2014: 6 Times Obama Used the Troops for Photo Ops bit.ly/2EM7BOS v
November 2009. Visiting Osan Air Base in South Korea, Obama announced he would be increasing military pay, and – noticing troops holding cameras and cameraphones – stated, “you guys make a pretty good photo op.”
October 2009. Obama met the coffins of soldiers coming home from Afghanistan at Dover air force base.
According to the original NYT report, “The images and the sentiment of the president’s five-hour trip to Delaware were intended by the White House to convey to the nation that Obama was not making his Afghanistan decision lightly or in haste.” That line was stealth edited out.
April 2009. Obama made a surprise visit to Iraq, apparently to troops “cheering wildly,” according to media accounts.
But accusations flew in the aftermath that the cheering troops had been shuffled – one sergeant reportedly wrote that soldiers were “pre-screened, asked by officials ‘Who voted for Obama?,’ and then those who raised their hands were shuffled to the front of the receiving line.”
They even handed out digital cameras and asked them to hold them up.”
President Obama is a fan of photo ops. That’s why he has routinely banned the press from certain situations, instead releasing only approved photos.
And when it comes to the troops, he’s happy to slash the military budget, do nothing about the Veterans Administration, and use the armed services for social experimentation, then to show up with the cameras when he needs a boost in the polls.
