U.S. Troops Support McCain 3-1

[irvin88]

A Military Times poll indicates landslide support for John McCain, who captures 68 percent of the military vote to Barack Obama's 23 percent.

A poll by the Military Times newspaper group suggests that there is overwhelming support for John McCain among U.S. troops in every branch of the armed forces by a nearly 3-1 margin.

According to the poll, 68 percent of active-duty and retired servicemen and women support McCain, while 23 percent support Barack Obama. The numbers are nearly identical among officers and enlisted troops.


The Military Times, which publishes the Army Times, Navy Times, Marine Corps Times and Air Force Times, polled 80,000 subscribers from Sept 22 to Sept. 29. The non-scientific survey gathered 4,300 respondents -- all of them registered and eligible to vote.

A racial divide was immediately evident among the respondents. Nearly eight in 10 black servicemembers chose Obama, while McCain captured 76 percent of white voters and 63 percent of Hispanic voters.


Numbers among men and women respondents were also visibly different. Men overwhelmingly said they would vote for McCain, 70 percent to 22 percent. But among women the margin was much closer: 53 percent support McCain, while 36 percent support Obama.

U.S. troops also said in the poll that they prefer McCain to handle the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan -- 74 percent said McCain would perform better, while just 19 percent said Obama would.

Four years ago the Iraq War was the single most important issue on which the military voted. But the war now ranks third in importance to these voters. The most important issue among the respondents was character (42 percent), followed by the economy (25 percent) and the Iraq War (16 percent).

There was a racial divide on these issues, as well. Black servicemembers said the economy was the No. 1 issue that affected their vote, and white troops said character was paramount.

The Military Times offered certain caveats for its poll, which was open only to its 80,000 subscribers. Responses were entirely voluntary and were not focused on a representative sample of the public, as scientific polls are. The troops polled were also somewhat older than average enlisted servicemembers and included more officers than is representative of the military as a whole.

Yet judging by the numbers, it appears that the Democratic party has not made many inroads into the traditionally Republican military.

Click here for more on this story from the Military Times.

FOX News' Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.

[cowboys#1]

[burmafrd]

Nothing new here. The Military has always been conservative and will pretty much always support a former service member running vs one who has not served. The Black part is not surprising either- though I would wager that that is mostly the younger enlisted men supporting Obama.

[Cajuncowboy]

The service people know who will take care of them and who will throw them under the bus. That's why they support McCain in this way.

Other than the color of his skin, I do not understand the reasoning behind black service people supporting him. Can be the only reason why there is such a difference.

[silverbear]

Originally Posted by irvin88

A Military Times poll indicates landslide support for John McCain, who captures 68 percent of the military vote to Barack Obama's 23 percent.

For this, I'll break my self-imposed exile, to inject a few facts...

The Military Times is a periodical that is subscribed to mainly by officers, and military retirees... as such, it is NOT a definitive source regarding military attitudes when it comes to the polls it conducts...

The results of the Military Times 2008 Election Poll are not representative of the opinions of the military as a whole. The group surveyed is older, more senior in rank and less ethnically diverse than the overall armed services.

http://race42008.com/2008/10/05/poll...2008-election/

Note that the website in question is actually a CONSERVATIVE website, not a liberal one... just check out the bios they have featured there--

* Alan Keyes
* Bill Frist
* Chuck Hagel
* Condoleezza Rice
* Duncan Hunter
* George Allen
* George Pataki
* John McCain
* Mike Huckabee
* Mitt Romney
* Newt Gingrich
* Rudy Giuliani
* Sam Brownback
* Tom Tancredo
* Tommy Thompson

Then, consider this little snippet:

Deployed Troops Donate to Obama 6-1 Over McCain

U.S. soldiers have donated more presidential campaign money to Democrat than to Republican , a reversal of previous campaigns in which military donations tended to favor GOP White House hopefuls, a nonpartisan group reported Thursday.

Contributions from U.S. Troops Deployed Abroad Recipient Total Number
Obama, Barack $60,642 134
Paul, Ron $45,512 99
McCain, John $10,665 26
Huckabee, Mike $7,950 10
Thompson, Fred $6,350 7
Romney, Mitt $5,550 10
Clinton, Hillary $3,240 6

http://www.thelangreport.com/politic...1-over-mccain/

McCain, Thompson, Huckabee and Romney COMBINED only received about half of what the soldiers in the field have donated to Obama...

BTW, the "nonpartisan group" referred to is the Center For Responsive Politics... anybody who cares to investigate the bonafides of this group as "nonpartisan" can easily research them, I'd suggest starting with Wikipedia, and following some of the links they provide...

It would seem that the attempt to portray the military as overwhelmingly backing McCain is just more right wing propaganda...

OK, back to lurk mode...

[Hypnotoad]

That's very interesting polling data given that most veterans groups grade Obama higher than McCain on their senate votes.

[burmafrd]

Those groups sadly are just like any other political group- they usually lose sight of what their members want.

[Hypnotoad]

Originally Posted by burmafrd

Those groups sadly are just like any other political group- they usually lose sight of what their members want.

They don't agree with me therefore I will discredit everything they say? Some of it is very helpful, especially that they are non-partisan.

From their flag lapel pins to their yellow ribbon bumper stickers, every politician in America wants you to believe they “support the troops.” But actions speak louder than words. When veterans’ issues actually came to a vote in Washington, what did your representatives do?...How did Congress do this year? Over all, they scored very well. From the passage of the landmark Post-9/11 GI Bill to fully funding the Department of Veterans Affairs, we have tremendous progress to celebrate this year. More than 150 legislators earned a perfect score, a grade of A+.

Senator John McCain received a D, while Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Joe Biden both received a B.

The accusation against Obama regarding troop funding came up in the first presidential debate, where Obama defended his vote as a reflection on his position seeking a timetable for withdrawal. "Senator McCain opposed funding for troops in legislation that had a timetable, because he didn't believe in a timetable," Obama pointed out. "I opposed funding a mission that had no timetable, and was open-ended, giving a blank check to George Bush . We had a difference on the timetable. We didn't have a difference on whether or not we were going to be funding troops." Factcheck.org, meanwhile, reported in response to a McCain campaign ad released in July that while Obama did cast one "no" vote on legislation providing money for combat efforts, he voted at least 10 times in favor of increased funding.

[View Full Quote]As for the committee Obama chairs, it does not, in fact, have direct oversight of the war in Afghanistan. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Subcommittee on European Affairs does have jurisdiction over NATO affairs, and NATO has played a large role in the conflict. But hearings on Afghanistan have been held in front of the full Foreign Relations Committee, headed by Obama's running mate, Joe Biden . ABC News reported in July that Obama has attended one of the three full committee hearings on Afghanistan held within the last two years, while McCain has missed all three.

Whats facts like this from groups like IAVA (who don't formally support politicians) matter though....

[Beast_from_East]

Dam Silverbear, you just gave these Republicans a serious beat down with your spread!!!!

Show some mercy Bear, please!!!!

[Beast_from_East]

Originally Posted by irvin88

A Military Times poll indicates landslide support for John McCain, who captures 68 percent of the military vote to Barack Obama's 23 percent.

A poll by the Military Times newspaper group suggests that there is overwhelming support for John McCain among U.S. troops in every branch of the armed forces by a nearly 3-1 margin.

According to the poll, 68 percent of active-duty and retired servicemen and women support McCain, while 23 percent support Barack Obama. The numbers are nearly identical among officers and enlisted troops.


The Military Times, which publishes the Army Times, Navy Times, Marine Corps Times and Air Force Times, polled 80,000 subscribers from Sept 22 to Sept. 29. The non-scientific survey gathered 4,300 respondents -- all of them registered and eligible to vote.

[View Full Quote]A racial divide was immediately evident among the respondents. Nearly eight in 10 black servicemembers chose Obama, while McCain captured 76 percent of white voters and 63 percent of Hispanic voters.


Numbers among men and women respondents were also visibly different. Men overwhelmingly said they would vote for McCain, 70 percent to 22 percent. But among women the margin was much closer: 53 percent support McCain, while 36 percent support Obama.

U.S. troops also said in the poll that they prefer McCain to handle the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan -- 74 percent said McCain would perform better, while just 19 percent said Obama would.

Four years ago the Iraq War was the single most important issue on which the military voted. But the war now ranks third in importance to these voters. The most important issue among the respondents was character (42 percent), followed by the economy (25 percent) and the Iraq War (16 percent).

There was a racial divide on these issues, as well. Black servicemembers said the economy was the No. 1 issue that affected their vote, and white troops said character was paramount.

The Military Times offered certain caveats for its poll, which was open only to its 80,000 subscribers. Responses were entirely voluntary and were not focused on a representative sample of the public, as scientific polls are. The troops polled were also somewhat older than average enlisted servicemembers and included more officers than is representative of the military as a whole.

Yet judging by the numbers, it appears that the Democratic party has not made many inroads into the traditionally Republican military.

Click here for more on this story from the Military Times.

FOX News' Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.

Thats all I needed to know right there!!!!