The veteran vote

Before the faltering economy took center stage, Iraq united voters’ passions. McCain has argued the U.S. must stay in Iraq until victory is assured, while Obama wants to bring troops home as quickly as possible and calls the war a mistake. Some veterans have lashed out at that last claim. What is surprising is the number of anti-McCain videos popping up from the veteran community. This combat veteran says McCain is known as a volatile guy and McCain has shown himself to be bellicose, and therefore is not suitable to be near the red button. Videos like that infuriate this man, the President of Veterans in Politics International, a group which endorses McCain. He says serving as a POW with someone means they’re like family to you, and you don’t come back and make statements like that about said person. But it’s not just one rogue veteran attacking McCain. This week the non-profit and non-partisan group Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America released a report card showing how members of Congress voted on military and veteran’s issues and the group gave McCain a D. some military bloggers have taken issue with the classification of McCain not serving veterans well but the director of the group says this is a clear judgment across the board of McCain’s voting habits. The group hasn’t endorsed either candidate, but Obama scored a B for his voting record, as did Joe Biden. He says that’s below average and 55 senators received an A. still the group asserts that McCain has an abysmal record and that’s causing a stir. This Veterans of America official says he’s not surprised by the score and says McCain hasn’t been fit to take the lead on veteran’s issues. That’s not something you’d know by listening to McCain on the campaign stump. Many veterans take McCain at his word. He credits both candidates for keeping veterans’ concerns at the forefront.