Thursday, July 24, 2008

Why America Can't Support Barack Obama; He chooses to lose

This Presidential race is so important to American, that it's important to note that Barack Obama is NOT qualified to be President (yet) and has a lot to learn. If you thought George Bush wasn't qualified, Obama is even less so. Even after seeing proof of success in our Iraq surge, he still wouldn't do anything different. He voted to NOT FUND our troops and now, this week he chose NOT to visit our wounded in Germany.

Senator John McCain, with pinpoint accuracy, skewers Obama in his Denver speech:

Senator Obama and I also faced a decision, which amounted to a real-time test for a future commander-in-chief. America passed that test. I believe my judgment passed that test. And I believe Senator Obama's failed.
We both knew the politically safe choice was to support some form of retreat. All the polls said the "surge" was unpopular. Many pundits, experts and policymakers opposed it and advocated withdrawing our troops and accepting the consequences. I chose to support the new counterinsurgency strategy backed by additional troops -- which I had advocated since 2003, after my first trip to Iraq. Many observers said my position would end my hopes of becoming president. I said I would rather lose a campaign than see America lose a war.


My choice was not smart politics. It didn't test well in focus groups. It ignored all the polls. It also didn't matter. The country I love had one final chance to succeed in Iraq. The new strategy was it. So I supported it. Today, the effects of the new strategy are obvious. The surge has succeeded, and we are, at long last, finally winning this war.

Senator Obama made a different choice. He not only opposed the new strategy, but actually tried to prevent us from implementing it. He didn't just advocate defeat, he tried to legislate it. When his efforts failed, he continued to predict the failure of our troops. As our soldiers and Marines prepared to move into Baghdad neighborhoods and Anbari villages, Senator Obama predicted that their efforts would make the sectarian violence in Iraq worse, not better.

And as our troops took the fight to the enemy, Senator Obama tried to cut off funding for them. He was one of only 14 senators to vote against the emergency funding in May 2007 that supported our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. ...
Three weeks after Senator Obama voted to deny funding for our troops in the field, General Ray Odierno launched the first major combat operations of the surge. Senator Obama declared defeat one month later: "My assessment is that the surge has not worked and we will not see a different report eight weeks from now." His assessment was popular at the time. But it couldn't have been more wrong.

By November 2007, the success of the surge was becoming apparent. Attacks on Coalition forces had dropped almost 60 percent from pre-surge levels. American casualties had fallen by more than half. Iraqi civilian deaths had fallen by more than two-thirds. But Senator Obama ignored the new and encouraging reality. "Not only have we not seen improvements," he said, "but we're actually worsening, potentially, a situation there."
If Senator Obama had prevailed, American forces would have had to retreat under fire. The Iraqi Army would have collapsed. Civilian casualties would have increased dramatically. Al Qaeda would have killed the Sunni sheikhs who had begun to cooperate with us, and the "Sunni Awakening" would have been strangled at birth. Al Qaeda fighters would have safe havens, from where they could train Iraqis and foreigners, and turn Iraq into a base for launching attacks on Americans elsewhere. Civil war, genocide and wider conflict would have been likely.
Above all, America would have been humiliated and weakened. Our military, strained by years of sacrifice, would have suffered a demoralizing defeat. Our enemies around the globe would have been emboldened. ...
Senator Obama told the American people what he thought you wanted to hear. I told you the truth.
Fortunately, Senator Obama failed, not our military. We rejected the audacity of hopelessness, and we were right. Violence in Iraq fell to such low levels for such a long time that Senator Obama, detecting the success he never believed possible, falsely claimed that he had always predicted it. ... In Iraq, we are no longer on the doorstep of defeat, but on the road to victory.

Senator Obama said this week that even knowing what he knows today that he still would have opposed the surge. In retrospect, given the opportunity to choose between failure and success, he chooses failure. I cannot conceive of a Commander in Chief making that choice.

OP: As a child of a decorated, career military man from Pechanga, I support John McCain, not because he's perfect, but because Barack Obama is so bad for the country. As much as I disliked Hillary, she would be a much better choice for President than Obama.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I strongly believe that party politics has no place here. You will loose support for our positions and damage our chances of getting our message out with messages like this. Please remove the post from this site and post it on a more appropriate site.

OPechanga said...

Thank you for your comment.

NO

Anonymous said...

Tribal Elder,

What would be a more appropriate site?

We have discussed a lot of issues on this blog. WE don't all agree. In fact Mark Macarro, the leader of a tribal council that denies basic civil rights in on the Democratic Platform committee, but that doesn't mean we won't vote for a Democrat.

Luiseno said...

Success doesn't always equate with being right. Look how successful Pechanga has been, look how successful they were at dissenrolling us.

Enough from myself on this subject.

Anonymous said...

I agree....I was on your side and staying away from Pechanga until I read this today.... maybe if you believe this dumb idea...your thoughts on Pechanga are also wrong...McCain IS George Bush...this country has slid so far downhill and McCain wants to keep this war going at countless more dollars wasted...you think McCain is going to come to your rescue...very doubtfull...choose your political opinions wisely..you will alienate many people...

Anonymous said...

As a Grandchild of a decorated, career military man from Pechanga, I Absolutely DO NOT support John McCain

You state -((Barack Obama is so bad for the country.)) - How do you figure? He's yet to take office? Are you making this decision based on one 1 choice that Obama has made?

We as Americans have just proven to that a Chimpanzee can run this country. So how bad could Obama be? Why not give him a chance....? Like it or not Change is Good.

Also I agree with the 1st & 5th comments - why is this posted here in the first place? is this not a blog about Tribal Dis-enrollment?
And I agree John McCain is really starting to look like another Bush..

Anonymous said...

Why would O P's opinion about Barack Obama as president change anyone's mind about our issues with Pechanga?

One can disagree with O P's choice for president but still support us in our endeavors.

One doesn't have to do with the other and I may very well disagree with what Mr. McCain and O P say about Obama.

stand your ground said...

OP... EXPRESSING ONES OPINIONS IS ONE OF THE FREEDOMS WE HAVE IN THIS COUNTRY...LIKE IT OR NOT...HOWEVER IF YOU VOICE YOUR OPINION OR COMMENT ABOUT THE "CHOSEN ONE,THE ONE WHO HAS RETURNED TO SAVE US" YOU WILL BE ATTACKED. ALTHOUGH I AGREE WITH SOME OF THE THINGS THAT YOU SAID, I WILL VOTE FOR THE LESSER EVIL.That is my last word on that subject, come to think of that is probably what the Pechanga voters did a few days ago, they also voted for the lesser evil.

Anonymous said...

The candidates that both parties have given us for President, really do not give us a lot to choose from.

Lord help us.

Anonymous said...

Remember everyone, the CPP attacked us for having our own opinions over what's right and wrong. They also campaigned against Luker and Barron, saying the disrupted meetings and they (CPP)wanted someone on the council that would "vote their way".

The CPP said our votes were to "take over the tribe" rather thank exercising our right to vote the way we wanted.

OP has the right to make a choice we don't necessarily like. If you don't like his choice, make sure you get to the polls and vote! If you do like the old guy, make sure you get to the polls and support him.

But I've read plenty of evidence here that Pechanga is bad and I won't visit there anymore.

stand your ground said...

San Marcos Mom...you got it right...thank God for commom sense. Again, what has the corruptive behavior of certain Tribes got to do with who wins the election or who is voting for whom? Neither one of the Candidates gives a damn about Indian civil rights. We need to stand our ground together and bring it out into the open, shove it into their faces until we are heard, AND WE ARE BEING HEARD.