Veterans speak out: We’re not just laundry

From the Truman National Security Project, a video featuring testimony from veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan especially, questioning whether Mitt Romney has what it takes to be Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. armed forces:

This is rather the opposite of  “swift boating,” isn’t it?  An established organization active on national security issues, with a distinguished staff and board of directors, working on a shoe-string, with identified spokesmen.

The Truman Project’s blog lays out the case for President Obama’s election with respect to his initiatives on behalf of veterans.  As much as I would prefer to see those positive achievements emphasized, campaigns don’t really allow much time for careful, thoughtful explanation.

Will there be any effect from this advertisement?  What do you think?

More:  

• “New ad questions Romney’s ability to serve as commander-in-chief,” Think-Progress; “The one minute video first highlights Romney’s various foreign policy fumbles throughout the campaign, including his confusing Afghanistan policy, his failure to mention the war there and commemorate U.S. troops in his RNC speech, and his campaign’s reluctance to talk about national security. ‘You have shown us from London to Libya that you are over your head,’ an Army vet says, with the ad closing with three other vets saying they don’t trust Romney to lead the military.”
• Reuters:  “Swing state ad from hawkish Democrats hits Romney on foreign policy” – “There are more than 20 million American veterans, 15.8 million of whom cast ballots in the 2008 election cycle, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Many veterans live in states key to Obama’s re-election, such as Ohio, where there are more than 900,000 veterans, according to Department of Veterans Affairs data.”
• Veteran unemployment rate dips, but crisis deepens for ex-military women (usnews.nbcnews.com)
• Veterans retreating from Obama (politico.com)
• Mike Breen, North Hampton vet, speaks out with Truman Project; Seacoastonline;  [From the article]: Contrast that with the “dead silence” at the Republican National Convention on the topic of the troops, and [New Hampshire Attorney General Phil McLaughlin] said the positions of the two candidates could not be more clear.  “It’s as though (to Republicans) there were no Iraq. It’s as though there were no Afghanistan. It’s as though there were no veterans,” he said.