I'm Pro-Military So I Support Senator Obama (and I Have Some Advice for Him On Winning the Votes of the Military Family)

Nothing concentrates the mind about the implications of presidential policy more than having your son shot at. I'm the father of a Marine who served in Bush's wars. Until I reregistered as an independent I was a life-long Republican. If Obama is nominated he will be the first Democratic candidate for the presidency I've voted for. My support for Obama is personal but I also think it represents a potential trend.

My son John volunteered in 1999. My son's service unexpectedly connected me to my country in a new way. Suddenly every young person wearing a military uniform, of whatever class, race or gender was my child and every military parent was my brother or sister. This visceral connection humbled me. I had never served. Why did I deserve the honor of belonging (even by proxy) to the diverse family of Americans who are willing to sacrifice for the rest of us? What could I offer in return? Nothing but solidarity, gratitude and a deeper love of country.

I'm no expert on the military. Nevertheless, I've learned as much as anyone in America about the military family. I know what I know because the military family has been talking to me -- literally.

As a writer, I explored my son's military involvement through several best selling military-themed books and many articles for the Washington Post and other newspapers. The response has been intense. In the last 6 years, I've received over 10,000 often heartfelt emails from military people. I have learned a lot about what they believe.

This year the Republicans can't count on the military family's vote. Because Obama was right about Iraq, he may become the candidate of choice for far more pro-military voters than pundits might expect. Note: Since Senator Clinton voted for the war in Iraq she doesn't present a clear alternative to McCain or to the Republican Party. Of the Democratic candidates only Senator Obama has a chance to win the support of the military family. Here's why and here's how.

If McCain would only say what I suspect he believes -- that the Iraq war was a tragic mistake, that his support was a mistake and that our policy should be to take responsibility for the mess we've made, but that the best we can do is get out of Iraq as fast as is possible while causing as little harm as possible -- I (and others who mourn Bush's folly) might vote for him. Instead he is talking about "winning" and staying in Iraq for many years. How do you win a war you never should have started which was based on misinformation that morphed into outright lies?

McCain is face-saving and pandering to the Republican base at the expense of our military family. (Disclosure: In 2000 I went on several radio shows to argue for McCain's candidacy. A few years later McCain wrote a kind endorsement for one of my military-related books. I think it is a national tragedy that the Republican establishment destroyed his chances in 2000. Had he been president on 9/11 I'm sure that however he reacted to the attack on America that his actions would never have included invading Iraq.)

It makes me sad that I can't support McCain but I can't because the Republicans and Democrats share something besides trying to figure out what to do about Iraq. Both parties share a primary election system in which the ideological fringes have outsized importance. To get the nomination, candidates pander to the extremes. This pandering has fatally undermined any Republican's ability to lead us out of the mess Bush made.

Obama panders too when he promises we'll be out of Iraq in a year or so. He knows this is fiction. But Obama's pandering to his base is less dangerous than McCain's "never surrender!" pandering. That's because the ideological fringe of the Democratic Party is less dangerous than the ideologically extreme wing of the Republican Party.

The Democratic ideologues are merely unrealistic idealists, the sorts of village idiots that picket Marine recruiters in Berkeley. The Republican ideologues are bellicose warmongers who tarnish America's reputation and get our people killed. They are the torture enthusiasts, the war-of-choice enthusiasts, the radio talk show jerks who send other people's children to wars their own kids don't volunteer for. The Republican fringe goads America into acting like a bully. They are believers in a form of American exceptionalism that -- spewed by bizarre apocalypse-obsessed religious right evangelicals and/or Dr. Strangelove neocons -- is a jingoistic, toxic, fear-driven myth of "they" against "us" that if unstopped, will result in wars without end. And above all the Republican fringe isn't a fringe at all: they've become the heart and soul of the ugly fear-mesmerized party in power.

Republicans may talk about patriotism and honor but in fact through their stubborn support for Bush's war they have become our military's worst enemies. They literally get our men and women killed. But many of us in the military family have had it with the Republican's bellicose nonsense -- Bush's "Bring it on!" and now McCain's version; "I'll chase bin Laden to the gates of hell!" Enough is enough.

Through countless discussions I've had via email and in person and while speaking at the War College and many other military venues, I've learned that people in the military (at all levels and whether they will say so in public or not) are torn over their initial support for the war in Iraq. Why did we in the military family support the war in Iraq, at least at first? Picture rooting for your kid in a baseball game times ten thousand! In other words any president can count on the root-for-the-home-team factor and more importantly, the protective edgy goodwill of military people, especially families, who are -- in equal parts -- incredibly proud of their child's (or spouse's) service yet terrified by its implications. This support has worn off.

Don't get me wrong, the military family's fierce loyalty to the military isn't wavering but there is a growing suspicion that America's military has suffered a grievous blow from an inept and intellectually unqualified president. Meanwhile our hard-fought legitimate war in Afghanistan is up for grabs. And even though post-surge some good things are indeed happening in Iraq, the military family knows that good things might happen anywhere in our troubled world that our military stepped in. If we were in Darfur we could stop a genocide. If we invaded Zimbabwe we'd be greeted as liberators. We could "solve" the nuke issue in North Korea... The list is endless. But everyone in the military family also knows that we can't be everywhere nor should we be. And except for the willingly self deceived, we know that Iraq had nothing more to do with 9/11 than the countries mentioned above. It would have made as much sense to invade Switzerland.

We need a new beginning. McCain and/or Clinton are more of the same: leaders who contributed to a historic mistake that resulted in 4000 Americans needlessly killed and tens of thousands wounded, and a wave of anti-American hatred sweeping the world. McCain and Clinton won't apologize for their error. And a failure to tell the truth is no foundation on which to build a presidency.

Obama was right on Iraq from the start. Moreover because of his serendipitous ethnic, social and political background, Obama is uniquely positioned to reach out to the world and help restore America's image and thus make all our men and women in uniform somewhat safer. Thus a vote for Obama is the true pro-military vote. And it is also a vote for honor because honor rests on truth.

Nevertheless if Obama is to win the military family vote and more importantly to be an effective commander-in-chief, he needs to convince the military family (and countless moderate Republicans and independents) that their perception that Democrats are reflexively antimilitary is wrong when it comes to him. So here are some ideas for Senator Obama to consider.

First: Avoid the usual condescending liberal language when speaking about the military. Nothing turns off military people faster than being talked about as if we are victims. Liberals don't seem to get that military people are proud of their service and mostly pleased with their choice to serve. That is why so many reenlist.

Second: You need to talk positively about military service as a life where tens of thousands of Americans find meaning, community and happiness because the military exemplifies fairness and opportunity. For instance, when you are looking for a good social model point out that the pay of a 4-star general is only 9 times higher than that of a private, in contrast to the example you often give about a CEO earning in 10 minutes what one of his workers earns in a year.

Third: When you talk about your program for helping college students financially and say that they should owe their country something in return, you list organizations such as the Peace Corps as the sort of group they should join to "give something back." Add military service to your list.

Fourth: Do what no leading Republican or Democrat has had the courage to do. Talk about the unwitting collusion between the Pentagon's recruiting planners, our top universities and the upper-middle-class. ROTC was kicked off campuses back in the early 1970s. That was about politics. Now it's also about upper class snobbery and "me" selfishness. The heavy lifting should be shared more evenly; that or we need a draft. Let America know that as President you'll call for shared military sacrifice by all classes, just as you are calling for fairer taxes. In a Nixon-goes-to-China type reversal against stereotype call for Harvard, etc., to bring the ROTC back to their schools. (The gays in the military issue has been a smokescreen to hide antimilitary not-with-my-child sentiment at the Ivy League. Military policy on gays can only be changed by the President and Congress.)

Fifth: Don't rely on a few retired generals for advice on the military. Between now and November get to know the enlisted military on a personal level in the same way as (according to press reports) you have enjoyed getting to know your Secret Service detail. Spend a few days on Parris Island watching recruit training. Go light-to-lights with a platoon, watch the best teachers in America--USMC drill instructors--work. The spirit you'll discover will resonate. It's the same uplifting spirit you found in so many people who sacrificed to work with you on the streets of Chicago.

Sixth: Ask either Senator James Webb or Senator Joe Biden to be your running mate. Besides their other obvious qualifications, Webb and Biden have the moral authority of parents with sons serving.

Seventh: Tell the truth about how hard it is going to be to extricate ourselves from Iraq, and how long the road may be in Afghanistan. Military people will respond to a call for sacrifice better than to anything that sounds glib. Give us the bad news straight.

In conclusion: Bush, and those who voted for his misbegotten war in Iraq, have abused and demoralized our military. Deployments seem endless. Families in the military are breaking up. The National Guard has been misused. The military has been dishonored by having 150,000 contractors foisted on it in Iraq, many of whom are mercenaries outside the military chain of command. For the sake of our military and national security, the Bush war on our military must not be continued just to appease Republican's pride or to give a "win" to some members of an aggrieved boomer generation that is still asking "who lost Vietnam?" Moreover the needless Bush war is costing us at least two trillion dollars that will threaten our economic and thus actual national security, for a generation. We must choose good judgment over experience, loyalty to country over loyalty to party, the long-term good over short-term "winning," real security and honor over hubris.

McCain is a courageous man. So is Obama. Obama has shown incredible courage by running for the presidency as a black man, something that General Powell refused to do, given the all-too-real threat faced by any black candidate in this gun-crazy, residually racist country of ours. Obama's courage is exemplary, dare I say valorous and martial in character.

I don't know if Obama will be a great commander-in-chief. Time will tell. But Obama gives me hope for a better American future. And hope is not an empty word, as I learned during the many long days and nights when my son was at war.

Frank Schaeffer is a writer and author of "CRAZY FOR GOD-How I Grew Up As One Of The Elect, Helped Found The Religious Right, And Lived To Take All (Or Almost All) Of It

Comments

[MarineMom202]

Thanks for your honesty and well though out post. You hit many nails on the head. We military families are tired of seeing our finest, continually asked to do more than they signed on for, but they do not complain. Our enlisted sons and daughters, do not see themselves as martyrs, and yet when they get injured and broken, and find it extremely difficult to get the help the standard of care and assistance they need, they are expected to "suck it up" because "you volunteered for this", by the general public who wouldn't have the b*lls to enlist. These same individuals are the very people who will suck their employers dry for a bogus "work related" injury, and be happy to get laid off and collect unemployment. I see it all the time.

[BigRube]

Amen to your post. That was very interesting.
I agree with you about the Iraq War. I also agree with you about our troops. They need all the support we can give them.
I also agree with you about these so called talk show host. They aren't over there fighting this war and really don't know what it really like to be in a good fight. Especially that one talk show host that keeps saying we should not cut and run. Would love to give them a gun and say heres the war you fight it.
Also agree with you about Obama.I hope he deos win the nomination and get us out of this Iraq war. Do not know if he will be a good leader but willing to give it a chance.If he does not win the nomination then I will have to go with McCain. We don't need another Clinton.

[BeyondKen]

The Democratic Party has always been pro-defense. The wars in Iraq were won by B-52 and B-2 bombers, designed, built, and paid for by Democratic administrations.

It was a Republican administration that killed the B-2 after only 20 were built. (The 21st B-2 is a prototype upgraded to an operational bomber. Who paid to do that? Democratic President Bill Clinton.

The Republicans built the B-1 bomber of course. The Air Force refers to it derisively as the 'Lawn Dart'.

[Aaror]

First, disclosure, I am in the military, so I am to some extent speaking in my own interest.
I have a suggestion to add to the above. I first came up with it because my Wife was rooting for Clinton, and she wanted to figure out how to get more military support for her. Clinton never picked up the idea, but maybe Obama will.
Most of the country now knows that the troops have been treated rather badly in the last 5 years (at least), I'd like to see at least one presidential candidate propose a "contract with the troops."
This would be a list of items promised to show true support for the troops, here are a few suggestions:
A promise to make sure every soldier, sailor, airman and marine gets proper post-deployment screening for mental health injuries and brain trauma injuries. After you have seen your 20th Vietnam vet begging on a street corner because PTSD does not allow them to work, you have to wonder about the Republican claim to support the troops.
A guarentee of medical support for every military member who comes back from the war zone, with rapid assessment of claims and access to medical facilities. If there is not a VA hospital nearby, have a VA assessor visit the warrior, and then have the VA pay for them to go to the nearest medical facility.
An initiative to boost the numbers in the Army and Marine Corps to levels that allow a year out of theater for every year in. A promise that, while we need to do what we need to do to do the job, deployments will be divided as fairly as possible, and we will reach deployment/family time parity as quickly as possible.
An immediate request to congress for enough money to rebuild the equipment/supply status of the military and national guard to at least 80%. This may be as important as more war funding, and it is definatly more important than more "toys," being developed for whatever war we have 20 years from now, or for no bid contracts for refueling jets.
And what the hey, a promise that military pay will go up by half a percent above cost of living allowance until military pay reaches parity with civilian pay. You could even point out that Bush threatened to veto a military spending bill to prevent that extra half a percent pay.
Please, Mr. Obama, we will serve our country either way, but if you agree to support the troops, we will support you.

[biwee]

As a retired US military officer, Vietnam volunteer and Vietnam veteran, Obama has my vote. I find it most disturbing that the NeoCons and BIG MOUTH Repubbies (like Limbaugh and Colter) did NOT serve in the military. What we have in all of this warmongering stupidity is a bunch of losers and cowards who want to send YOUR kid into an unnecessary war of choice based on LIES, but they will not send their own! MORON MItch McConnell (could not even get through Army boot camp) and most of the vile Repubbies have no idea of what is really meant by "supporting the troops". Supporting the troops, first and foremost, means NOT sending them to die, or be wounded, in an UNNECESSARY war.

[valleygent]

Right on Brother...Amen.

[FirstShirt]

Why is it that you insist that McCain acknowledge this about the war and now admit that etc.? McCain, Hillary or Obama will be stuck with it. Who in their right mind would like It? The next president will be responsible not only for the military serving around the world but also the consequences of policy. It will be a no win situation and republicans and democrats all know it. Withdraw precipitously and you invite either a civil conflagration or more likely an iranian hegemony and no guarantee that we will not be back. Stay too long and you invite the hatred of an occupation. Not a good picture either way.

Thanks to your son for his service in "Bush's war". Most military see it as serving their country against all enemies, foreign and domestic. They serve their country and not the president, although he [or perhaps she] sends them in harms way. I see your post but I don't see his. You must be speaking for him as well as all military families.

[Aaror]

There is a danger in speaking about politics while in the military. I am in the military, but have to keep my "head down," out here so that I don't make it seem that I represent the military's view on a subject, or even the view of my service. My observations of the folks who serve with me is that most are against the war, and the candidate I have heard the most about is Obama, though I may have influenced that since when Edwards dropped out I told the two open Obama supporters I would join them in that view. But ultimatly there is a chill, rightly so, on speaking out against the decisions of those above us in the chain of command.
Of course, lately the senior enlisted have started to break that tradition, I don't know what that says for the future of the military or the country...

[Redmom]

Hillary voted FOR the Iraq War to position herself to run for president.

Hillary will lie about getting us out.

Hillary will not get us out if it will hurt her politically.

Go watch "Black Hawk Down" and think Bill Clinton.

[Zyzzygowski]

I had always thought that Sen Clinton voted for the war because it would 'butch' her up in anticipation of running for President. Her vote was never about the rightness, or wrongness, of the effort, just about the perception of how she would be viewed.

In saying this, I have violated my own standards of assigning motive to another. Yet, the reason she gave for her vote was that she was duped by Pres Bush. I think I will forgive myself.

[BigSid]

WAKE UP, MAN. It's cool if you simply like Obama, or that you feel a bit lost and he seems to be the most different of the candidates. The reality is that nothing Obama has said tells me he would be able to handle a war.

He talks abig game about how he didn't want to go to war and about how he wants to be "as careful getting out of the war as we were careless getting into the war".

I'll admit that all sounds good, but the one major problem I have is that he's given no indication that he knows how to conduct a war and the fact remains that we are at war.

My advice to Obama and to the other candidates is to speak more about how they would deal with the current situation...I mean what would you do right now, guys.

I'm really not interested in what you wanna do in Jan. 2009, or what you claim was noble about your 2002 speech...tell me what you would do right now...impress me.

You see, the problem is that Obama claims to be different, but his senate votes go the same way Clinton's do.

He's says he was right from the beginning, but where is he now? He's voting right along with Clinton right now. He's not voting against the war even though he's speaking out about it, and more sadly he's not even holding senate sub-committee hearings for what NATO can do to alleviate some of the burden on the US troops in Afghanistan.

You sure you think this guy knows how to handle a war?

[fmmcfarren]

Great post:
Add these points as well.
Along with the ROTC for Undergrad, there needs to be something for Graduate students as well. I would love to trade a graduate education for service in the Military.
Reform and improve the GI bill, you can serve and still loose education benefits.
Promise to fix the VA.
Review the fitness standards. Make some of them easier to wave and moral waivers more difficult.
Ask some First Sergents or former ones for endorsement and policy advice. General's don't fight. and the NCOs are the backbone of the military.

Thanks for a great and honest, personal post.. more like this!!

[ResidentChimp]

I'm sure you would have supported Neville Chamberlain too. The fact is that the chance of a war is much higher with an terrorist appeaser like Obama.

[wmfor]

Explain. Why is he a "terrorist appeaser"? Or is that just a catch-phrase for anyone who doesn't believe George W. Butch is the greatest President in history?

[IngeniousGirl]

Thank you Frank for an exceptional article. My son serves in Iraq and I find that there is way I could ever support Hillary because she went along with the crowd. I support Barack Obama precisely because he brings a new perspective to our country. I hope Obama and his campaign advisors take your suggestions to heart. I'd love to see Barack really meet our young men and women and engage the families. Also I believe the draft should be brought back, it is the great equalizer.

[csavage]

I appreciate the fact you have a child serving in the military, however, that doesn't make you qualified to speak on behalf of military members. You aren't one. Feel free to speak as a parent. Advocate parents of military members to important governmental posts. That's great.
There are a fair number of liberals in the military- you wouldn't know that because, like most Republicans, you assume liberals are not patriotic. You also don't understand why members re-enlist-it's not because a sense of pride or enjoyment, it's a sense of responsibility. We "get" that our freedom isn't free.
The reason I've always been against the war is that this war is an imprudent use of one our most valuable and irreplaceable assets, our youth that are willing to see a need beyond their own needs. But my personal feelings about the war will never interfere with my sense of responsibility toward my country. I checked my mobility bag on 9/11 and was ready to go. I'm still ready to go.

[FearlessFreep]

"Obama panders too when he promises we'll be out of Iraq in a year or so. He knows this is fiction."

Why exactly can't it be done? Because the NATIONAL REVIEW says so?

[valleygent]

I am a veteran, I support Obama because as I vet I know the ugliness of war, there is no glamour in being in the field, believe me, those that are gun ho are rare and usually dead first. When I was serving I remember the pressure from commanders to never talk to the press, never even think against the commander in chief. So these guys will tow the line, until they come back home, then you'll find them numbing out on a couch with a bottle, or smoking crack, or worse. There have been many great Presidents with no military in their resume. Ronald Reagan is one, does anyone doubt his patriotic legacy? No, not really. McCain is a hero in that he served and bravely met his unkind fate, but dropping bombs on people doesn't really give you the wisdom to be a great military leader. I had a commander who was decorated for saving about 20 men, he was pilot, but he never dropped a bomb on anyone. He was one of the greatest men that I ever met, he loved his soldiers, and he hated war. He got us through with his intelligence and compassion. God Bless that man wherever he is.
Why are we fighting in Iraq? Personally, I really don't have an overwhelming interest in whether Iraqis are happy or not, that is their plight to fight for, not ours. Perhaps those that are for the war in Iraq should go and live there, fight there and die there, especially George Bush, he should retire there, he loves Iraqis so much. Osama Bin Laden is the individual responsible for the 9/11 bombings. As Obama has said, he needs to be brought to justice, now not later. This isn't some world war. We can protect ourselves from these terrorists with the right kind of fighting force and technology, but everyone needs to participate. Bring back the draft and you will see how fast the American people will want out of Iraq. One more point for those in doubt about Obama, I have heard that Colin Powell is going to announce that he would accept a Vice Presidential offer from Obama. Now there goes a soldier.
Over.

[azrix]

Yes, I'm pro-military too. Just like you I'm for endless war and empire. I'm for mandatory public schooling that creates an obsequious population in support of our military. I'm for a burdensome tax code that is required to pay for our military. I'm for a central bank that is needed for never-ending inflation and never-ending debt to pay for what taxes can not. More war! More empire! It's good for the economy don't you know?

We're all Prussians now...