McCain Reality Check… “Military Personnel Support Obama 6-1″

Some of you may have read the piece I put together yesterday regarding Republican candidate John McCain’s growing problems with military personnel, both active and retired. Well it turns out that it may be worse then even I though – and there are numbers to prove it. As this mornings papers rolled out, we began seeing headline after headline focusing on the Military and their overwhelming support for Senator Barack Obama, with money to prove the statement, which otherwise would be understandably laughable.

The New York Post, a publication that is often as friendly as can be to the Republican cause (and Paris Hilton’s latest up-skirt) reported the new fund raising totals coming from mean and women in the armed forces. These figured include both active and retired personnel:

“Obama has collected $335,536 from 859 enlisted men and women, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. McCain – a decorated former Vietnam POW – has received $280,513 from 558 military personnel.”

And making matters worse for poor ‘ole John McCain is this daunting number -another finding courtesy of the latest polling:

“And the gap is especially pronounced among members of the military stationed abroad, including in Iraq. Obama got $60,642 from 134 troops there, compared to McCain’s $10,665 from 26 troops – a 6-to-1 edge.”

Wow, a 6-1 margin is really quite impressive, moreso when you factor in mcCain’s claims to be all things millitary, and the candidate who speaks for the troops.

USA Today also covered this story, writing about the severe disconnect that John McCain has with just about every facet of the military:

“U.S. soldiers have donated more presidential campaign money to Democrat Barack Obama than to Republican John McCain, a reversal of previous campaigns in which military donations tended to favor GOP White House hopefuls, a nonpartisan group reported Thursday.

Troops serving abroad have given nearly six times as much money to Obama’s presidential campaign as they have to McCain’s, the Center for Responsive Politics said.

The results also are striking because they favored Obama, who never has served in the military. McCain meanwhile, is a decorated war veteran who spent nearly five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. The Arizona senator graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and had a 22-year career as a naval aviator.

Obama has opposed the war in Iraq and says he would withdraw combat troops within 16 months. McCain has been a steadfast supporter of the war, saying he would withdraw the troops only when conditions on the ground warrant it.

“Obama will work tirelessly to uphold this nation’s sacred trust with its veterans, to ensure they are not forgotten after they return home and he will provide our troops with the leadership they deserve, as well as the support they and their families need,” Obama spokesman Nick Shapiro said.”

It sure is going to be fun watching the folks over at McCain headquarters try to spin their way out of this pot hole of a situation. What will make it even better is outlets such as FOX News, adding into the spin – claiming that somehow these clear cut, in your face numbers are anything less then a reality check to McCain and company.

Technorati Tags: 2008 Campaign, 2008 Election, Afghanistan, Afghanistan War, barack obama, Barack Obama 2008, Campaign Donations, george w. bush, iraq, Iraq war, john mccain, Military, Politics News, troops

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