Why I Support Barack Obama
By Spc. JE Smith (USA, Ret.)
As a veteran, I am often asked why I support Senator Obama, and I can give only one answer, I believe him to be the best qualified to be Commander in Chief. He has the experience, temperament and judgment. I realized this long ago, while deployed in the combat zone. During a staging for a mission, my platoon was listening to a radio and the Senator gave that great speech about the fierce urgency of now. There was power, truth and compassion in that voice that lifted my spirit after months of heavy combat.
At that critical time, I had been in Iraq over a year. Earlier the Army had stop-lossed me and our missions had become close to impossible due the operational demands of the surge. We had already lost three team members to bullets and bombs, and everyday was a struggle. Later, the hardest day of the war came to us. Five soldiers in our company had entered a house rigged with bombs that took away their lives and our hope. I then understood that our time is now. So when Senator Obama speaks about the fierce urgency of now, that is nothing less than a call to arms for us to take back our country, our heritage and our values. .
In Iraq, I started talking to fellow soldiers about our future leadership and they too were also inspired by Senator Obama. I have to admit that my friends in the Army are rather conservative Americans, and yet they told me that they would vote for Barack. It was their revelation that convinced there is something different about this leader. I think soldiers have a natural affinity for Senator Obama, because he speaks our language of shared sacrifice and greater good. Courage is a value we honor, and it takes courage to oppose a war that is supported by all those around you. Instead of leaders, Washington offered us cheerleaders.
Let us recall the time when the war in Iraq was popular and almost all our elected officials marched locked in step into a disaster, not Senator Obama. He spoke early and forcefully about this war of choice. The current drop of violence in Iraq is due to the hard sacrifice of troops and as troops we will continue to honor our obligation to the Nation. But this is a war that has only diverted us from the real struggle against terrorism in Afghanistan. So lets remember that Senator Obama was both right and courageous about Iraq long before others. He would be the one that I want as Commander in Chief.
In the Infantry we learn some basic lessons that can be shared with the Nation: Fight the wars you need to fight, learn when to fire and when to keep your powder dry, and persuasion over force any day, and force as a last resort only. If you were to be guided thru the woods at night who would you choose the pathfinder or the blinded? I believe as do many veterans that these are vital lessons that some of our leaders have failed to learn and unfortunately for our Nation will never learn. But there is one that knows these lessons already and that is more critical than decades in Washington.
So, I urge all Americans to remember, to listen , to engage and to talk to one another for this election will be nothing less than a return to the promise of America, and that is liberty and justice for all. It is the oath, that as a soldier I took, and that as citizens we all honor.
Sincerely,
JE Navas, Spc. (Ret)
US Army
“As a veteran, I am often asked why I support Senator Obama, and I can give only one answer, I believe him to be the best qualified to be Commander in Chief. He has the experience, temperament and judgment….”
–Spc. J.E. Navas, U.S. Army
Nicely written letter, J.E. Thanks tremendously for your service to our nation through the difficult course of this long and bloody war perpetrated by radical Islamacists with the wholesale seizure of American hostages and the American embassy in Tehran, Iran in 1979.
Just one question this day:
What, precisely, are Senator Obama’s qualifications for our nation’s highest office?
If you don’t have the judgment to use our military for the defense and security of the nation, then that is a strong disqualification to be President. Years go we had two leaders, one said the Iraq War was necessary and the other said this will be a loss of blood and treasure.
I think, as do a majority of the american people that the latter was correct and that is Senator Obama. If you were to be guided thru the woods at night would you choose the pathfinder or the blinded? You must judge wisely on matters of war, because the consquenece is the loss of life.
Fight the wars we need to fight and only that. Why else would you engage in war than out of necessity? As soldiers we always engage; persuasion over force anyday and force only as a last resort. Wise wods from the Infantry to the Nation.
Thank you for words.
What a touching post. I was actually in tears reading it.
Sen. Barack Obama has the compassion to take care of our troops, while they are in the military and when they come home. He also has the integrity, leadership and intellect to make the best decisions possible. He will listen to all viewpoints, as his life experience has taught him to do, and base his decisions on facts. Real diplomacy will be a great thing to see again.
I think we can all breath easy again once he is our President, although it will be a long road getting us back to sanity.
Thanks for your service and for what you are doing on this site.
A poll recently exhibited on nighttime television news suggested that 72-percent of the American people believe McCain fit for duty as president, as opposed to 48-percent in favor of Obama. Personally, I hate polls and think them less representative of collective American opinion than mainstream media would like us to believe.
However, if indeed 72-percent of Americans genuinely feel this strongly regarding McCain, I think it emblematic of a core problem seldom heralded on major network news–and the problem is, Obama has no experience (read: “gravitas”) by which he can confirm his charge that he’ll make for a better president than his opponent. Truth is, even Hillary has more experience than Obama. And, believe me, it galls me to say it. I’d rather swallow razor blades.
It’s unlikely that either of you heard news of the Israel-Lebanese prisoner swap conducted only yesterday, so I would highly recommend that the two of you read the finer details of the exchange as reported by the Associated Press–and do report them to Senator Obama and Generals’ Gard and Clark. It’s not easy to pick and choose your wars after 9-11 and Tehran’s repeated proclaimations that Israel’s annihilation is nigh, ladies and gentlemen–nor when Hezbollah dangerously and overconfidently claims with the return of the last remains of dead Israeli soldiers, “We’ve humilated Israel…[and] we cannot be defeated.”
A cold-blooded murderer was set free in the Middle East just yesterday. The man had killed an unsuspecting Israeli policeman and an innocent Israeli citizen and his 4-year-old daughter thirty years ago. The daughter was wantonly murdered via having her skull smashed with a rifle butt. The murderer now walks freely among Hezbollah “warriors” and smilingly promises yet more carnage from his corner.
Better think long and hard about what’s at stake in the Middle East before introducing a novice and untested Obama as chief executive, my friends.
Talk about oxymorons. I never guessed I would ever see the word “Veterans” linked with “for Obama.” Obama refuses to wear an American flag lapel pin, until he recognizes the votes he’s losing. He doesn’t pledge allegiance with his hand on his heart. He’s never worn any American military uniform. He’s influenced kids to refuse to stand for the National Anthem. At a major event, a woman invited to sing the National Anthem, sang the “Black National Anthem.” Could we possibly have a worse role model? Could we have a worse example of love of country? In the history of Presidential candidates, who has had less strength of character? I’ve voted for Democratic Presidents 11 consecutive times. That stops NOW, by not endorsing a man who shows weakness one time after another. You want Mr. Obama to run a Nation when he chose to smoke, when he chose to use cocaine, and chose friends who, without question, hate this country? He spent 20 years listening to the hate spewing from Pastor Wright’s pulpit, and you actually believe he didn’t know what Pastor Wright was like? If you don’t think you were lied to, you’re the most naive person on the planet, or you don’t care so long as it gets your man in office. At what price? We try to divert attention to his friendships by using the phrase “guilty by association.” It is intended to “demand” that we do not criticize who a candidate has as friends. We are lying to ourselves. People are not guilty by association, but there is great weight that can logically be placed on it. “Birds of a feather” is a cliche which has stood for a century. Long ago, we realized people gravitate toward people they feel “akin” to. Don’t tell me you don’t care who Obama associates with, but then worry constantly about who your kids associate with. All you have to do to see if “Birds of a feather” has any validity, is to perform a simple test. Find some pictures of Nazis, a KKK rally, or a gathering of Hell’s Angels motorcyclists. “Guilty by association” is a phrase designed to keep you from acknowledging they share common goals, values, principles, and tactics. Either intelligent people can make assumptions about you, based on who you associate with, or they can’t. You are not “guilty” based on associations. But I have every right to believe that “birds of a feather” DO share many values, principles, and goals.
I don’t care how brilliant Barack Obama may, or may not be. I don’t want to be lead anywhere by someone who CHOOSES to make friends of those who hate whites, hate America, hate Jews, or crooked businessmen. None of this is good for this country. And by the way. Caroline, many of us knew your father. And Barack Obama is no John Kennedy. John F. Kennedy wouldn’t choose to be in the same room as Bill Avery, let alone, call him a friend.
I did not return from Iraq to fight other Americans. One war is really enough. Good journey and God bless. Hooah!
Great job, Eric.
My own father was a son of German immigrants to the U.S., a decorated WWII and Korean War veteran, and a lifelong Democrat–though not a liberal. Never a liberal–or at least no liberal after Roe v. Wade, Attica, Stonewall, Gloria Steinem, and Walter Cronkite and Tet.
Had the man lived to see ANY American presidential candidate so thoroughly–indeed so brazenly–disrespect our flag, he would have —- (fill in the blanks, please).
We’ll never likely know precisely why Barack couldn’t summon the strength or sense of decorum to place his hand over his heart when it was necessary–and indeed patriotic–but one thing we do know: We now have a far better idea of just who truly loves our most hallowed institutions and traditions, and who doesn’t.
Small wonder that people like Hillary and Barack waited for the once -16-million-strong World War II veteran community to dwindle to 2-million, before running for our nation’s highest office and flagrantly disrespecting our flag.
I saw this day coming from the moment I switched off my television after watching a particularly infamous Gold Medal award-ceremony conducted near the close of the 1968 Summer Olympiaad in Mexico City.
And the sad fact is, Barack doesn’t even fully understand that, even now, he’s a puppet of white Hollywood moguls and their ilk, even though their millions drive his very campaign.
I’d say that Barack gambled in hope that now, in ‘08, there wouldn’t be enough of us around who remember those Olympic games. It’s not the first time he’s been wrong. It won’t be his last.
I am just amazed at the negativity and the significance that people attach to symbolism. 1) Hand over heart. Yes it is necessary, and a blunder if not done. If it is not done why doesn’t someone ask why? I have witnessed the same from MANY military leaders, including myself. And when I did not, it was result of reflecting too heavily on the history behind the colors, the aura of its hope, and the reverence for the fallen soldiers that symbolizes. I judge a man’s patriotism based on his actions with more depth than a single action. On that note - read senator Obama’s history of legislative action during his time in office and compare it with McCain and anyone else. If you did you would discover that he has promoted, created and assisted in the forwarding of more pro-troop support legislation than Senator McCain - A LOT MORE. the only time he did not vote in favor of a bill was when it had been loaded down with earmarks that effectively contributed to greater harm for them than good. Where as no one is even looking at senator McCain’s record. I just visited the Library of Congress site and couldn’t even find a copy of it. I just joined this group today but I thought it was called the Veterans FOR Obama. Who are you people really?
2) Experience - I am a retiree, a Sea Bee, (Construction Battalions) Retired in 05, I volunteered to go to both Desert Storm and Iraq (before I found out what Iraq really was all about). I had an incident in the desert where I had no experience and the upper echelon (with “many” years of experience) literally fell into chaos (fighting each other) during a scud alert, when they should have been dawning their PPE (MOPP suites, gas masks) I already had mine on and greeted the spectacle when I went to their Operations HQ for instruction. That was one of many instances of failure of so-called “experienced” leaders, I was to witness during my tenure. What good is expirience when it is a track record of mistakes. I look at Obama’s record and the consistency of it’s accuracy, the nature of his responses, and the depth of his judgment (as made obvious by Iraq Prime Minister Maliki), then I look at the comparitive flip flops (68 McCain to 3 by Obama) how he has conducted himself in the multitude of false attacks upon him, obvious negative bias from oil sponsored media, not to mention the multiple displays of ignorance of McCain on both foreign and domestic affairs the list is too extensive to repeat. The greatest attribute that seals it for me is that Obama demonstrates consistent reserve under pressure, recognizes the value of council, acquires the best resources, and is an expert delegate. Add that to the fact of his well documented genius and understanding of both culture and political warfare and lets not forget the respect he has gained throughout the world and I would think that you would see those things as potential assets for laying the ground-work for powerful diplomacy. I would much rather have a person with a profound depth of democracy (Harvard Law Professor, Grad, review editor) than someone who graduated at the bottom of his class at the academy and doesn’t recall what he says from one day to the next. But all I read here is the opposite. I read it with you quoting bogus information and offering virtually no evidence to support it. I actually am glad that I joined you today because I have a lot of hard evidence and video to back up everything I am saying, EVERYTHING, and then some. Any other candidate who’s mistake to success ratio was as small would have already been seated. But noooo, no good deed goes unpunished for a BLACK MAN.
Senator Obama is a much needed break with the past. I fully understand his background and some of the issues with which I disagree with Obama. As liberal retired Army Officer with 3 years in Vietnam, I have known that Iraq and even Afghanistan were disgraceful, unnecessary and painful both during and after for participants. I want to see this country once again
under the rule of law–legal authority–from which it has been torn by this and previous Administrations, or in this case maladministration.
Obama is screwing with his base on the left, fiddling with FISA, adopting money for religious organizations, running his mouth about Afghanistan, none of which he knows anything about.
We should simply leave Iraq!! Forthwith!! Staying in Afghanistan will leave us in the same condition as the Russians 20 years ago as they were in fact defeated. Leave Afghanistan to its heroin and murderous ancient tribal conflict.
Then, cut the military budget by 1/3 and get off wartime footing. There is no terrorism against which to have a war. There are desperate people doing desperate things to redress the wrongs they think they have been subject to. Do in the Patriot Act, the Military Commissions Act and all the homeland security organization. Severely restrict the roles of the Pentagon in Government. All of this stuff was generated by people in fear of ghosts and goblins. As long as we live in the world, we will take casualties, and other people bleed just like we do–we did not get some hall pass from death. We have traded out civil liberties for nothing, not even promises. We have tolerated absolute and continuing incompetence. These people have degraded government and trashed our country — and that includes all the rightwing nincompoops on this blog–they played a part just as did Hitler’s willing subjects. So they are either stupid or malignant - dont care which.
Rebuilding this country after Bush will be one of the hardest things yet to do. I do hope we do not find that in Obama we have another Joe Lieberman–one of that jerk is more than enough. I think we may find Obama is a “blue dog Democrat”, people I personally consider to be traitors–I really do hope not. But, he should dance with them what brung him, mostly from the left, and leave the DLC crap and centrist politics to the Clintons. Centrism did not get this man nominated - leftist grassroots did, and will insure his bid to the White House. We are sick of narrow, distorted, sick commentary and miserable excuses for government. We want to return to the rule of law and some consideration for the common good, not just economic and social Darwinism, dog eat dog, last man standing crap.
Urge Obama to pay attention to the folks who got him this far. We are sort of worried he is consorting too freely with people like Rice who should have on a prison jumpsuit and chains, along with her friends in the White House. He should also rid himself of Friedmanism, which infection he surely got at the U. of Chicago with the right wing bunch there.
Lots of stuff to play out. I do hope he is not a Quisling.