It wasn’t a scientific poll, and it’s just one report about a relatively small number of U.S. troops, but this ABC News report nevertheless suggests that the “military vote,” if there is such a thing, is up for grabs in this election.
Of particular interest, ABC spoke to the troops about their political preferences immediately after listening to Dick Cheney give what the network described as a “rousing speech.” Presumably, if the troops were going to be persuaded to back the candidate that agrees with the Bush administration on Iraq policy, this was the time.
And yet, of the troops quoted in the ABC piece, four back Barack Obama, one supports Hillary Clinton, and none went on record endorsing John McCain.
As Will Bunch put it, “These soldiers/citizens/voters are concerned about the same things their like-minded Americans back home care about, like the economy and avoiding future wars that might be even more ill-advised than the one they’ve been sent to fight.”
And this means the troops, like the rest of the country, are ready to consider a candidate offering a change.
I suspect a conservative would watch or read the report and conclude that ABC was only showing troops who expressed support for Dems, but that seems unlikely. Martha Raddatz almost seemed to try be second-guessing the troops’ responses (if I’m not mistaken, at one point, she told one Obama-supporting soldier, “But [Obama] wants to pull out of Iraq right away?” That’s not even fully accurate, and it’s not the kind of thing a reporter who’s trying to get pro-Democratic responses would say.)
For that matter, the report also highlights the perspective of troops who don’t necessarily agree with their mission.
PFC Jeremy Slate said he supported Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., because of his stated intention to pull out of Iraq right away.
“That would be nice,” Slate said, “I’d like to be home, yea.”
SFC Patricia Keller also expressed support for Obama, citing his representation for change. […]
Spc. Imus Loto said he supported Obama. “It will be something different. But he’s out there and he’ll probably support us a lot more.”
By support, Loto meant pulling out troops. “Pull me out, too.” he said.
Though the military is generally a more conservative group, soldiers like Sgt. Justin Sarbaum are just as eager for a pull-out as the Democratic candidates. Sarbaum said he wondered which presidential candidate would be able to better the U.S. relationship with rogue nations, such as Iran, so that soldiers are not sent off to another war.
“Iran is obviously a big issue,” Sarbaum said, “Here in Iraq for my third time; starting another war right now — is it really necessary?”
So much for the conservative assumptions about the worldview of the men and women in uniform.