Three Ways Barrack Obama Could Improve his Popularity with the Military
UPDATED (December 6th, 2009): This post was originally published in June of 2008. This past week, now President Obama, in my eyes, screwed up big-time by using the Cadets of West Point as a backdrop for his “Afghanistan” speech. He should have given the speech from the Oval Office.
In January of 1993, I was in my final months of college and Army R.O.T.C at Norwich University. I already had my assignment in hand and would be shipping off to South Korea after training at the U.S. Army Field Artillery Training Center at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Life was good and those times were exciting. However, I’d be lying if I didn’t mention the overwhelmingly negative response to Bill Clinton’s inauguration that same month. After 12 years of pro-military Republican presidents Reagan and Bush (#41), it was unconscionable that an admitted draft-dodger who “loathed” the military would be the commander in chief – on day one of our careers (I actually know a full colonel who wanted to retire in the late 90’s but stayed on for a few extra years just so his retirement certificate wouldn’t have Clinton’s name on it).
Whether or not this criticism is fair or warranted is irrelevant. The reality is that Republican politicians are much more popular among service-members than their Democratic counterparts. President Bush (#43), in spite of having marched the country into a needless war, remains more popular among our soldiers than any Democrat I can think of. Barack Obama, in spite of his consistent stance against sending our troops into combat without good reason, is having problems with the military demographic. There are two reasons for this. First, a certain percentage of the unpopularity comes with the territory of being a politician in the Democratic Party, period. Second, the thoroughly debunked theories that Obama refuses to stand for the National Anthem, does not respect our flag and, in fact, is some sort of Muslim Manchurian candidate have been spread far and wide and the damage is done. Again, whether or not these criticisms are warranted is irrelevant. The fact remains that Obama’s popularity is lacking with service-members and their families. Here are three things he can do to boost his popularity.
- Visit the troops. Get out into the field and put your boots on the same ground. Do more listening than talking. Keep a low profile and, for God’s sake, don’t use them a backdrop for any kind of speech. They’ll smell it a mile away and never forgive you.
- Keep your promise and get our troops out of combat as soon as reasonably possible. Then go one step further and start shutting down the unnecessary bases we have in over 150 countries around the world. Bring our troops home to protect our borders and stop subsidizing foreign economies. The promise of world travel should no longer be a recruiting tactic for the U.S. military. Let people join the Peace Corps if that’s what they want.
- Don’t try to hard. They may not have extensive formal education or all the fancy degrees you have, but soldiers can smell bullshit a mile away. Want to show your support? Then don’t just visit them and tell them how much you care, let your actions speak. You can start by completely overhauling the GI Bill and expanding all services to veterans. The Senate is prepared to pass the 21st Century GI Bill to do just that, and George Bush is threatening to veto it. Yes, George Bush is set to be the only president in history to veto an expansion of benefits to those whose lives he places in harm’s way.
In short, Obama has the opportunity to show that supporting the troops means a lot more than wearing a lapel pin and saying that you support the troops. It means taking care of them at all times, no matter the cost. That’s the least we can do. Look what they do for us.
About the Author: Randall H. Miller is an American college educator/blogger. He is also a former U.S. Army officer (82nd Airborne) with a M.A. in Diplomacy (focusing on International Terrorism) and a B.A. in Criminal Justice. Use the form on the right to sign up and receive notifications of new content. The words and ideas expressed here are 100% his own and not those of his employers or affiliated organizations.
FromTheTop | Jun 5, 2008 | Reply
The present GI Bill gives ALL veterans the same benefits regardless of time in service, rank and size of family. Senator Webb’s GI Bill kicks in with just one (first)enlistment of four years with no enticements of reenlisting for more money and benefits to the service member for serving our country for more than four years.
The veteran NCO (Non-Commissioned Officer) with multiple reenlistments with the military as their career receives the same benefits as the service member with four years of service to our country. WRONG!
Consequently, those who choose to enlist in the military presently are not joining to serve our country, they are simply joining to take advantage of the GI Bill offered by Senator Webb. Hence the veto by President G.W. Bush.
President G.W. Bush wants a GI Bill with graduated benefits of minimum for the first enlistment to maximum for additional reenlistments as enticements for advanced Degrees and to making the military a career.
The DOD spends thousands of taxpayers money traing our military in various military occupational specialties and the civilian employers snatch the military trained service member before the military gets a ROI (Return On Investment) from the individual service member.
Political Disgust | Sep 5, 2008 | Reply
1. Visit the troops. – what does that ultimately accomplish OTHER then a photo op. This is an empty action and sure it is good for moral on the ground, but not for bringing the troops home or even keeping them safe in situation we need to be in.
2. Keep your promise and get our troops out of combat as soon as reasonably possible. Then go one step further and start shutting down the unnecessary bases we have in over 150 countries around the world. – and then what? where do all these people go to work. they can’t all guard our borders and we can not afford to keep paying all of them to do so. So if we shut down bases and bring all these people “home” what do they do?
3. Don’t try to hard…tell them how much you care…” – Oh come on. this is another empty action.
And who does not think that once we pull out of Iraq we wont just be right back into another country. MAYBE this just is the new world we live in. MAYBE we were able to avoid it on a constant level for many years and now we just will be involved in some conflict somewhere ongoing. that is a real reality that may come to pass and be true.
RHM | Sep 5, 2008 | Reply
1- As a former soldier I can tell you it does make a difference. The military takes good notice of those who bother to come see them after sending them places. And if you don’t go it speaks volumes and opens you up to wild criticism. Political? Of course. This is politics. Does anybody think that filling a few sandbags in hurricane ravaged areas is actually helping? No, but people want to see it anyway.
2- There’s plenty to be done. And even if there wasn’t, the military does not exist to provide jobs. Furthermore, we are always hearing about how qualified and professional our soldiers are – they’ll find jobs or use their benefits (GI Bill) to prepare for the future. Keeping them out of unemployment lines is not a reason to keep 150 foreign bases open.
3- Are you intentionally parsing my words or was this oversight? I did not say to “tell them how much you care”, I said not to because they can smell bullshit a mile away. And the argument of staying in Iraq because if we weren’t there we’d just be somewhere else doesn’t make much sense to me.
RHM
Keith | Dec 7, 2009 | Reply
I have to recall my impressions of several failed opportunities on which Obama dropped the ball with men and women wearing various uniforms. I’ve worn both military and law enforcement uniforms, and he’s offended my affiliation with both.
1st…He has on more than one occasion, “cautioned people not to rush to judgements”…Yet he can step off of Air Force 1 and state that Cambridge Police acted stupidly. The following days proved his miscalculation and created my first poor impression of his care for those in uniform.
2nd…In the wake of the Fort Hood massacre, he addressed the nation. He went on for 3 full minutes before uttering anything about the trajedy. He also commended Dr Joe Medicine Crow for being a Medal of Honor recipient (He’s not; he’s a Medal Of Freedom recipient and Obama awarded it to him.
Obama’s feelings for those in uniform is trajic. He’s an incredible dissapointment on so many levels and shames the Oval Office as a commander in chief.
RHM | Dec 7, 2009 | Reply
@ Keith
I agree with the criticism, but I part ways with you on your final statement. He’s makes dumb, rookie mistakes, but he’s got a long way to go before disgracing the office.
Just my humble opinion.
RHM