I am glad he finally did spend some time with the Troops, they deserve his aknowledgement. They also deserve more then camara's, they deserve benifits, they deserve respect, they deserve far more then the left has ever given them.

"Television is a freak show" Bernie Goldberg

I don't know any military personnel who has an 'appreciation' of a man that doesn't want to pay their medical bills for injuries they sustain on duty.

It strikes me that any event where the military "wildly" embraces the commander-in-chief is, from the get-go, somewhat staged. I mean, half the time, that's why the president gets in front of a military crowd in the first place. Think about it - who here is shocked, shocked! that there was some manipulation ... at a photo-op? That's what a photo-op is in the first place. 

As to the clumsiness of the staging, it wouldn't surprise me. These guys can't manage a lemonade stand.

Not to be a broken record, but this is good cause to step back and look at how we conduct our politics. I mean, the photo-op is a standard political exercise. But it's obvious manipulation. We place the president in front of flags, make him wear blue ties, etc., all to send subliminal messages to viewers. Unless you've been living under a rock, everyone who views these events knows that these staging details are all small forms of manipulation. Usually, the success of manipulation comes when the manipulation isn't noticed; but in politics, everyone knows they're being manipulated.

I mean, it's as if the public is saying, we know you're lying to us, but we're going to be persuaded by what you say anyway. That's madness. That's not cognitive dissonance. That's stupidity.

That would also explain why the majority of these soldiers are Black.  62.7% of the US Army is White and 19.8% is Black.  I don't see that ratio here, not even close.  Good find by MacsMind on the cameras.  

"Mass genocide is the most exhausting activity one can engage in, outside of
soccer." (Dogma)

Looks like they are the uneducated part of the military that got stuck in Iraq Kerry was talking about.

 (as a military member, I can make fun of that) 

Everything is perfect.

Stop denying that everything is perfect.

"So it seems that the establishment press got played."

Oh, Tom - The press wasn't played. Instead, they were grateful that this was staged because this was the story they wanted to report.

My husband is an Air Force veteran, and I remember he used to tell me about certain occasions when he was active duty when they would have what was called "rent-a-crowd". The troops were "unofficially" expected to attend an event/occasion...meaning that it wasn't an "order", exactly, but they were expected to attend.

The fact that this went on at O's appearance in Iraq is not a surprise...I figured as soon as I saw the pictures, that all the Obama supporters in the crowd were in the front, and this appears to be the case. But, despite the glowing reports and faces, the majority of the military doesn't think particularly highly of Obama...They think he's an empty suit lightweight, who doesn't know (or care) one blessed thing about the military. And they haven't forgotten some of the less than flattering (or true) things that he said during the campaign about the military, and believe me, they won't forget them, either.    

"...peace is the highest aspiration of the American People. We will negotiate for it, sacrifice for it, we will never surrender for it, now or ever." President Ronald Reagan~ January 20, 1981

another CoP staff member bites the dust.

Yep, a scene straight out of The West Wing. Cut! Print! Return props to storage...

The "Mainstream" Media: By liberals. For liberals.

Well, I thought all along that the thing was staged; it looked staged.  My thought was that they picked only those soldiers who were openly partisan to the symbolic president.  I didn't see any of the 1000 yard stare types, nor did I see any of the burly-looking tough guys.  The crowd was predominately black, of course.  I thought everyone was taking it for granted that the whole thing was stilted; i didn't know there was any doubt about it.   

who paid for the cameras?  It is also well known to anyone who has evr served this great nation that even if they wanted to boo the guy, they would not be allowed to.  They were told to cheer.  They were told to cheer for Bush and they were told to cheer for Clinton and so on.  It is a game.

Man, the military has changed a lot since the 80's When I was serving, most bases didn't allow the use of cameras, for security reasons of course. Now the troops are allowed cameras IN A SUPPOSED COMBAT ZONE! I guess Iraq is safe after all, despite the whining by the liberals for that last several years.

As for supporting the President, that's what the troops are SUPPOSED to do. Anyone who disrespected the President would find themselves facing an Article 15 at best, and a General Courts Martial at worst. So, the sight of troops photographing the President doesn't surprise me at all. It IS an historic moment when ANY President visits the troops.

As for the troops dissing a Senator like Kerry, well, it's just a Senator so what's the big deal? A Senator has no authority over the Military, the President does.

The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
The US Constitution

Unless you're a fetus.
The US Supreme Court

Of course these things are staged. Remember Bush's "impromptu" Q&A?

...but that pic shows Obama "Cheered wildly by US troops". Dosen't matter if they voted for him or not. (or if they got free cameras for that matter). They are US troops, no? 

"There are two types of people in this country; those who provide freedom and those who enjoy it." MM says...

...just so i understand this...the troops (who really disagree w/obama) after being given free cameras (from obama) then procede to take pictures of obama... (becuz they hate him).

...im sorry but thats nuts....have a happy tea bag day just the same...

Each succeeding day with this bunch is more surreal.

I found this story to be unusual considering troops also have no proof of oblahblah's eligibility. People talk and I'm certain this question is on the minds of every service member. Hard to believe not a single troop asked him about his birth certificate! This story had to be contrived/staged to put oblahblah in a position of supposedly supporting our military, which he doesn't...proof in numerous videotaped speeches.  What happened to his "promise" of being out of Iraq by 3/31/09??? The man is incapable of telling a truth....I think if he did, his head would explode. When are WE THE PEOPLE going to remove this imposter from our White House???!!!

The article only says cameras were handed out. It doesn't say they got to keep them. It would be just like a liberal to give and then take back.

And where's the teleprompter?

Is anything about this administration real?  I think the whole thing is a put on, no where near what it seems.  It's pathetic when every visit has to be staged.  I'm sure when he was campaigning, those big crowds were bribed into being there.  It's like watching a bad movie.

I hope this gets more play.  That it was staged is one thing, that troops were involved is quite another.  Accding to sources I've corresponded with, the Obama team actually asked the troops "Who voted for Obama" and then handed out the cameras to the raised hands and moved them to the front for the media.  An individual in the military should never be asked about his politics in this public way.