Paul R. Hollrah

Obama Torpedoed, Biden Suspected
October 24, 2008

In a speech before a Democratic fundraiser in Seattle on Sunday, October 19, vice presidential nominee, Joe Biden, lived up to his well-deserved reputation as a loose cannon.

Biden is aware, as are most Americans, that Barack Hussein Obama, is totally unqualified to be President of the United States... and even less qualified to be commander in chief. Those of us who’ve served in the military and who understand military customs and courtesies cannot help but wonder what terrible emotional conflict our active duty military personnel will suffer if, by some stretch of the imagination, Barack Obama becomes their commander in chief.

For example, the spit-and-polish Marines who stand at the door of Marine One on the south lawn of the White House are obliged by military custom and courtesy to salute the president as he enters and leaves the aircraft. They were proud to show their respect for presidents Eisenhower (the first to use a helicopter for presidential travel), Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush (41), and Bush (43), all former military officers. They were less than happy with Bill Clinton, who had a long history of contempt for the military, but they did their duty and always showed respect for the office he held. But how would they feel about saluting a man like Barack Obama? Would tight camera shots show them saluting with their fingers crossed?

Barack Obama is the farthest thing from what it takes to be a Marine or a soldier. And for those Marines from the 8^th & I Barracks who perform escort duty and other ceremonial functions at the White House, one of the most coveted assignments in the Corps, an Obama presidency would likely turn what has always been a plum assignment into something much to be avoided.

In a recent Military Times poll of 4,300 subscribers, there was overwhelming support for John McCain. According to the poll, 68 percent of active-duty and retired servicemen and women support McCain, while 23 percent support Obama. The numbers were nearly identical among officers and enlisted troops. All of which brings into question the impact on morale and reenlistment quotas if Obama is elected on November 4.

To what extent will they be willing to “fall on their swords” for a commander in chief for whom they have little or no respect? And if Obama is elected on November 4 and sworn into office on January 20, how long will it be before our enemies around the world put him to the test, and how will he respond?

There is little doubt that, in his Seattle speech, Joe Biden was giving voice to some of these same concerns about Obama’s fitness to serve. He said, “Mark my words, it will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking. We’re about to elect a brilliant 47-year-old senator president of the United States of America. Remember, I said it standing here if you don’t remember anything else I said. Watch, we’re gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy.

“I can give you at least four or five scenarios from where it might originate,” he said, mentioning the Middle East and Russia as possibilities. “And he’s gonna need help. And the kind of help he’s gonna need is, he’s gonna need you – not financially, to help him – we’re gonna need you to use your influence, your influence with the community, to stand with him. Because it’s not gonna be apparent initially, it’s not gonna be apparent we’re right.

“Gird your loins,” he warned. We’re gonna win with your help, God willing, we’re gonna win, but this is not gonna be an easy ride. This president, the next president, is gonna be left with the most significant task. It’s like cleaning the Augean stables, man. This is more than just, this is more then – think about it, literally, think about it – this is more than just a capital crisis, this is more than just markets. This is a systemic problem we have with the economy.”

He went on to say, “I’ve forgotten more about foreign policy than most of my colleagues know, so I’m not being falsely humble with you. I think I can be value added, but this guy has it. This guy has it. But we’re gonna need your help. Because I promise you, you all are gonna be sitting here a year from now going, ‘Oh my God, why are they there in the polls? Why is the polling so down? Why is this thing so tough?’ We’re gonna have to make some incredibly tough decisions in the first two years. So I’m asking you now. I’m asking you now, be prepared to stick with us. Remember the faith you had at this point because you’re going to have to reinforce us.

“There are gonna be a lot of you who want to go, ‘Whoa, wait a minute, yo, whoa, whoa. I don’t know about that decision.’ Because if you think the decision is sound when they’re made, which I believe you will when they’re made, they’re not likely to be as popular as they are sound. Because if they’re popular, they’re probably not sound.”

Turning to the conflict on the Afghan-Pakistani border, Biden said, “You literally can see what these kids are up against, our kids in that region... The place is crawling with al Qaeda. And it’s real. We do not have the military capacity, nor have we ever, quite frankly, in the last 20 years, to dictate outcomes. It’s so much more important than that. It’s so much more complicated than that. And Barack gets it.”

So here, in 264 words, is what Biden tried to say in 474 words (translation): “The world knows, and you and I know, that Barack Obama is unqualified to be president, so our enemies are going to put him to the test... probably within the first six months of his presidency. He’s going to have to make decisions that you’re not gonna like, probably the same decisions that Bush or McCain would have made, and it’s gonna look like we don’t know what we’re doing. So we’re gonna need you to protect our backsides from the people and from the media.

“This is not gonna be easy. But fear not... I have forgotten more about foreign policy than most of my Democratic colleagues know, especially Obama, and I’ll be there to pull his chestnuts out of the fire. Nevertheless, since we’re gonna have to do a lot of things that we’ve campaigned against, the media are going to crucify us and the polls are going to look even worse than Bush’s. But, like I said, we’re gonna rely on you guys to stick with us and save our butts.

“Now a lot of you are going to say, ‘Whoa! Who in the hell are these guys? I thought we were gonna get change!’ But just ignore that. Just because our decisions are going to be exactly what Bush or McCain would have decided, doesn’t mean they’re not sound. We’re all Democrats together... right?

“And finally, that Afghan-Pakistani border region where we think bin Laden is hiding is a real bitch. Frankly, I just don’t think our guys can hack it, no matter how many people we put in there.”