Hagel: McCain Treading On Very Thin Ground

(CBS/AP)  Sen. Chuck Hagel, who accompanied Sen. Barack Obama on his trip to South Asia and Iraq last week, criticized the McCain campaign for its latest television ad attacking the Democratic candidate.

The ad blasts Obama for not visiting wounded troops during his visit to Germany. Obama has said he chose to cancel a visit to a military hospital there after consultations with the Pentagon, due to concerns that such a visit might be seen as using wounded troops for political purposes.

The McCain ad, which contains footage of Obama bouncing a basketball before U.S. military personnel in Kuwait, implied that Obama was being disrespectful to troops by making "time to go to the gym" during his overseas trip while at the same time cancelling a visit with wounded troops.

"Seems the Pentagon wouldn't allow him to bring cameras," the ad insinuates.

The commercial began airing after a week of news coverage of Obama appearing with foreign leaders and speaking to cheering European crowds. The McCain campaign has suggested that Obama preferred that audience to wounded American soldiers.

"John McCain is always there for our troops," the ad said.

Obama's campaign called the new accusation "wildly inappropriate."

The Republican senator from Nebraska agreed, saying on Face The Nation that the GOP's presumptive nominee is "treading on some very thin ground here when he impugns motives, and when we start to get into 'You're less patriotic than me, I'm more patriotic.'

"They're better off to focus on policy differences," he said.

"It's just not responsible to be saying things like that, again, if for no other reason than for the good of this country and the world.

"One of these two men, on January 20th of next year, is going to have to bring this country together, and the world, to deal with huge problems. I think the next president is going to inherit an inventory of challenges as big as Franklin Roosevelt inherited on March 4, 1933."

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., who also accompanied Obama to Afghanistan and Iraq this week, called the ad "completely distorted."

"Senator Hagel, Senator Obama and I visited the combat support hospital in Baghdad to thank those nurses, those doctors, to see patients that were there, to bring a bit of greetings from home and profound thanks," he said. "That should be in the ad that Senator McCain is running.

"I think Senator Obama made a very wise choice [about Germany]. Any suggestion that a visit to a military hospital would be political, he made the wise choice not to go.

"But when we were in Baghdad, we made a point, at the end of a very exhausting day, to go in and see these magnificent young Americans and those doctors and nurses that give such tremendous care - without a lot of fanfare, just to say 'Thanks.'

"We went to Jalalabad to see the soldiers of the 173rd. We stopped in Basra to see our soldiers down there. We went into Anbar province to see soldiers there.

"That is a completely distorted and, I think, inappropriate advertisement."

On Sunday, McCain appeared to backtrack only a little on his attacks when he told ABC's George Stephanopolous that he was not questioning Obama's patriotism when he declared earlier this week that the Illinois senator would rather lose a war than lose an election.

He said he was merely indicating that his Democratic opponent "doesn't understand what's at stake" in Iraq.

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Read the full "Face the Nation" transcript here.

By CBSNews.com producer David Morgan.

[xpineapple]

It''s less than 100 days to the election, and there''s been no changes to CBSNews Politics website oover the last 48 hours. This is why I tend to surf at ABCNEWS and CNN. Let''s see some fressh content! The election is going to happen soon...keep things coming! BTW, Katie Couric''s interview of Barack Obama during his middle east visit was the best. At least she asked some tough questions.

[vet4truth]

WELLHELL3, Stop the rant and simply fact check

[vet4truth]

I''m a registered Unaffiliated voter; it is down right shameful the way MCain and his staff are running his campaign. McC and company should not insult our veterans itelligence by running blatantly false ads about Obama''s patriotism, motives toward our injured troops and veterans issues. Gone are the days of mindless voters, we read, blog and fact check. Mr. McCain stop the dishonorable campaign, you are not telling the truth. I respected you once, but your actions cause me to bring into question your sincerity and integrity for troop and veterans issues. I know your record on these issues and ironically, it doesn''t hold up against Sen. Obama''s. When you jokingly sang "Bomb, bomb, bomb-bomb,bomb Iran" I knew you''d lost it. One soldier''s life is nothing to toy with or jokingly sing about. I know if you were given the chance, you would hastily get more of my buddies killed, because you are bitter from your own experience and don''t possess the patience to think things through for the long term. Your mentality..victory at any cost! I say Diplomacy First, which I equate to "Counry First"
You''re partially right about the surge, but if you place thousands of my men anywhere, we will be successful (in that area); what about the places we aren''t? It''s still violence as usual! The surge was a baby bandaid placed on the big toe, when you had a compound fracture on the femur (Afghanistan). Let''s wake up guys-my boys are still dying. Stop the politics and get to the exit strategy.

[mcsuicide247]

Chuck Hagel SHOULD KICK MCCAINS A$$ FOR HIS CAMPAIGN PUTING OUT STUPID $HIT...

[hofkurz]

Yes, Sen. McCain''s ad was very inappropriate especially since he apparently forgot his stand on the GI Bill.

[jongood65]

"treading on some very thin ground here..."????

One might expect a yankee Sen. like the Hag should know the actual reference is, treading on some very thin ice.

[karela33]

As John McCain well knows, no one can go to wounded with press or cameras because it''s against military law. Obama didn''t go because the Pentagon was signaling that if he did, it could be construed as "using" the troops for campaign advantage. I think he had good reason to think that the Bush administration was up to no good. 1) The Pentagon OK''d that visit several weeks before, but the day before the trip they changed. 2)Bush ordered that no U.S. Embassy would assist Obama trip. Any U.S. citizen is always given embassy help abroad. 3)All foreign service personnel are forbidden to attend Berlin speech on their own time. 4) McCain violated Secret Service and State Department security directives by announcing that Obama would be arriving in a war zone while Obama''s plane was actually in the air in route. Why would McCain endanger the life of a U.S. Senator and presidential candidate. WHO TOLD McCAIN Obama''s itinerary?
The Bush administration was doing all they could on this trip and it was obvious. Obama didn''t want to involve wounded troops and medical personnel in the stink, so he made personal phone calls to the wounded instead of going. McCain is a man without honor if he is willing to use the wounded like this. I recall an interview with Cindy McCain about a month ago when she said that this kind of thing would NEVER happen with John because he just doesn''t believe in it. Until now. Until he wants to win more than he wants to be honorable.

[wellhell3]

So, I was talking to this little girl, Catherine, the daughter of some friends, and she said she wanted to be the Republican President of the United States someday.

Both of her parents, staunch republicans, were standing there with us and I asked Catherine, ''If you were the republican President what would be the first thing you would do?''

Catherine replied, ''I would give houses to all the homeless people.''

''Wow, what a worthy goal you have there, Catherine.'' I told her, ''but you don''t have to wait until you''re the republican President. You can start now by coming over to my house and cleaning up all the dog poop in my back yard and I will pay you $5 dollars. Then we can go over to the grocery store here the homeless guy hangs out, and you can give him the $5 dollars to use for a new house.''

Catherine (who was about 5) thought that over for a second, while her mom looked at me seething, and Catherine replied, ''Why doesn''t the homeless guy come over and clean up the dog poop and you can just pay him the $5 dollars?''

''Ah'', I said, ''Welcome to the Democratic Party''.

[wellhell3]

I love it! John McCain himself has the courage to come out and call this guy a schmuck right to his face!

What does Obscamma do? Like the good mafia capo he is, he calls out his weenie hit men to cry waa waa waaaa!

[johnbush2-2009]

Britain is so inundated with Muslim influence they''''ve been forced to take the events of the holocaust our of their textbooks because it offends these idiots little sensibilities! They want history to be re-written and want it taken OUT!

How long are these idiots in the US going to take before they start demanding that the events of the WTC be taken out of our history books BECAUSE IT IS OFFENSIVE to their little sensabilities!

Wake up Americans!

Posted by WellHell3 at 05:21 AM : Jul 29, 2008

The muslims have taken over Britain so much so that the British no longer celebrate Christmas because muslims find it offensive.

A black junior senator with an Arab Muslim heritage and who is a strong advocate of Black Liberation theology should not be President of this nation.