Veterans Continue To Voice Concerns On The Obama Presidency
By Thomas D. Segel
December 1, 2008
When it comes to forming beliefs among those in the veteran community it is a very hard sell. It matters not if they are retired from a career in uniform or just served under the flag for a single tour of duty, most have a very strong "show me" mentality.
This attitude has, over the passage of time, proven to them that little to nothing can be believed if uttered by politicians, printed in the main stream press, or flashed across their television screens by the major networks. Because of this, they have also migrated to talk radio and the Internet, feeling these are the sources where they can find answers to many of their questions. The answers have been there, but so have misinformation, half-truths and a collection of unproven myths. When it is pointed out that the information they collect may be wrong, their usual response is to say all the other side needs to do is provide them with proof their facts are in error.
George Jurjans is a retired Marine who shows his anger at the upcoming presidency and the remarks of more moderate military retirees saying, "...it appalls me to read these comments that echo nothing but complacency, rationalization and the immature -- childish 'wait and see, things might actually not be all that bad' attitude. I read no passion of commitment, no expressed concern. I don't know what else to say except George W. Bush spent more on veterans care and the military in general during his first term, than the previous two administrations put together. Anyone who believes BHO will do even one tenth of that, or keep any other constructive promise he made might as well admit he also believes in the tooth fairy, the Easter Bunny and that 'check is in the mail' statement."
Bill Hemmingway, a veteran in North Carolina says, "I didn't vote for Obama, but he needs to be given an opportunity to show us what he believes he can accomplish."
Ray Madonna is a Marine veteran who would like to hear retired General Tony Zinni weigh in on the mixed feelings veterans have about the next president. "The way I look at it", he says, "Obama will be our Commander in Chief and he deserves a chance to do the job well."
Dough Berry, another former Marine doesn't even want Barack Obama to take office. He claims Obama, "has no legitimate birth certificate and that means he is a non citizen, means he does not meet the requirements established by law, which equals no job. His failure to present required documents means I do not have any trust or confidence. He carries too much baggage from too many groups to be effective."
Nihil Smith is another non-supporter. He writes "I took an oath many years ago to Protect, Preserve and Defend the Constitution of the United States of America against all enemies, Foreign or Domestic. I repeated that oath several times and was proud to serve my country in the U.S. Navy Submarine Service for the next 23 years. I later took a (similar) Oath of Allegiance to the State of California. I then pinned on a Deputy Sheriff's badge." With that information as a background he says, "I did not vote for Obama and I personally do not believe he has the experience required for the office of president, based upon his performance as a senator. He failed to make any commitment on any bill except one related to live birth abortion. His associations with Rev. Wright, who if he were a white man talking about black people the same way, would have been a card carrying member of the KKK and investigated by the government... That association is a big unanswered question."
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