by Jill Zuckman
A Republican friend of the Swamp helpfully points out that Sen. Barack Obama seems to have time to visit the gym for a workout today, but not to visit the troops during his stay in Germany tomorrow.
According to Spiegel Online, which is tracking Obama's every move, at 1:42 p.m. it learned that "Obama has cancelled 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."
Thanks to a statement from senior adviser Robert Gibbs, the issue seems to be one of ethics and propriety, rather than time.
"During his trip as part of the CODEL to Afghanistan and Iraq, Senator Obama visited the combat support hospital in the Green Zone in Baghdad and had a number of other visits with the troops," Gibbs said. "For the second part of his trip, the senator wanted to visit the men and women at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center to express his gratitude for their service and sacrifice. The senator decided out of respect for these servicemen and women that it would be inappropriate to make a stop to visit troops at a U.S. military facility as part of a trip funded by the campaign."
But that didn't cut it for the McCain campaign: "Barack Obama is wrong. It is never 'inappropriate' to visit our men and women in the military," said McCain spokesman Brian Rogers.
Regardless of whether Obama made the right call about visiting Landstuhl on Friday, he still managed to squeeze in some workout time despite a heavy schedule leading up to his big speech at the Siegessäule, or Victory Column, around 7 p.m. Berlin time.
"4:49 p.m.: Obama enters the luxury Ritz Carlton hotel wearing a T-shirt, black sweatpants and white trainers -- apparently to work out in the hotel's gym. He kept up the campaigning on the way there, smiling and waving at tourists and other onlookers," the breathless Spiegel ticker reported.
(Photo credit: PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images)
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Comments
Just this week in The Swamp:
Obama steps off a helicopter. Swamp story!
Obama gets out of a car. Swamp story!
Obama works out. Swamp story!
Of course he doesn't have the time to visit our troops.... He's too busy posing for his campaign staff's (correction--the media's) cameras.
Posted by: Guevara | July 24, 2008 12:01 PM
This tour of Obamas is getting down right sickening....If this is how he plans to run his presidency spare us...Workout before troops. What is that???????????...Along with his fake smile and practiced rhetoric there has been little news...Still waiting for content that will change the world....
Posted by: typical texas | July 24, 2008 12:15 PM
Probable reaction he is geting from the troops-
Lets just calll it FLIP FLOP-
Posted by: George | July 24, 2008 12:17 PM
I think he is afraid to talk. He has a problem speaking.He should have joined Toastmasters. He has 400 advisors. he by all accounts should be a perfect Jesus by now. Did he bring the teleprompter? Oh, Isreal has a new capitol called Tel Aviv....and they complain about McCain and Czehoslovakia...hmmmm
Posted by: nancy | July 24, 2008 12:17 PM
What logic are you using in tying a Thursday afternoon workout with a canceled visit to troops on Friday?
Posted by: Paul | July 24, 2008 12:35 PM
A helpful Republican friend, eh? A reasonable person, stepping back and looking at this would have to wonder whether there's any real causal connection, and what the real nature of that change of plans might be. Unless it is the plan of this publication to carry water for McCain and the Republicans, they should first establish whether such insinuations are true before passing them on.
Posted by: Stephen Daugherty | July 24, 2008 12:36 PM
Ah yes; the media is so in love with Obama, they make a negative story of him going to the gym, while McCain gets another pass for trying to rewrite history and redefine the surge.... Obama spent plenty of time with the generals and troops in Iraq.
Posted by: rupert | July 24, 2008 12:49 PM
I know you have to meet deadlines but this is the worst. Working out on Thursday and cancelling a visit on Friday means he hates soldiers? Give. Me. A. Break!
Posted by: jackson | July 24, 2008 12:50 PM
Perhaps you are familiary with the concept of linear time.
A person may have time to work out at 6:30 am today, but not time for an afternoon appointment tomorrow.
Especially when travel times and logistics are involved.
Please THINK next time before you regurgitate rightwing nonsense.
Posted by: Geek, Esq. | July 24, 2008 1:13 PM
Ms. Zuckman tries to tie Obama's snubbing of American troops to President Bush getting in his workout. WRONG!!!! She neglects to point out that Bush ALWAYS visited the troops when he was close by. Perhaps the Obama spin machine just doesn't want him to be booed....or, as in Afghanistan, ignored by a majority of white troops.
Posted by: Dorcas | July 24, 2008 1:24 PM
This is what passes for news in Baltimore? And how does the fact that he worked out change his point, which is that he didn't want to visit the hospital in Germany when he was on his own, in a strictly POLITICAL capacity, rather than as part of a Congressional delegation, doing the work of government?
Keep up the fine work, traditional media! When you ask yourselves, "Why do we keep losing market share?" you need only look into a mirror for the answer.
Posted by: Chris Carlson | July 24, 2008 2:30 PM
He's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. The Obama made the right call not to visit the troops in his capacity as a candidate.
Does that mean he should have shopped for cheese yesterday instead of working out? I'm sure John McCain still got some time in at the gym even though his campaign appearance on an oil rig had to be canceled due to an oil spill a few miles away.
Posted by: Mike | July 24, 2008 3:27 PM
Mr Obama leads by example daily exercise is important for mental and physical health. He has spoken to children about not eating fried foods and by his actions, he is stressing the importance of daily exercise.
I am impressed and surprised that your Republican friend realizes what a lift it would have been for Obama to have come to visit them. They would like to thank him for voting to give them improved veterans benefits. John McCain however did not even think that it warranted coming to Washington for that vote. After all he felt it was to generous and would not have extracted enough service out of the enlisted men. For McCain it was just too generous.
I think that it could be safely said that Sen Obam showed that he cared for the troops. Sen. McCain makes a show of showing he cares for the troops to compensate for his hard hearted attitude toward them.
Posted by: Ron M | July 24, 2008 4:39 PM
I didn't understand this story at first, but now I get it.
Typical right wing set up.
So try this one.
Barack was too busy to visit the mess hall. He was laying a wreath at a WW II memorial.
If the canceled messhall visit was today, guess what? He had a speaking engagement in front of 200,000 people that conflicted with it.
Posted by: ornery | July 24, 2008 5:12 PM
Paul, I don't think anyone is tying the workout to the troops. What is being said is if he has time to work out why not make time to visit our troops. No one actually thinks that the work out took the place of visiting the troops. Get it!
Posted by: RFB-IL | July 24, 2008 5:56 PM
What's going on here? I heard just a little while ago that he was going to see the troops but WAS ADVISED AGAINST IT when he was on a trip there in a non-official capacity!!!!! WHY DON'T YOU PEOPLE GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT BEFORE YOU START ANOTHER UNWARRANTED ATTACK ON HIM??????
Posted by: Mary in Fort Madison | July 24, 2008 8:05 PM
Everyone loves to find fault with every move Obama makes. It would be nice if people writing articles would check the facts before influencing opinions about Obama or McCain.
The Pentagon contacted the Obama campaign to tell them the visit would be viewed instead as a campaign event.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hD3r_xLt86cw6tRS6_RxC-WpMJIAD924G2300
Andrea Mitchell, NBC, also announced that the Pentagon contacted Obama at the last minute to inform him he could not visit the troops in Germany because he was on a campaign visit versus congressional visit.
Pentagon walks fine line in 2008 campaign
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/04/03/mccain.pentagon/index.html
April 3, 2008
Posted by: Jim | July 24, 2008 9:05 PM
Jim, thanks for that clarification. NYT I believe reported today that Condi Rice put out a directive that no State Dept. employees could attend the speech in Berlin.
Posted by: ornery | July 24, 2008 9:49 PM
Dorcas President Bush has visited Europe multiple times since the wars in Afganistan and Iraq began. Not one time has he visited the troops at the Landstuhl Medical Center. This is true even when Air Force One had to stop at Ramstein, which is 7 miles away from Landstuhl, to refuel. So spare us this Obama, hates the troops rhetoric.
Posted by: Brian | July 24, 2008 10:03 PM
I've heard that some troops have already been saying they won't re-up if Obama wins.
He's already visit diff troops, so something else must be wrong. I know they said his numbers are suddenly going down in diff states and McCain has gained some leads. Maybe all these radical groups don't like to see him visiting these men. I would think that he might be losing ground with these people by just talking about another long war in Afghanistan. Aren't these the 60's crowds that want peace and not war?
Posted by: Teresa | July 25, 2008 12:46 AM
how many naps did mcsleepy take while barack was working out?
Posted by: crud | July 25, 2008 2:00 AM
Crud 2am- Good question just for YOU.....what is Obama's deadline for war that he plans to send all these extra troops in, for Afghanistan??
Posted by: Teresa | July 25, 2008 10:05 AM
Obama had time to go to the Wailing Wall and get his picture taken with his bean cap.But didn't have time to visit our troops because the press was not allowed.
Posted by: waggdogg | July 27, 2008 10:38 AM