It's unclear how Obama could have made the visit at all, given the Pentagon's directives. No Senate staff was on the trip, and the Obama camp says they received the Pentagon's directives on Wednesday, after they were already abroad.

McCain's campaign, of course, comes off as ridiculous.

Bottom line: We're not seeing any issue here at all.

Greg - there is no issue here, there is no issue there, there hasn't been one damn issue raised by McLame yet.

They are making shit up as fast as they can and none of it means one damn thing.

This may be the weirdest campaign season evah.

It was all a trap and Mccain fell right into it. If Obama's campaign had said the visit wasn't allowable under DOD rules the story would've died there. Instead Mccain went on offense and tried to score some points and now Obama gets to counter with "Mccain turned our following of military rules into a political attack"

He still could've gone...just not made it a "campaign" event...no photo op...just a citizen of the world thanking other citizens of the world.

Exactly. The issue is that they didn't tell him until the last minute.

More information from Politico:

http://www.politico.com/blogs/jonathanmartin/0708/Obama_camp_says_Pentagon_nixed_troop_visit.html?showall

"My colleague Carrie Budoff Brown, traveling with Obama, sends over more information from a briefing ofered by Gibbs:

Senior strategist Robert Gibbs said the visit to the military hospital in Germany had been in the works for about three weeks, with Gration serving as the campaign's contact with the Pentagon.

The Pentagon cleared the Obama plan to land at the base on either July 15 or 16, Gibbs said. The plane needed the clearance because of restrictions on landing nonmilitary aircraft there, he said.

But then on Wednesday, Gration told Obama aides that the Pentagon had informed him that the visit could be viewed as a campaign stop.

"They cited a regulation," Gibbs said of their point of contact, described as legislative affairs in the office of the secretary.

"We believed that based on the information we received that any presence, even his own and only his own, would get into a back and forth on whether his own presence was a campaign event," Gibbs said.

Obama decided on the flight Wednesday from Tel Aviv to Berlin not to visit the hospital.

Asked why he believed the Pentagon would clear the visit, then raised questions about it, Gibbs declined to speculate: "I don't know what to make of it."

Asked whether he thought the Pentagon set up the campaign for a political embarrassment, Gibbs said no."

This is just like the state dept rulings...playing games and trying screw Obama. Not issuing this ruling in timely manner was on purpose!

damn..it would be so nice for our gov't to stop with this shit!

I smell Rovian tactics and some cooperation with Mccain. If this comes out no doubt the MSM will bury it and focus on the audacity of Obama munching on a crossaint with Sarkosy...just damn UnAmerican!

Obama cannot attack from abroad. McCain has had a free pass all week, while slinging mud across the Atlantic whenever he or his campaign felt like it.

Just how disconnected is this with to the State department prohibition of Berlin embassy staff attending his speech? There does appear to be a coordinated pettiness campaign going on by the Republican-controlled bureaucracy.

Such stringent rules seem to no longer matter when Lorita Doan shows up with her government politicizing agenda.

And the jerks at ABCNEWS.COM ran a top line story all afternoon and evening accusing Obama of "nixing" the troops. So much for "Love."

Well, whatever... Obama started this week with nothing but glowing reviews, and it was clear McCain was playing catch up. Now we're hearing about his arrogance, about how he's out of touch with the American people, and how he's ignoring the troops, and I haven't heard a sufficient comeback form the Obama campaign. I know it's early, I know a lot can happen, but I haven't seen that Obama has the stomach for the sort of fight the Republicans are going to wage. I'll happily say I'm wrong if Obama is sworn in next January. But yes, I am going to worry through the whole campaign. Ignore me at your pleasure.

I said nothing about a "ruling" or about Obama being overtly forbidden from actually visiting Landstuhl. However, from the article:

[blockquote]...the Obama campaign received official permission two weeks ago from the Pentagon to land a plane in Ramstein, Germany. But on Wednesday, he said, military officials advised the campaign of concerns about a political visit being a violation of government rules.[/blockquote]
This sure sounds like someone is referring to "rules". So, basically plans were made and confirmed through the Pentagon by the Obama campaign to visit US soldier serving overseas, and then after the first portion of the visit went so well, "concerns" were brought forward. This was also after visiting troops in Iraq and Jordan.

Very curious, to say the least. But I'm sure not political in the least.

It's swiftboating all over again. Except in this case, it's our own Army that's being complicit.
Who needs NPOs to do your dirty work with a seated CINC who is uninterested in regime change in his own country?

I don't suppose any of you sycophants will entertain the notion that Obama might have decided on his own that visiting wounded soldiers wasn't appropriate as a campaign event? Absent any rulings or chicanery, Obama would have been perfectly happy to exploit the visit for his campaign. But instead let's focus on how everyone's trying to undermine him and conspire against him. Because we know Obama's motives are always pure.

"So where does McCain stand on legislation supported by major veterans organizations?

On Webb's GI Bill, he expressed opposition, and he was AWOL when it was time to vote on May 22.

In September, he voted against another Webb bill that would have mandated adequate rest for troops between combat deployments.

On a badly needed $1.5-billion increase for veterans medical services for fiscal year 2007 — to be funded through closing corporate tax loopholes — he voted no. He also voted against establishing a trust fund to bolster under-budgeted veterans hospitals.

In May 2006, he voted against a $20-billion allotment for expanding swamped veterans medical facilities.

In April 2006, he was one of 13 Senate Republicans who voted against an amendment to provide $430 million for veterans outpatient care.

In March 2004, he voted against and helped defeat on a party-line vote a $1.8-billion reserve for veterans medical care, also funded by closing tax loopholes.

Before the Senate voted on Webb's GI legislation, McCain offered what he called a compromise bill, but it was rejected. Webb pointed out that there really was