In Colorado Springs on Wednesday, Barack Obama issued a call to national service. He lamented that after 9/11 "We were ready to step into the strong current of history, and to answer a new call for our country. But the call never came."
"We need to ease the burden on our troops, while meeting the challenges of the 21st century. That's why I will call on a new generation of Americans to join our military, and complete the effort to increase our ground forces by 65,000 soldiers and 27,000 Marines," said Obama.
In May, Obama delivered the commencement address at Wesleyan University on the theme of public service, but, as William Kristol wrote in the New York Times:
he goes on to detail - at some length - the "so many ways to serve" that are available "at this defining moment in our history." There's the Peace Corps, there's renewable energy, there's education, there's poverty - there are all kinds of causes you can take up "should you take the path of service."
But there's one obvious path of service Obama doesn't recommend - or even mention: military service. He does mention war twice: "At a time of war, we need you to work for peace." And, we face "big challenges like war and recession." But there's nothing about serving your country in uniform.
In response to Obama's remarks in Colorado Springs, McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said: "It was refreshing to hear Barack Obama laud military service in his speech today. We hope this will be the tone we hear from him, his campaign and his surrogates from now on."
Clearly Rogers's statement was aimed at Wesley Clark, but it also highlights Obama's hypocrisy for blaming Bush for allegedly failing to call on Americans to serve their country, when Obama himself recently neglected to mention the military as one of the "so many ways to serve".
