Obame-me-me: Chooses Work-out Over Meeting Troops

It's no wonder the lightweights in Europe love BO, he's the lightest of the lightweights.
I hope alongside the million man march in Berlin, the media gives this the attention it deserves. Kinda makes your skin crawl:

A Workout Instead of Meeting U.S. Troops? Bad Move, Senator Obama.

Schedule snafus happen.

But this...

SPIEGEL ONLINE has learned that Obama has canceled a planned short visit to the Rammstein and Landstuhl US military bases in the southwest German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The visits were planned for Friday. "Barack Obama will not be coming to us," a spokesperson for the US military hospital in Landstuhl announced. "I don't know why." Shortly before the same spokeswoman had announced a planned visit by Obama.

coupled with this...

Obama noted that in a break from his whirlwind schedule, "we've got some down time tonight. What are you guys gonna do in Berlin? Huh? Huh? You guys got any big. plans? ...I've never been to Berlin, so...I would love to tour around a little bit."

and this report of Obama using the fitness room of the Berlin Ritz Carlton suggest that Obama and/or the people around him have egregious sensibilities on what his priorities ought to be.

You just don't cancel on the troops. You just don't.

You particular don't cancel on the troops, but go on with other events like the rally. He'll get tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of Germans to chant his name? Terrific. Too bad he's not campaigning to represent them. Let him immigrate and run for Chancellor if he wants.

UPDATE: Obama, on the plane to Berlin:

Aboard his plane early this morning, someone asked what was the high point of the trip so far. "This," Obama deadpanned, referring to his 15-minute appearance in the back cabin with reporters. "I had to earn it," he said. "I said, 'When do I get a chance to go back and talk to the press?' "

Amid laughter, he was asked for his second-favorite moment. He paused.   "You know I really get a kick out of spending time with the troops. Their morale is high, but they really appreciate acknowledgement of what they're doing," Obama said. "You know, everywhere we went in Afghanistan and Iraq they were just really eager to tell their story, what they were doing. And it was moving. And it's neat to see the mix. You have a bunch of 20-year olds and then you'll get a 40-year old or 50-year old who's in the Guard; a Missouri banker who's helping to try to set up a agricultural project. You know, that's pretty spectacular."

Who decided that Obama had spent enough time with the troops?

UPDATE: A very interesting email from a source I must protect suggests that Obama's visit to the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center had the green light until a campaign staffer raised a stink about going with Obama. (There are rules meant to ensure candidates do not use soldiers or military bases for campaign purposes, and they state that personal and committee staff may accompany a sitting senator on a visit but campaign staff may not.) I am told that when one of Obama's campaign staff was told he or she would be denied access, the visit was canceled.

The last-minute cancellation speaks more poorly of this unidentified staffer than of Obama himself. But in the end, shouldn't Obama have been able to say, "fine, the staffer stays in Berlin (or where-ever) and I'm going to Landstuhl? Can he still say so?

And Rick had this: Blackfive got an email yesterday from a soldier in Bagram , Afghanistan that tells what happened when Obama visited the base

I wanted to share with you what happened. He got off the plan[sic] and got into a bullet proof vehicle, got to the area to meet with the Major General (2 Star) who is the commander here at Bagram. As the Soldiers where lined up to shake his hand he blew them off and didn't say a word as he went into the conference room to meet the General. As he finished, the vehicles took him to the ClamShell (pretty much a big top tent that military personnel can play basketball or work out in with weights) so he could take his publicity pictures playing basketball. He again shunned the opportunity to talk to Soldiers to thank them for their service. So really he was just here to make a showing for the American's back home that he is their candidate for President. I think that if you are going to make an effort to come all the way over here you would thank those that are providing the freedom that they are providing for you. I swear we got more thanks from the NBA Basketball Players or the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders than from one of the Senators, who wants to be the President of the United States . I just don't understand how anyone would want him to be our Commander-and-Chief. It was almost that he was scared to be around those that provide the freedom for him and our great country.

Comments

[Thomas Carney]

He didn't bother to shake hands and get a photo-op with any of the rank-and-file troops?? This will go out all over the military.

Obama just blew the military vote. I don't think he had much of it in the first place.... considering Obama's a Leftist elitist, just like Hillary... but now...

I'll bet the .mil email servers are hot with this!!!!

[Spectre]

Rammstein and Landstuhl are the two US military installations that receive wounded soldiers from the battlefield requiring greater care than can be provided in theater. Those that can be treated in Germany are hospitalized in Landstuhl. Those more dire cases are evacuated to the US via Rammstein.

For Obama to blow off a scheduled appearance at these two facilities is an insult to the US military. His speeches in the US while on the campaign trail highlighting his concern for wounded soldiers is nothing more than campaign bullshit. If he only had time for one visit to a military installation, it should have been to see soldiers wounded in battle. The fact that he would not have been allowed to have photo ops with the wounded soldiers per the rules in place made that stop an easy cancellation. It was of no benefit to him without pictures. Much better to have the adoring press corps in tow during a workout or shopping trip.

What a despicable act. It speaks volumes as to the kind of person Barak Obama is. And it reveals that all his "love" for the troops is nothing more than bullshit from a slick Chicago political hack who is not worthy to grace the same room with men and women wounded in battle.