Obama's cancellation of a military hospital visit leaves unanswered questions

The varying explanations for the cancellation of Barack Obama’s planned visit today to the U.S. military’s Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany are leaving campaign-watchers puzzled.

Obama had been scheduled to greet U.S. troops at the hospital just before leaving Germany this afternoon for Paris, where he met French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Elysee Palace.

But first, Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs released a statement Thursday night saying the senator had decided "out of respect for these servicemen and women that it would be inappropriate to make a stop to visit troops at a U.S. military facility as part of a trip funded by the campaign."

The campaign amended that explanation this morning. Obama wanted to thank the troops for their service, but "we learned from the Pentagon last night that the visit would be viewed instead as....

...a campaign event.," Obama advisor Scott Gration, a retired Air Force major general, said in a statement.

On Obama’s flight from Berlin to Paris, Gibbs offered more details. Around July 15, the Pentagon approved Obama’s visit. But military officials later invoked a rule on political activity at military bases and questioned whether it would cover Obama’s visit, Gibbs said.

Obama spokesmen said they were seeking clarification on what the rule is. Gibbs also declined to speculate on why the Pentagon did not cite the rule until Wednesday.

That account, however, didn’t square with the Defense Department’s explanation. The Pentagon said it informed the Obama campaign on Monday that he and his Senate staff could visit Landstuhl, where wounded soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan are treated, but that no press would be allowed.

"Sen. Obama is more than welcome to visit Landstuhl or any other military hospital around the world," said Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon press secretary. "But he has to do so, just as any other senator has to do so, in his official capacity. It is not acceptable to do so as a candidate."

"In an election year," Morrell said, "I don’t believe that any candidate is allowed to visit a DOD facility with press."

He cited a Pentagon directive that activities "reasonably viewed as directly or indirectly associating the [Defense Department] with a partisan political activity" should be avoided.

Morrell said the U.S. military was prepared to accommodate Obama’s traveling press and campaign staff at the passenger terminal at Ramstein Air Base, the U.S. Air Force base in southern Germany where Obama’s plane had been cleared to land.

-- Michael Finnegan and Peter Spiegel

Comments

[oneStarman]

BUSHIES BOMB OBAMA - Its all politics all the time. First Condy Rice sends out a memo to embassy staff not to assist Obama (A U.S. Senator on a trip to U.S. war zones) Then Petraeus (you know the one Bush picked to betray us) put Obama on a short lease so he couldn't see the carnage and theft of U.S. reconstruction monies. So now Obama's visit to those U.S. soldiers maimed by the war was nixed by the Pentagon at the last minute. No Surprise.

[Kathy]

Obama said "no photo ops, no way". A very arrogant man but not terribly bright. He hurts himself with decisions like this one. I get a kick out of all the people calling him the antichrist as he's simply not smart enough for that role.

[Kenneth]

Mark, "The issues". Come on dude. Obama as a person and as a character IS THE ISSUE. Who cares if he gives us all healthcare if he also gives us all a bunch of lies and can't be trusted with the keys to the anyhting. He always seem to end his major comments with a "but" or something like it. Sounds like what the meaning of "is" is all over again.

[LTC US Army]

THERE IS NO DOUBT THE PENTAGON ON DIRECT ORDERS FROM THE BUSH WHITEHOUSE DIRECTED THE CHANGE OR AMENDMENT TO THE PLAN TO VISIT TROOPERS IN GERMANY.

THE BUSH WHITEHOUSE YOU ALL MAY RECALL WERE AROUND FOR WALTER REED, THE BLOATED BODIES FLOATING DOWN NEW ORLEANS STREETS..OR THE WAR THAT DID NOT HAVE TO BE....

MCCAIN IS A BUSH GUY..REGARDLESS!

[Kenneth]

Mark, "The issues". Come on dude. Obama as a person and as a character IS THE ISSUE. Who cares if he gives us all healthcare if he also gives us all a bunch of lies and can't be trusted with the keys to the anyhting. He always seem to end his major comments with a "but" or something like it. Sounds like what the meaning of "is" is all over again.

[Billw]

tdub:
"Now watch the media (and the righties) run around like chickens with their heads cut off for the next few weeks, months, on another "patriotism" issue........."

Hey, what is, is:.
He wouldn't wear the flag lapel pin.
He wouldn't put his hand over his heart during the national anthem.

[OLD NAVY MAN]

I'M SORRY BUT NOT VISITING WOUNDED TROOPS BECAUSE HE CAN'T BRING IN TV CAMERAS IS DESPICABLE. IF HE REALLY WAS CONCERNED ABOUT SUPPORTING THE TROOPS HE WOULD HAVE GONE ANYWAY. THATS WHAT A REAL AMERICAN WOULD HAVE DONE.

[Andrew]

Conflicting stories or not. Obama could visit if he REALLY wanted to. Leave the cameras behind and do some good for the service men and women.
I believe Obama to be the next president and it's a sad day once again to see the lack of respect for the military - especially during time of war.

[The Herder]

Sheeple: You need not believe every single thing written in a periodical or typed up on a news blog.

[Billw]

Unpatriotic? What else you Obama supporters?

No cameras, no visit to the troops.
He wouldn't wear the flag lapel pin.
He wouldn't put his hand over his heart during the national anthem.

Go ahead, explain it away if you can

[enoughofit]

Der Spiegal magazine called Obama's Berlin visit as coming from "the president of the world".
since when does Germany (or any other outside country for that matter) get to vote in an American election?
It should also be obvious to all that the Senator wouldn't visit wounded U.S. troops because his campaign photo-op had been correctly denied by the military.
it's all about Obama all the time, Ich bin ein Obama!

[Ryan Holznagel]

Look, let's not be silly about this. Maybe the visit was canceled for good reasons, or maybe for bad reasons, but it wasn't because Obama turned up his nose at the last second once he found out he wouldn't be on TV.

If Obama is as sneaky and calculating as claimed, then he'd be at least sneaky and calculating enough to know how bad that would look. That's just common horse sense.

In fact, the calculating choice would be the opposite: Go through with the visit and make a big show out of leaving the press to go in privately and virtuously.

He may or may not be a great guy, but let's at least be sensible about the arguments.

[Ransome]

The Pentagon does not want someone with a different mission statement confusing the troops, even if they do vote.

[cb]

THE NUMBER ONE PRIORITY IN VISITING GERMANY SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE WOUNDED TROOPS......EVERYTHING ELSE COMES SECOND!

[self sycophant]

Obama's a poopy poop poop! He bad and poopy! Not goody like McCain. McCain goody never do baddy! Poopy Obama!

[Andrew Russell]

Represents WHO? This little boy runs around wanting to be a leader, but does not have time for wounded soldiers. The press is not allowed so it would be viewed as a policital thing. Thank God, thinking people stilll vote in the United States.

[kyle]

which is a more sincere way to show respect and appreciation to wounded troops? Visiting them even though you can not turn it into a dog and pony show, or just avoiding them alltogether after you already scheduled a visit. I wonder if this is a sign of things to come. Saying you will do one thing, but doing the total opposite when it benifits you.. what a stand up guy.

[Sharon]

I am adding another comment. All week long McCain has tried to outdo Obama. Seems McCain got some help from Bush. Bush has shown his control over Pentagon already. Bush lied aobut reasons for going to war and got Pentagon to go along. Pentagon or Bush administration searched for a detailed letter of the law. Then deny or advise problems for Obama's visit to see servicemen. This is same administration that lied and got us into the war. Is same administration that has gotten our country in an economic disaster. This is the same administration that has allowed US citizens to continue reliance on oil and ultimately the present gasoline prices today. This is same administration that has created one of the largest debts in history of this country. This administration went from surplus to huge debt.

This is a story- true. But it has become a "you said it, he said it" situation. I believe Barack Obama. All logical explanations point Pentagon actions and statements are from this Republican administration to help John McCain. Sure they denied. What did you expect. John McCain has complained all week long. First this, then this, then that. John McCain himself created. He wants to discredit Obama and his trip overseas. Pentagon was cause of Obama not visiting our servicemen. It is sad to see Republicans become so deceptive. And I am registered Republican. Won't be for long. This long standing Republican has finally said no more of this party.

Hope this is a wake up for voters to put all pieces together for the undeniable answer!!! Obama campaign would not cancel a trip to the servicemen. They realize how this would have been viewed. Obama campaign has time and time again demonstrated use of good judgment. They have never purposely done anything like this before, or even close to this. This would have been quite dumb. For a year and half they have demonstrated how well they do with issues.

News Media I hope you start investigating John McCain's involvement.

[The Herder]

All of this talk about who's better qualified to be president. They both are.

*Both are over the age of 35 (McSame is double that;-))
*Both are natural-born US citizens
*Both have resided within the US for at least 14 years

Those are the only three qualifications provided by the US Constitution. Looks like McSame wasn't paying attention in History class - as evidenced by his barely-passing college grades.

Sheeple.

[kay]

No time to visit with out troops, but took time to work out in the Ritz Carlton gym. Someone should remind him the job he wants is Commander in Chief, not King!!

[vincent campellone]

Moma-Obama is true to form as a now show. Just imagine hi agility to handle a national or international
crises. No show on his voting record-No show in support to give this guy the right to act a president.
Truly actions speak loder than words! Just guess
thr rederick he will give congress! He could be the
president empeached befor taking office! Even
Clinton had more class than Moma-Obama!

[pica-boo34]

I would have to say that the title of this article is slightly misleading

[HollieSeven]

Hang on a minute..
you people WANTED him to go abroad
US Tax dollars are NOT being spent on this trip...
McCain spent US tax dollars on his trips..

This story misses the fact that the Pentagon issued a directive that because Obama's trip is paid for my campaign funds, it is against policy to visit troops. Period.

Now, if he had ignored the pentagon DIRECTIVE (not issued til this week, when this has been in the works for months!) what would you be saying?

[Mostlympc]

I hope John McCain wins the next election and get saddled with four more years of Bush policies.

Americans don't deserve Barack Obama.

Stupid gets what stupid does.

[Caroline Miniscule]

>>If Obama is as sneaky and calculating as claimed, then he'd be at least sneaky and calculating enough to know how bad that would look. That's just common horse sense.

If he had common horse sense, he'd know there are 50 states not 57, that a president can serve a maximum of 8 years, not 10, that he shouldn't be dissing his own country as he did in France earlier...

I predict there will be a black president in 2012... please God don't let it be Obama.

[Stev]

No photo-op so no visit to wounded troops? What a scumbag. I say we force him back to being the ambulance chaser that he is; it's all he's qualified to be anyway.

[Reis R. Kash]

Obama is a press hog. When he learned no press he went some where else to smoke cigars, shop, and shoot basket balls. What a phoney!

[Dave]

No Press. NObama!

[Fred Sornce]

AJ, listen to yourself. A lack of security at a military base? You cannot be serious. The entire reservation bristles with soldiers and arms. Security at an Army base is not problematic, trust me.

This was pretty simple and badly executed. Any politician is welcome at any military or VA hospital in the world, regardless of whether it's an even or odd numbered year, and regardless of how the broader trip is funded. The trip point comes with media, particularly cameras - it ain't allowed. Part of the reason involves the medical privacy of those in the hospital. The other part involves politicizing the visit and using the wounded for props.

I'll bet the mortgage that some kid working advance for Obama set this up on the man's schedule and had no clue that cameras were not allowed at a military hospital. When the campaign was told 'no dice' on the media, they ditched it.

[America-the-Beautiful]

What most of America witnessed this week was a very well choreographed spectacle and most people see through this superficial person. Even some of the media like Chris Matthews of MSN’s Hardball have now begun saying he went overboard on this trip. Chris Matthews said, and I paraphrase, what is this guy thinking giving a speech on foreign soil, where President’s like JFK and Ronald Regan spoke, acting like he’s a sitting president!

In one way, I have to hand it to Obama’s team and in another his team showed the American people what a poor choice he would be as president.

Naïve. A perfect word to describe the man himself and his followers.

Bless all of you who listen and believe in your idol. You are like lambs following your trusted Shepard to the slaughterhouse.

[BOO-HOO]

IF THE CAMERAS AND THE PRESS CAN'T COME WITH ME THEN THE HELL WITH THEM.

SENATOR OBAMA IS PROVING HIMSELF TO BE NOTHING MORE THEN YOUR AVERAGE SAY ANYTHING-DO ANYTHING POLITICIAN.

HILARY SHOULD HAVE STAY'D IN UNTIL THE CONVENTION. WHO KNOWS WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED.

[Dave]

No Press? NObama!

[indi]

The worst that can come out of this is for the Obama camp to blame Pentagon and Bush for this. Obama is honorable and gave a good reason for not going. That is good enough. The rest is noise.

[Ruth Werre]

If the "annointed one" can't take the press into the hospital whats the point of going?? He thinks its more important to appear in front of those 200,000 adoring German fans. (Never mind the fact that those "fans" had just been treated to a concert (and refreshments) so they were already in a happy mood waitign to cheer on Obama.)

Barack Hussein Obama is Affirmative Action Run Amok.

RW

[Eric]

Man there are a bunch of idiots here. Think McFly, think! Why would Obama cancel a trip he had scheduled just because the press wouldn't be allowed in? Especially given the political consequences of canceling a trip to see wounded soldiers. Do you think he is stupid or something? He's obviously politically astute enough that he wouldn't have canceled that trip unless he thought there were greater repercussions for going forward with it.

It sure looks like a set up to me. And given the responses of the people here, unfortunately it seems like it may have worked.

[Biswell]

The same thing happened to McCain a while back. It is not a very big deal. But given the fact that McCain has had a rough week, I can't really blame him for attacking Obama this way. I think at this point, the GOP will try anything to win.

[John]

Let's summarize, Barak Hussein Obama is supposedly on a fact-finding tour so he has his speechwriters work for days so he can give a Reagan-like speech to a bunch of Germans who have a lot of time on their hands. He didn't gather any facts there.; however, he could have gathered some facts from the wounded soldiers in the hospital but No Press-No visit ! He is portraying himself as all things to all people (a native of Kansas, Illinois, Hawaii, and Indonesia. Too bad he couldn't have included Miami.) But, lets see how many votes he gets from military voters, parents of military, and military veterans...."Not gunna do it !"

[dristan]

Gosh... It really must be that bad for Republicans now. No candidate, no campaign, no agenda... just paranoid Jim Jones style ranting. I cringe to think what might happen in America on Nov. 5th if their guy doesn't get elected.

[rapchat]

The fake offence in these comments is part of why our political system is a mess. It would seem the Pentagon gave the Obama campaign multiple answers, so he took the safest and most respectable route, and skipped the visit to avoid making our wounded into political fodder. Whether there were cameras immediately present or not, the stop would have been covered by the media, so there is absolutely no reason to think the lack of press with him drove this decision. Trying to smear Obama with the blood of our wounded is just sad and desperate, and another sign that conservatives has lost both their honor and common sense.

[Laurel Altman]

Better to work out at the Ritz Carlton gym than to visit wounded soldier - especially if the press can't cover his incredible compassion on camera.
He is a truly awful human being and a consummate grasping politician.

[dka]

No press allowed? That explains it all !! El Obimbo does not bother wasting time when it is not a good photo op.My goodness, those wounded soldiers might also steal the shot. His base certainly would not like to see him being photographed with anything in uniform. God, what a cheap, empty suit this guy is! El Obimbo and his 300 'advisers' are so stupid, vapid and so without knowledge, ergo his pompous, ignorant flapping mouth, especially when off teleprompter. How many times can one listen to ah, ah, ah, ah, and I , I , I, I ,,,

[JimF]

Barack Obama is all about Barack Obama.
His credo: No cameras. No TeleprompTers. No show.

[Dan]

Shame on HUSSEIN Obama.

HUSSEIN Obama doesn't care about American soliders.

Can we trust a ISLAMIC RADICAL like HUSSEIN Obama to be commander in chief?

The answer is NO.

[drkatz]

Who cares!!!! Is this the best McCain can do after a week of whining?

[jahlen]

If anyone wants to take the time to review some of the photos Obama in Afghanistan and Iraq, they might notice a disproportionate number of African Americans surrounding him. Also, these photos were provided not by the press, but by the Pentagon.

Could it have been that all the white service members stayed away? Or could the Pentagon have been selective in their release of the photos?

During the primaries, Clinton came close to succeeding because she and hubby continually tried to label Obama as nothing more than a "Black" candidate.

I hate to sound paranoid, but after Tillman, Lynch, Abu Ghraib, it's obvious that there are a good many political hacks in uniform who try very hard to control the message.

[Lee]

INSULT TO INJURY ...
The 'real' story is that Obama could have visited the wounded soldiers, but the Pentagon said not with the huge entourage and media circus ... however, Obama supporters are now trying to mislead the American people by enabling Obama to now blame the Pentagon for HIS bad decision. This is a typical form of damage control that the Obama and his people have used throughout his campaign. If Obama does something right, they shower credit upon him ... if he does something wrong, they blame it on someone else, or they tell us we misinterpreted what happened.

[Leaderboard]

Obama has visited a military hospital in Lebanon, without any press present, as part of a congressional delegation. Two weeks prior to the scheduled stop at the German hospital, his campaign had obtained landing permission there from the Pentagon.

Only after Obama separated from the congressional delegation and arrived in Germany did the Pentagon pull this trick, not giving Obama enough time to fly any congressional aides to Germany to accompany him to the hospital. It was a classic Republican dirty trick, coordinated by the Pentagon with the McCain campaign.

It's remarkable to see the United States military become partisan operatives. It's also not terribly bright of them, given that in six months Obama is likely to become their boss. To paraphrase Machiavelli's line about revenge best being served cold, I suspect that payback will be poured over crushed ice.

[richCares]

what silliness, is this all that McCain can do, they tried to make an issue of the missing Obama thesis of 25 years ago. come on righties get a brain and cover the issues

[Julia Jester]

The USA is in serious trouble.We don't have a decent canidate for president.Obama is all for himself and McCain doesn't have any guts.We better start growing gardens and hunting for our food,because times are going to get a lot rougher.Go buy you a new wall tent so you can pitch it in the National Forest.Buy canned goods so they will store.Buy guns to protect this food because there will be people trying to rob you.God Bless all of you!

[sandy valencour]

He was told not to go as it would appear political. Was it a friend of McCanes that told Obama camp not to go so they would have bs to gripe about on the home front. Obama has visited wounded vets but without the press and cameras. Oh, but then, this only helped mccane. I deliberately spell McNasty's name wrong since he can't even remember what countries we have in the world. This is a no news item. McNasty challenged Obama to go and it blew up in his face. Then had the nerve to say, "wait til he goes to France". Guess what, that blew up in McNasties face too. This old man needs a retirement home. God bless this country if people elect this idiot