hope. healing. unity. cowardly third party allegation.
why is he doing this? he has the nomination. there's no way she can trip him up (almost). all he is
accomplishing is to slowly become like all of the other politicians that he has been sent by God to
banish.
Obama Surrogates Try to Revive Sniper Story Controversy
Reviving a controversy that had started to fade, three military veterans who are volunteers for Barack Obama on Saturday said Hillary Clinton’s false assertion she was under sniper fire in 1995 while traveling as first lady undermines her ability to lead the U.S. military and raises relevant questions about her “moral authority†as commander-in-chief.
One of the Obama surrogates, retired Maj. Gen. Walter Stewart, went so far as to say the soldier buried at Arlington National Cemetery in the Tomb of the Unknown “was probably killed by a sniper†and that Clinton’s statement means she “would lack the moral authority to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown.â€
Stewart commanded National Guard forces in Bosnia and was a member of the Pennsylvania National Guard.
All three veterans denied they were attempting to breathe new life into an issue that has died down on the campaign trail. It was a mistake that Clinton apologized for in Wednesday’s nationally televised debate in Philadelphia.
“If she is going to tell stories as a candidate, is she going to tell the truth or fabricate some kind of story as president?†asked retired Chief Petty Officer Mike Kotyk, who served in the Navy as captain aboard the USS Ross during U.S. operations in the Balkans.
Army Capt. Aaron Clevenstine, a sniper trainer and platoon leader, said Clinton’s sniper story and subsequent attempts to laugh it off were “in poor taste†and reflective of “poor judgment.â€
Clinton’s chief spokesman Howard Wolfson brushed off the revived sniper story attention as just nasty politics.
“Boy, when the Obama campaign goes negative, it really goes negative,†he said. “This is part of their attack, attack, attack strategy. This is unfortunate and totally undermines any kind of new politics. This is the worst kind of old campaigning.â€
Wolfson said Clinton’s already acknowledged she wrongly told voters on numerous occasions she had to dodge sniper fire in Tuzla during a 1995 visit.
Wolfson said if military leaders had misgivings about Clinton, more than 30 retired admirals and generals would not have endorsed her.
“And Sen. Clinton will put her record on national security and veterans issues up against Sen. Obama’s any time.â€
Wolfson also recited Obama’s comment that his campaign has only talked about the sniper issue “when asked about it.†Wolfson called the conference call from Obama surrogates an effort to revive the controversy and the toll it has taken on Clinton’s credibility.
“When it comes to negative campaign tactics, Senator Obama has been a hypocrite from day one, decrying attack politics from one side of his mouth while he and his campaign wage a character assassination effort from the other,†Clinton spokesman Phil Singer added. “The juxtaposition of Senator Obama’s comments in the debate and the remarks made on his campaign conference call this afternoon prove the point.â€
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