First Family makes surprise visit to military members (VIDEO)

[jefferson_dem]

<SNIP>

Later in the day, Obama made a surprise visit to military members to thank them for their service to the nation and meet with those in uniform executing his war plans.

The president and first lady Michelle Obama made a quick trip to Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe after a private day with their children and eating a holiday meal of roast beef at their rented home in Kailua. While the White House has said the president does not plan public events, the unannounced visit -- accompanied only by a few reporters and his Secret Service detail -- was an opportunity for the wartime president to meet with men and women of the military, some of whom have carried out his orders in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Wearing slacks and a casual shirt, the president made his way through the folding tables and booths and posed for pictures with the troops. They handed him cell phones so he could say hello to their parents.

Although the conversations were light -- questions like "Where are you from originally?" -- the commander in chief smiled broadly as he met with the servicemen and women, never giving a hint that he struggled for months with the question of whether to send more of them to Afghanistan.

"Thank you for your service," Obama said to many.

He has started the drawdown of U.S. troops in Iraq while dispatching thousands more to an increasingly unpopular war in Afghanistan.

The 1,000-member 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, based at Kaneohe, returned in November from a seven-month deployment to Afghanistan. Nine Marines and one Navy corpsman were killed during the deployment.

Another Kaneohe unit, the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines, deployed to Afghanistan last month.

http://www.starbulletin.com/news/20091226_first_family_enjoys_a_quiet_christmas.html

VIDEO at LINK - http://www.videosurf.com/video/first-family-makes-surprise-visit-to-military-members-106597996?vlt=smm&vlt_source=twitter&vlt_type=rss&vlt_topic=obama

[Donnachaidh]

1. if it's a surprise visit, who took the pictures and then gave them to the press?

:shrug:

[jefferson_dem]

2. Surely, it's a photo-op conspiracy!1!1

The only thing missing is a mission accomplished banner.

Here -

[Donnachaidh]

3. so, you're taking a day off without your tinfoil dome?

That must itch after awhile. :eyes:

[jefferson_dem]

4. Seriously, you do know how a presidential press pool operates, don't you?

Because an event was not on the public calendar does not mean there are no press on the scene.