Opinion: Barack Obama finds support in the diplomatic corps, and in the military

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Voters and the presidential candidates are focused on the economy. But at least some voters -- and campaign contributors -- remember the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Axis of Evil and all that.

And in the view of some of them, Barack Obama has the edge. He might be more open to negotiating with foreign governments than John McCain, at least as a select group of donors sees it.

Donors listing their employer as the U.S. State Department have given $274,595 to Obama since the campaign began, and $58,860 to McCain, a review by Times researcher Maloy Moore shows.

As a percentage, however, State Department employees accounted for only slightly more of Obama’s money than McCain’s -- about 0.47% of the money Obama raised from donors who listed an employer worked for the State Department, compared with 0.3% for McCain.

Obama also has his share of support within the military.

Donors listing their employer as the Defense Department or various military branches have given at least $806,558 to the Democratic nominee, compared with $512,926 for Republican McCain.

That amounts to roughly 2.5% of the money McCain received from donors who listed an identifiable employer. For Obama, men and women in uniform, plus the Defense Department employees, accounted for 1.4% of his money.

--Dan Morain

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