OBAMA HATES THE MILITARY? REALLY?

One of the minor gaffes that President Obama committed  was his failure to return the salute of the Marine guard as he boarded his airplane. True enough. His mind occupied, he stepped aboard, then realized his mistake, turned around and shook the Marine's hand and even talked to him for a moment. Hehand gesture made up for his error immediately and with more than a formal hand gesture. Of course, the right wing zealots give him no credit for that. Instead, they twist the whole small incident into an "Obama hates our troops" rant.

He hates our troops? He risked the disfavor of the right by working to free Sgt Bowe Bergdahl from the Taliban. He initaed spending for decent body armor and new technologies for the soldiers on the ground, and  reduced the troops in Afghanistan to get them out of harm's way, where a Republican president wearing a faux military service jacket put them, and conservative hawks would put them again without a second thought, if they could start the war they want with Iran.

Two days after taking office he issued a ban on torture, restoring the military's honor and returning them to the standards they'd already held - the ones that Cheney, Rumsfeld and Bush overrode. What comes around goes around, and we couldn't expect other countries to treat our prisoners humanely if we reserve to ourselves our right to torture.


The Veteran's Administration had been bogged down since Vietnam. Some of them waited years for proper treatment. Obama increased the budget for veterans by 15% and specified that he wanted it used for more staff, enough to treat 120,000 more patients, and to speed up their care by transferring a horribly slow paper files system to electronics. He later added more money to veterans' care for new facilities, the serious treatment of their mental health issues, and veterans' homelessness. He increased military pay and benefits and improved military housing. He ordered the VA and DOD to work together on these issues. The first VA/DOD summit was held in 2009.

That doesn't sound to me like someone who hates our troops. Using them as expendable pawns in a fake war does, though. I know, I know; the latest right wing tactics is to ignore the mess George W made with lines like, "We're not talking about Bush, we're talking about Obama". But the two are inextricably linked. Bush made potty on America's floor and Obama began the cleanup. Liberals warned that the Bush policies would create more terrorists - and presto! - ISIL.

When liberals say that, it is not about blaming Bush, it's pointing out the  hypocrisy. A Republican does something and they say nothing. A democrat does something similar and he's a traitor! A muslim! The Antichrist! Or the reverse: they want Obama kicked out because he "wasn't born in America" - despite the birth certificate. Then along comes Ted Cruz, born in Canada, and says country of birth doesn't matter.

Obama also did not salute back when he decorated Army SSgt Salvatore Giunta with the Medal of Honor. He hugged the man instead. His choice, and Giunta was probably more moved by the hug than a mere salute.

Then there's Obama's infamous "Latte Salute" when he returned a Marine's salute, properly, with his right hand but with a cup of coffee in his left hand.  Republicans circulated a meme labeled PUT THAT

COFFEE DOWN! Was he supposed to bend down, set the coffee on the metal debarking stairs, salute, then pick it up again? Even on active duty military soldiers are not expected to drop something they're carrying to salute. Look at the picture of W Bush's "Scottie Salute". His face is

u

turned away from the marine .He did this with the dog several times. That's respect?


So, yes, it is true that President Obama failed to return a salute. That wasn't the lie. The lie was that Obama hates our troops. Somehow this little gaffe was supposed to prove that Obama hates America.

Oh, and there's one more fact. Returning a salute is not and never has been policy. Ronald Reagan started it in 1981, and not every president since has followed it. It shows respect, but it shows more respect that Mr Obama, realizing it, returned and did more for the Marine than he expected. But there's more. The Marines didn't like it, and some still don't. It is not military protocol for a person in civilian clothes to salute, especially one who has never served in the military. Of course, no one was going to call Reagan on his error. The president may be their Commander-in-Chief, but he (or she) is still a civilian. He is not entitled to salute. Obama didn't need to come back out and apologize, but he did anyway.

Somehow this little detail never made it to the press, or if it did, Mr Obama's opponents chose to ignore it. They again decided that their constituency are sheep. They decided to control what you see and hear.  That's the reason for this blog. To research the truth and put it out there (apologies to special Agent Mulder).

You're free to use it, rationalize it, ignore it, or debunk it with some crazy conspiracy theory about secret muslims and Sharia Law. But at least, in the words of Paul Harvey, "Now you know the rest of the story."