If, as seems likely, Hampton Roads plays a bellwether role in the looming presidential election, the candidates' views on military and veterans issues may take on special importance in this heavily military community.
As voters sift through the positions staked out by Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama, they will find that on many of those issues, the two are not poles apart.
The starkest differences fall into two areas: the Iraq War and enhanced benefits for veterans.
On Iraq, McCain, the Republican from Arizona, has been a consistent supporter of the war. Obama, the Democrat from Illinois, was not in the Senate when Congress gave President Bush authority to wage it in 2002, but he spoke out against it.
If elected, Obama has pledged to bring U.S. troops home at a pace of one to two combat brigades a month over 16 months. That would mean that the bulk of the troops would be removed by the summer of 2010, seven years after the war began.
Obama says he would leave a small residual force in Iraq to conduct targeted counter-terrorism missions and to protect American diplomatic and civilian personnel. He says he would not build permanent bases in Iraq.
McCain doesn't give a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq and says the United States must be sure to achieve victory first. He says Bush's surge of additional troops last year has brought victory closer and that Obama's withdrawal plan wold endanger those gains. Obama voted against the deployment of more troops.
On veterans' benefits, Obama was an early co-sponsor of Virginia Sen. Jim Webb's new GI Bill, passed by Congress in June, which provides tax funds to pay college tuition bills for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. Modeled after the post-World War II GI Bill, the Webb measure will cost an estimated $51 billion over 10 years, the largest increase in a veterans aid program in decades.
McCain opposed the Webb bill as it was moving through Congress, arguing that it was too expensive and would give troops an incentive to leave the service. When the measure was voted on in the Senate, McCain was on the campaign trail and did not vote.
Largely because of his absence on those votes, McCain was given a D on his Senate voting record by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, an advocacy group. Obama got a B.
Another group, the Disabled American Veterans, gave McCain a 20 percent score on its most recent Senate voting scorecard. Obama scored 80 percent.
McCain, meanwhile, has been endorsed by 21 past national commanders of two other veterans groups, the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Yet another group, Vets for Freedom, has aired TV commercials that mirror McCain's support for the surge in Iraq.
Both campaigns have set up partisan veterans groups to tout their candidates.
Lang Sias, McCain's national veterans director, cited McCain's co-authorship of the Wounded Warrior Act, the first major legislative initiative to address post-traumatic stress syndrome and traumatic brain injury.
Just as important, Sias said, is McCain's 22-year Navy career and his experience as a Vietnam War-era prisoner of war.
Veterans have a "gut-level connection" with McCain, said Sias, a fellow former naval aviator. "They realize that he's been there and done that himself, and he's stood up for the military and for winning when others haven't."
Anne Rawley, a retired Navy captain and an Obama volunteer, said it is Obama - despite his lack of military service - who has been the stronger leader on military and veterans issues, particularly health care.
"I just don't think that, when we made the transition to the all-volunteer force, we ever really paid for it on the people side," said Rawley, a nurse. "And it's become even more important now with two wars going on and the repeated deployments. Since he's been in the Senate, Sen. Obama has been very, very pro-people programs."
Both candidates have proposed boosting the troop strength of the Army and Marines - Obama by 92,000 troops and McCain by 150,000. But independent analysts say any increase in military forces will be difficult to achieve given the economic constraints facing the next president.
"It's just not in the numbers," said Andrew Krepinevich, president of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, a nonpartisan think tank. "They just can't afford it unless they want to cancel large numbers of new programs. But they can't afford to do that because a lot of the equipment they have is wearing out.
"After eight years of continued buildups, you're looking at hard times coming for defense."
Winslow Wheeler, director of the Straus Military Reform Project at the Center for Defense Information, another think tank, had a similar assessment.
"We're facing a disaster on the defense budget," Wheeler said. "We have a shrinking, aging, less ready armed forces, acquired at increasing cost. We're facing a significant crisis, and neither of these characters has said a word about addressing these fundamental underlying problems."
Total annual U.S. military and veterans spending now stands at $800 billion, about as much as the combined defense spending of the rest of the world.
Bill Sizemore, (757) 446-2276, bill.sizemore@pilotonline.com
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"get over it" thomas says
Thomas loves to rail against Clinton who was before Dubya but now he wants to "get over it" to run away from Bush's own lack of support for our military.
McCain = Senile Bush
We can't afford to elect a senile president with an unqualified vice president. We need a president who is smart and on top of his game. Colin Powell's endorsement of Obama shows that he is ready to lead. Go Obama!
keith get over it
if obama wanted to run against bush he is 4 yearsw too late,...
"and Russian nuclear weapons stockpiles"?
Looks like I did not miss the point at all if Thomas has to answer a question that was not asked.
Tell us Thomas, what did Bush do while he had a republican majority Congress prior to 9-11 to fix the defense slashing that you complain about?
Bush never had a democratic majority Congress prior to 9-11. Your revisionist history is quite amazing.
Bush did have a republican majority Congress for most of his time in office prior to 9-11.
I do not believe for one
I do not believe for one second that obama cares any more about Vet's than McCain does.
Once the election is over they could care less what kind of treatment or care any of us Vet's get!!!
I can tell you just how bad it is right now, and it will only get worse, not better!!!
Excellent! You win three
Excellent! You win three points in the high school debate but fail at reality.
"Where does Obama’s aunt live? And his half brother? No,…just can’t put my finger on your fear and smear, please enlighten me."
What do the aunt and half brother have to do with anything? Oh that's some smear from you . . . I get it. Irony.
Virtually 100% of McCain ads have been negative. It's fine if you don't see it but I'm thinking it says more about your perception than any reality, but whatever . . .
If a black person votes for
If a black person votes for Obama just because he is black, I have no issue with that.
Any idea how many people that are white are voting for McCain just because he isn't black? In my opinion, too many.
mccain's anti-veteran record
Sen. McCain wants voters to evaluate his record but when questioned about it by a fellow Vietnam Vet during a town hall he disrespected this follow Vet and refused to answer the question. Since his support for Junior, McCain voted against Vets health care incl. funding for Walter Reed, and other facilities, even after it made international headlines, voted against a fairer system for PTSD benefits, voted against more time between deployments, and was against the GI Bill sponsored by WWII Vet John Warner, Hagel and Webb.
Obama grew up with his grandfather who served in WWII and volunteered from the day he arrived in DC to work with all Veterans in the Senate. Unlike Obama, Webb, Hagel and many others, McCain never served a day on the Veterans Affairs Committee. I’m not surprised none of them have been campaigning for McCain, but supportive of Obama who cared about Joe and Mary the soldier.
48%
If Obama is less than 50% by Monday evening he will not be the next liberal in the White House. McCain-Palin 2008
Got to Love HR
Hello Hampton Roads.... Thanks to all of the republicans for their derogatory comments towards Obama. We, the supporter of Obama, love your hate because that will ensure that we'll vote Tuesday, and confirm your fears that Obama will win this election. Let me guess, he's a terrorist, a socialist, and inexperienced??? Please just keep quiet and go waste your vote on McCain! And that's exactly what the republican supporter will be doing. McCain/Palin are a waste of a Ballot. Representatives from your own party are voting for Obama. How embarassing is that? Lol.
Benjamin
It is an insult to Bush to
It is an insult to Bush to call Palin a cheerleader, Bush actually was one in college. LOL
Keith, you are missing the point
What does Bush’s congress have to do with learning lessons from history. You are missing the point. We really can’t afford further military cuts. Biden himself said less than 2 weeks ago "We do not have the military capacity, nor have we ever, quite frankly, in the last 20 years, to dictate outcomes."
Um, what did Bush do in just 8 months in office with a majority democratic congress prior to 9-11 to address 8 prior years of military cuts? You mean aside aside from persuading Russia to agree to a landmark treaty that would cut U.S. and Russian nuclear weapons stockpiles by two-thirds over the next decade?
nObama.
People honestly want to elect someone who can't prove thier citizenship? Barrack Hussein Obama attended school in Indonesia at a time when ONLY Indonesians were allowed to attend, which means he had to "give up" his U.S. citizenship. And upon re-entering America, the only option is become a naturalized citizen. Well guess what? You can't be elected President if you are a naturalized citzen. And he has associated with domestic terrorists and Federaly convicted felons, shooting down any hopes of him being able to obtain a security clearance. You want him in charge?!?
Missed it noon
No, noon, I guess I haven’t been paying attention, oh wait, there was the ad where they said that seniors’ Medicare would be cut, oh wait that was an Obama ad. Oh and that’s right, Palin said that if Obama was elected, he would be “tested” with an international crisis within 6 months and that Osama bin Laden was "alive and well" and Pakistan is "bristling with nuclear weapons." Oh wait that was Biden.
Smear,…humm. Missed that too. Or are you talking about the $$ for his wardrobe, oh no wait that was Palin. Maybe his houses? Oh wait that was McCain. One of McCain’s houses is a condo in which his aunt lives. Where does Obama’s aunt live? And his half brother? No,…just can’t put my finger on your fear and smear,…please enlighten me.
ghentite,
I'm a combat veteran, son of a combat veteran, sibling of combat veterans, nephew of combat veterans & grandson & great grandson of combat veterans. I also worked in federal civil service, as did my father, siblings, aunts & uncles. I, as did other veterans in my family, used the GI Bill in place prior to the Nixon years, to further my education. We also used it to purchase our many homes over the years. I fully understand what is at stake. I have been a union member at times in my life. Va., ( & many other states), is a will to work state.
hey thomas
"Clinton already slashed our defenses by a third to help contribute to his “balancing the budget” legacy."
You should pick up the same history book to find that Clinton had the last six of his eight years in office with a republican majority fully supporting slashing our defenses as you call it.
Go to your history book and tell us what Bush, with his republican majority Congress, did prior to 9-11 to fix said slashing.
Obama 08
Were gonna win!
Ghentite
Okay, so you got your opinion from the Wall Street Journal and I got mine from a Beltway insider. Isn't this a place to post opinions? Notice, I did not use the words "mouthing off" to describe your opinion, as you did mine. Is that supposed to be a sexist swipe or something?--if women say anything, they are, by definition, "mouthing off"!!! Cheers, MGM
dennis1
Submitted by dennis1 on Fri, 10/31/2008 at 1:05 pm.
Barnie Frank...Imagine the USA with a professed homosexual as the SECDEF! Instead of "don't ask, don't tell" it will be "please ask and I'll tell". Ouch...
Wow......there go the republicans showing their true "prejudice" colors.
Barney Frank
SECDEF? WOW! Couple Barney's zero time in service with BO's lack of experience in just about everything may not be a good idea. Maybe Biden really is in the know when he said "America's enemies would test Barack Obama with an international crisis within six months if he's elected president..."