It is possible that Senator Obama committed an unforced error in the Democratic debate in Texas last night. He said this:

I’ve heard from an Army captain who was the head of a rifle platoon — supposed to have 39 men in a rifle platoon. Ended up being sent to Afghanistan with 24 because 15 of those soldiers had been sent to Iraq. And as a consequence, they didn’t have enough ammunition, they didn’t have enough humvees. They were actually capturing Taliban weapons, because it was easier to get Taliban weapons than it was for them to get properly equipped by our current commander in chief. Now, that’s a consequence of bad judgment. And you know, the question is, on the critical issues that we face right now, who’s going to show the judgment to lead?

The Pentagon has cast doubt on Obama’s comments. The conservative blogosphere has chimed in with more extensive and colorful refutations of the Senator’s comments (here, here, here, and here, for example).

The issue of the veracity of the comments is as of this writing unsettled. Jake Tapper of ABC says he has spoken to the source and finds him credible; however, Senator John Warner apparently has doubts about the alleged 2003 incident; he has asked Obama to provide the “essential facts” of the incident in order to establish what actually happened and determine the proper accountability for this possible lapse in military procedures. (We have to say from reading commentaries from military men that the name “Scott Beauchamp” somehow comes to mind in this matter.)

If there are irregularities in the account Obama presented, this would appear to be a significant opportunity for Hillary Clinton. Senator Clinton has raised several trivial charges against Senator Obama, with negligible impact. This possible error by Obama is of a different order entirely. Mrs. Clinton portrays herself as realistic about our dangerous world and ready on Day One to be Commander in Chief. This gaffe by Obama, if it is one, would appear to be a perfect opportunity for Senator Clinton, displaying Senator Obama’s naiveté if he got all his facts bungled, or some dishonesty, if he or someone associated with his staff made important elements of the incident up.

Senator Obama himself opened the door to harsh criticism of his comments, if they were wrong. He said, speaking of the “captain” who found his platoon without ammunition: “the question is, on the critical issues that we face right now, who’s going to show the judgment to lead?” Senator Obama himself raised the issue of judgment in military matters, and it would be quite a negative thing if he had made an utter hash of it. So we will have to see whether this incident provides an opportunity for Senator Clinton to level a serious criticism at her opponent — and of course whether or not the infatuation with the Democratic Messiah is still so profound that no one may care.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 22nd, 2008 at 8:36 pm and is filed under Democrats, General, MSM, Republicans, War. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.