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Minnesota veterans weigh in on presidential race
On a day when Senator Barack Obama's visit to Iraq drew much of the world media focus, the McCain campaign in Minnesota countered with an appeal to veterans. "Around the nation today we're kicking off Veterans for McCain," retired Air Force Brigadier General Denny Schulstad told reporters Monday morning. A group of 25 veterans who back the Arizona Senator launched their effort at the World War II veterans' memorial on the State Capitol Mall. "Even when others questioned the surge Senator McCain knew it was the right thing to do," Schulstad remarked, "He knew he could very well lose the election as a result of that, but he stuck with it and he was right." The event featured a wounded Iraq war veteran, a Blue Star mom with two sons who've served in Iraq and a decorated Vietnam War hero who spent time with John McCain as a prisoner in the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" in North Vietnam. "I know from prison John will speak his mind, he'll stand up in front of the enemy, it may cause him terrible treatment," retired Colonel Leo Thorness said of his friend and one-time fellow inmate. "But if John is proven wrong, John is a big enough man to say 'Okay I was wrong on that' and we go on and fix it and let's do it again." Thorness, who grew up in Minnesota and received the Medal of Honor for his wartime heroics as a pilot, said he wasn't there to bash Barack Obama. He simply wanted to make the point that someone with combat experience will make a better commander-in-chief when the nation's at war. "He'll never willy-nilly get us into some conflict, but if our freedom and national security is threatened John won't hesitate to defend that freedom." Veterans for Obama Barack Obama's Minnesota campaign rolled out its own group of veterans Monday, shortly after the McCain event ended. "Senator McCain is a war hero and I respect him greatly," Vietnam veteran Chuck Sporer told reporters, "But for Senator McCain to suggest that Barack Obama does not support our troops is just plain dishonest." Sporer and others disagreed with the notion that a civilian can't lead the nation during a time of war. "We've had a lot of civilian leaders in this country and they've done very well," Navy veteran Jim Bootz asserted, "Franklin Roosevelt led us through World War II and he wasn't a military veteran." Bootz, who heads the DFL Veterans Caucus, predicted that Minnesota veterans, especially the younger generation, are ready to get behind the Illinois senator. "Especially with the disappointment the troops have had with the way the Bush Administration has run things," Bootz said, "I think if they understand they're going to get a continuation of that with John McCain I don't think they're going to flock to support him." Both veterans groups took shots at the other candidate's voting records. McCain's supporters pointed out that Obama was one of only 14 senators to vote against a troop funding measure. The Obama contingent cited McCain's votes against a new GI bill for college aid.
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