHECK THIS OUT!!!

ORANGE ALERT ORANGE ALERT ORANGE ALERT ORANGE ALERT ORANGE ALERT ORANGE ALERT ORANGE ALERT

Fox News reports that today Britany broke a nail, Paris broke a heart, Linsey broke wind, Snow has covered Ohio, the Surge is working, Oprah has a new tv show, Lassie came home, and in a related story, presidential hopeful Barack HUSSAIN Obama, alleged Muslim cleric and possibly the illegimate black child of John McCain, known for his wife's nasty disregard for America and his own unwillingness to wear a lapel pin or say the pledge of.... I'm sorry but there is no time left to discuss WHY Barack was being hauled in front of several Military good-Americans today--- but speculation is that it has something to do with National Security, and the name HUSSAIN keeps popping up....

STAY TUNED AMERICA....FOX NEWS IS ON THE JOB

[K Gardner]

60. OK.. that's funny :-) Thanks for the laugh !

[msanthrope]

34. So, Hillary Critiques Him, Obama Runs and Does a Photo-Op To

Respond to Said Critique----

Obama's just admitted that Hillary has a point, thus, the photo-op to counter her.

And this is the guy who is supposed to run against the Republicans?

[krkaufman]

36. Ummm.... the presser would be to demonstrate that her point is false. n/t

[msanthrope]

39. The "presser?" What, did you read that somewhere on a blog?

You've missed my point---calling a photo-op in response to criticism tends to highlight the criticism.

A more seasoned and thoughtful politician would have woven the concept into already-existing events, thus:

1) addressing the critique; and,

2) not having a knee-jerk reaction.

As I indicated, Obama does not demonstrate an ability to effectively counter spin--if Hillary can make him jump like this, imagine what the wingers will do....

[krkaufman]

41. He's had poor response on several issues in the last few weeks.

Somewhat surprising, but nothing to be too concerned about at this point.

For someone possessing such superior knowledge, I would have thought you'd be familiar with the term "presser." Go figure.

[goclark]

56. Billary is a phto op

and a LIE Machine.

[GMFORD]

77. Hillary played a former General and

Obama trumped her with no less than three former armed services Secretaries. I call that a winner for him.

You may not have noticed but he runs a positive campaign, only responding to Hillary when she throws out these absurd accusations. And when he does respond he does it with superior firepower and with class. He refuses to roll in the mud with her.

Oh, and by the way, he did address the critique also. Did you happen to catch his speech in MS?

Don't worry about Obama, his superior campaign has things under control.

[John Q. Citizen]

78. The wingers will lose just like Hillary is losing. There's no success like success.

[oasis]

37. The $55 million Obama raised last month is being put to good use. (eom)

;-)

[papau]

43. A Photo OP of 3 folks that never had active field command of anything at any level - WOW

[Cha]

74. hilary lies and uses her Fear Cards from

hell. Get outta the gutter, hilary..your dress is gettin' dirty.

[yellerpup]

38. Obama has a plan, a strategy, awesome management abilities,

an ass-kicking campaign, major political endorsements, and now Bill Clinton's cabinet members from the military branches onboard. Man, that must have been quite "A speech back in 2002."


I'm excited.:kick: :woohoo: :applause: :woohoo:

[Cha]

76. It was!...

Barack Obama Oct 2002

<snip>

"What I am opposed to is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war. What I am opposed to is the cynical attempt by Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz and other armchair, weekend warriors in this administration to shove their own ideological agendas down our throats, irrespective of the costs in lives lost and in hardships borne.

What I am opposed to is the attempt by political hacks like Karl Rove to distract us from a rise in the uninsured, a rise in the poverty rate, a drop in the median income - to distract us from corporate scandals and a stock market that has just gone through the worst month since the Great Depression. That's what I'm opposed to. A dumb war. A rash war. A war based not on reason but on passion, not on principle but on politics. Now let me be clear - I suffer no illusions about Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal man. A ruthless man. A man who butchers his own people to secure his own power. He has repeatedly defied UN resolutions, thwarted UN inspection teams, developed chemical and biological weapons, and coveted nuclear capacity. He's a bad guy. The world, and the Iraqi people, would be better off without him.

But I also know that Saddam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors, that the Iraqi economy is in shambles, that the Iraqi military a fraction of its former strength, and that in concert with the international community he can be contained until, in the way of all petty dictators, he falls away into the dustbin of history. I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a US occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of Al Qaeda. I am not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars.

So for those of us who seek a more just and secure world for our children, let us send a clear message to the President today. You want a fight, President Bush? Let's finish the fight with Bin Laden and Al Qaeda, through effective, coordinated intelligence, and a shutting down of the financial networks that support terrorism, and a homeland security program that involves more than color-coded warnings. You want a fight, President Bush?"

<continued>
http://www.barackobama.com/2002/10/02/remarks_of_illinois_state_sen.php

[CatholicEdHead]

40. The last thing he needs is a Dukasis-like slip up

with national defense photo-ops.

[Vinca]

45. Touche. nt

[AtomicKitten]

46. "Clinton Military Brass Join Ranks With Obama Campaign"

K&R

Clinton military brass join ranks with Obama campaign
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Clinton_military_brass_join_ranks_with_0310.html

RAW STORY
Published: Monday March 10, 2008

Clinton Secretary of Navy, Air Force to tout Obama's credentials. ccording to a press release from the Obama campaign Monday morning, the candidate's staff will appear with top military brass today "to discuss why Obama has demonstrated the judgment and has the experience to be Commander In Chief."

"Today, former service secretaries for each of the Armed Forces – Clifford Alexander, Jr. (US Army), Richard Danzig (US Navy), and F. Whitten Peters (US Air Force) – will host a press conference in Washington, DC to discuss why Obama has demonstrated the judgment and has the experience to be Commander In Chief," the release writes.

Among those attending: "Secretary Clifford Alexander, Jr. (US Army – Carter Administration), Secretary Richard Danzig (US Navy – Clinton Administration) and Secretary F. Whitten Peters (US Air Force – Clinton Administration."

The event will be held at the United Food and Commercial Workers, 1775 K Street, NW - 11th Floor at 1pm today.

[MaraJade]

67. Ummmm. . .

They want to get the JOBS, I figure!

Who wouldn't?

What bothers me is the hubris of the Obama campaign that he's going to win. How in the worlds
is he going to do that if the Hillary supporters abandon him (and they will)?!

[AdHocSolver]

82. If Hillary supporters don't support an Obama candidacy in the GE, then McCain will win and...

the Democratic party will be fractured beyond repair. The onus for such a debacle will be on Clinton's head. If Hillary's idea is that she will be happy that McCain would beat Obama so that she can run in 2012, she is delusional. There wouldn't be enough of a Democratic party left for her to run for dogcatcher. Hillary's political career would be over.

The Clintons and their DLC backers imagine themselves to be feudal lords who can manipulate Democrats as if they were serfs. Their actions can only be explained by a hubris that is supported by delusions of grandeur.

Neither Clinton, nor Obama, nor John McCain has the expected qualifications to be C in C. Spending five years in a POW camp does not give one expertise in military affairs. Bill Clinton had no relevant experience. Neither did George W. Bush. Daddy Bush was in the Army Air Corps in WWII, JFK was in the Navy, and Truman was in the army in WWI. However, Ronald Reagan, who "singlehandedly defeated the Soviet union" only played a soldier in a war movie.

In modern times, only Dwight Eisenhower truly had credentials to be Commander-in-Chief. Decision making requires getting good information from competent people and then using good judgment in making decisions. The only one of the three contenders who sounds reasonable to me is Obama. Clinton has "adjusted" her position all over the Iraq war debate, and McCain sounds certifiably looney.

Whoever is president will need to surround themselves with competent advisors. Beyond that, the president needs to have sound judgment to use that expertise to make good decisions.

[Skittles]

83. if he is the great uniter everyone says he is

he could surely find a way, right?

[Igel]

47. "Brass", for me, usually means people who have stars and other

insignia of rank on their collars. People who have risen through the chain of command to the upper echelons of the hierarchy.

Privates aren't brass (although certain parts of one's privates may merit the description); civilians aren't brass.

These guys are civilians. Lawyers. Political appointees, usually chosen not because of their command experience, but for reasons of politics and policies.

At least Peters *had been* in the military, and went to officer's school ... and then he ran a computer division. Danzig's battle experience was clerking for a Supreme Court justice.

"Brass"? As I said, "political appointees".

[txaslftist]

54. Wow. Before I read the article, I thought it was the band...

Like the trumpets and tubas and stuff...

doh.

[MagsDem]

57. LOL - because if he STANDS next to people like that....

... he will gain experience based on osmosis. Yeah. Right.

[ExtraGriz]

64. osmosis....thats nasty, i love it...lol

[GoObama]

61. Brass

Doing a bit of checking at Wikipedia, I see that Richard Danzig was strictly a civilian with no military service, Clifford Alexander served for a year in the New York National Guard back in 1958 and F. Whitten Peters served for 3 years in the Navy.

In other words, John Kerry had more active military service than these guys combined. One thing that they all share is that they are all lawyers with solid legal background with makes them ideally suited as bureaucrats.

Is this really the best that Obama can do as far as rounding up 'military' guys to support him as CIC?

[GoObama]

62. I Forgot

Obama also has Tony McPeak on his side (who ran Bob Dole's Oregon campaign in 1996 and also endorsed George Bush in 2000)

[losthills]

63. Sounds like a Mikal Dukakis moment, to me...

What a farce!

[annie1]

73. damn, you beat me to it. :D. total dukakis moment. this is why hil is...

messing with him. she's just trying to f-ck with him.

[Lucinda]

65. If it did happen today, I didn't see it on CNN or MSNBC.

[MaraJade]

66. So he will turn to former CLINTONITES. . .

for his cabinet. . .how VERY INTERESTING.

:eyes:

[Zambero]

70. Serving during the Clinton Administration makes them "Clintonites"?

Times change and people change, often for the better. (Then again there's our former Veep candidate Joe Whats-his-face!). My sense is that high-ranking military retirees tend not to have a particular political axe to grind, and that considering the best interests of the country and the overall community of nations comes first. The ones that opposed our entanglement in Iraq would be more likely to support Obama over Hillary. He's been right on that issue all along, and for that reason I'd be much more comfortable having him seeking good counsel and making critical decisions at 3 AM or any other hour of the day.

[johnnydrama]

79. maybe

perhaps they turned to him, and due to their knowledge of being in those positions in the Clinton administration, absolutely know that Hillary doesn't have the proper experience or judgment.

[annie1]

72. :D!! maybe he should just get in a tank like Dukakis.

[andym]

80. Dukakis' mistake to was to get in a tank instead of a plane

They could not have ridiculed him piloting a jet fighter plane. Of course, it is probably slightly more difficult as well.

[AntiFascist]

81. Excellent, how can the Clinton campaign possibly argue against...

military leaders who served under the Clinton Administration?!

[indimuse]

84. just wondering..

has Obama servred anytime...in the armed forces?

[pjt7]

85. I'm glad Obama is getting some

endorsments from our military & I want to see him engaged with our current leaders & not just for photo oppurtunities.