First Lady Highlights “Tremendous Sacrifice” of Military Families at Norfolk Welcome Home Ceremony
EmailABC News' Karen Travers reports:
In Norfolk VA this afternoon, First Lady Michelle Obama heralded the service of the men and women returning from deployments on the USS Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group and the USNS Comfort and reiterated her commitment to working with military families”You sailed through rough waters and calm seas. You met people from all walks of life. You healed, you helped and gave hope and represented the best of America’s humanitarian efforts,” she said. The event was part of the First Lady’s outreach on behalf of military families. This was her second trip to a military installation, following a March trip to Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Mrs. Obama called on Americans to remember the unique challenges of the nation’s military and their families, who make “a tremendous sacrifice” when their loved ones are serving away from home. “We know that the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States have born an enormous responsibility for their country and for the peace and security of the world,” she said. “Now all Americans must do more to meet our responsibility to those who serve us.”Today the First Lady said her pride in America grows with her exposure to the nation’s servicemen and women.”Every single time I meet someone in uniform, I am more proud of my country,” she said. “Because people are sacrificing and serving with a level of dignity and honor that we should be proud of.”On the campaign trail, Mrs. Obama sparked a firestorm when she said on two occasions in Feb. 2008, that “for the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country.” Campaign officials clarified the comments to mean she was “really proud” at that moment because of the number of Americans participating for the first time in the political process Mrs. Obama was also scheduled to meet privately with Navy leaders and military families in Norfolk today. -Karen Travers
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Boy, two visits in 6 months! Michelle sure is working hard, isn’t she…
Posted by: Beth | July 31, 2009, 4:30 pm 4:30 pm
Let’s see Michelle everyday like her hubbie.
Let’s see how long it takes for the angry Michelle to slip out.
Why all the money and staff to give her image a makeover?
Did BO’s staff think she wasn’t good enough before?
Posted by: millie | July 31, 2009, 4:59 pm 4:59 pm
Yes, but Michelle never felt proud of America and those veterans–until we elected her husband.
Posted by: carl | July 31, 2009, 11:15 pm 11:15 pm
“Yes, but Michelle never felt proud of America and those veterans–until we elected her husband.”
___________________________________
That would be a lie . . . they slip so easily from the minds of the biased.
Posted by: danita | July 31, 2009, 11:25 pm 11:25 pm
Oooo, such pretty words! And she really, really means it! Really!
Posted by: Eyes Open | July 31, 2009, 11:34 pm 11:34 pm
“Yes, but Michelle never felt proud of America and those veterans–until we elected her husband.”
___________________________________
That would be a lie . . . they slip so easily from the minds of the biased
Posted by: danita | Jul 31, 2009 11:25:52 PM
–Michelle Obama proclaimed yesterday that for “the first time” in her adult life,” she was proud of America.
2/19/08 Boston Herald.–
Nice spin from the Obama brownshirts.
Posted by: carl | July 31, 2009, 11:35 pm 11:35 pm
Hey you guys, Michelle worked for the veteran’s rights long before Obama became president. You just don’t like her..period. I was happy to read today that Obama has re-instituted the rights for veterans to receive a free education when they return from serving our country despite protests from the Senate and the House. Let’s give credit where credit is due. That is the least we can do for them. Nothing has been done for them in the past 8 years so I think we are on the right track. We need to help the families who have experienced some financial difficulties while their spouse in the service and give them a lower loan rate if they choose to buy a house. I am willing to cough up for that. The vets have been ignored over the last few years and I am happy to see that they have returned to bringing back the ones we lose in the war with honor and openly if the family chooses. They deserve it.
Posted by: talmag | August 1, 2009, 12:12 pm 12:12 pm
Talmag, you say that Michelle worked for veterans’ rights before becoming First Lady. I have never read or seen anything about this, although I have read tons of stuff about her. Could you provide more specifics?
Posted by: GetReal | August 1, 2009, 10:24 pm 10:24 pm
OMG, I would also love some information on the work Michelle did for vets before Obama ran for president.
talmag, Obama didn’t singlehandedly let vets go to college after serving, for pete’s sake. There have always been such G.I. benefits, since WWII. Last summer he voted for an extremely costly version of the bill that increases benefits to soldiers structured in a way that encourages soldiers to depart the force to take advantage of.
McCain and Secdef Gates opposed his version. They advocated a less costly version that provided the same benefits while not degrading retention. They lost the P.R. war on this one. Here, McCain was thinking like a commander in chief, and Obama was thinking like someone giving away goodies to get votes.
Later, though, the Obama admin. floated a proposal not only to cut the benefits, under the rubric of overall defense budget cuts (the only agency in government being cut), but also one to make combat vets pay out of pocket for their own long-term care resulting from war injuries.
Gee, we certainly didn’t hear about that one during the campaign.
Further “budget balancing” will no doubt come at the expense of the safety and security of U.S. troops, their equipment and weapons. Seems the Pentagon is the only agency of government that doesn’t grow from this bloated budget. Good thing, because they don’t really do anything critical or important.
Speaking of which, Capt. Scott Speicher’s remains have been found in Anbar, the first casualty in the First Gulf War-1991. Closure for this family at long last:
…Take up our quarrel with the foe
To you from failing hands we throw the torch;
Be yours to hold it high
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep
Though poppies grow in Flanders Field.
And keep faith they did, naming one of the earliest bases of this war Camp Speicher years ago.
Posted by: mj | August 2, 2009, 1:25 pm 1:25 pm
Notice that Talmag went silent once his/her contention that Michelle had a long involvement in veteran’s rights was challenged? That’s because as far as I can tell, it isn’t true. She began to make appearances on military bases during the campaign, when the campaign wanted to show that Obama “supports the troops” even though he was against the war in Iraq. That does not a long-term involvement in fighting for the interests of military families and/or veterans make, in my opinion.
Don’t get me wrong, I have been generally very supportive of the First Lady, and her veggie garden and emphasis on volunteerism and, yes, her interest in military families. But I am troubled by those who feel they need to exaggerate the accomplishments of either her or her husband, often, but not in this case, while denigrating the accomplishments of their successors.
So I’ll join the chorus of skeptics waiting to hear what Talmag knows that we don’t about Mrs. Obama’s volunteerism for the military back in her pre-campaign days.
Posted by: moderate | August 2, 2009, 11:17 pm 11:17 pm