Taken from this week's issue of the Army Times' poll of military personnel. re: the election, (in percents).

                     McCain           Obama
Overall               68               23
Army                  68               23
Navy                  69               24
Air Force             67               24
Marines               75               18
Retirees              72               20
White non-hispanic    76               17
Hispanic              63               27
Black/African Amer    12               79
Enlisted              67               24
Officers              70               22


Wonder if the Dems will try to get the military absentee ballots voided again this election?

A military coup a few months after Obama wins (lol)

the number one job of the Office of President is to be Commander-in-Chief of United States Army and Navy isn't it?

Back to the Army Times poll it is interesting the consistency of the percentages between the various services, ranks and demographics except for one of course. I do wonder why McCain did not strongly solicit the support of Hispanics like Reagan and Bush did.

Yeah, Obama!

how would these numbers look if the poll were taken after Powell's endorsement.

Soldiers do what they are told. They are young. But most importantly they generally do not have access to mainstream media. Additionally they are subject to intensive psychological manipulation. This poll means nothing, its like asking my dog if he likes food.

Just how are the members of the military not exposed to the MSM? With the exception of the troops deployed in Iraq and Afganistan the military has the same access to the MSM as anybody else.

Just a FYI, of the approximately 1.5 million members of the military on active duty about 150,000 are deployed in Iraq with another 30,000 or so in Afghanistan.

I think a poll of those most likely to be in the line of fire is quite relevant.

No, the #1 job is to represent the PEOPLE.   The PEOPLE decide what the military does, NOT the otherway around.  Unless we're ruled by a military junta.  

Frankly of late I'm beginning to wonder ...

I agree that officers and NCO's above E6 probably do have access. Percentagewise Im sure you will find the ratio of Officers vs Enlisted simliar to the numbers reported in that piece of GOP propaganda touted here.

Enlisted and lower ranking NCO's are in 4 man rooms or group billets and are kept busy constantly training. No access to MSM. Exposure is systematically filtered in the interest of keeping morale high.

I do appreciate the Devils advocate thing though. Thanks for playing.

Dude, you must have been asleep during your civics classes. The Senate and House of Representatives represent the people. Read your copy of the Constitution again. You do have one, don't you? Article II spells out the POTUS job description.

Training only last a few months of a several year enlistment. The vast majority of both enlisted men and officers have every bit as much access to the MSM as anyone else.  Are you sure you were ever in the service?

You are correct about constitutional duties.  

But the point I was intending to make was that the will of the people should guide the actions of the President.  

So for someone to say "I wish only voters with a DD214 Form could vote" sounds bizzare & not representative of a democracy.

Funny and I agree we have a thing called the internets now

I think for the sake of argument you are missing my point. Did you have a computer? Did you have your own TV. Could you leave base whenever you wanted.

In your free time what did you do? How much of what you said, thought, and did, do you still practice today? Again, access and exposure are two different things.

I noticed you totally avoided the psychological manipulation part of my original statement. Why?

I am going back 20+ years. Keeping an open mind I suppose todays military might be a very different place.

I dont know what your job in the military was but we trained every day, sometimes going out in the field for weeks or months at a time. Im guessing supply or HQ. Maybe a cook. Truck driver. Definately support though.

The Internet was a wet dream at the time. Computers did "talk" through modems, but that was rare and expensive.

we also spent a lot of time in the field, and I am going back thirty years not twenty. Even then we had the same access as anyone else when not in the field.

Television, radio, newspapers, there was no internet (Al Gore had not invented it yet), we had the same access as anyone else.

As far as "psychological manupulation" you get just as much manipulation sitting in some college classroom being lectured by some "hate America" left wing tenured professor that can't be fired as you do in the service.

What did I do in my free time? Now that's the most ridiculous question I've heard yet. I got drunk and fucked fräuleins.lol What did you do?

Plenty of newspapers, Tv and mags... but no indigenous female population that wasn't totally off limits for my little tour.  But Germany and France on leave was  a highlight.

of their capitalist masters.

TV radio newspapers and providers everywhere.
Thailand/Vietnam

But one of your statements does support my hypothesis. You spent your free time drinking and fucking just like me. You sure as hell werent busting your ass to keep informed on the political arena at home.

I personally admire McCain. Im 90% sure he is a better man than I could ever hope to be. Is he fit to be president. Not at 72. And Palin cant even answer one fucking question intelligently with out contradicting herself. His choice of a running mate gives me serious doubts as to his current state of mind.  

The original post was Army not all the military. The Army as I know it keeps asking you the same question until you give the right answer. No-Gos back the the end of the line. Try it again.

I stand by my original statment "This poll means nothing, its like asking my dog if he likes food."

Maybe my four years in college after the military has somehow tainted my views a little. But thats how they got me in the first place. The GI Bill.

Dont get me wrong I am a patriot and still to this day would give my life for my country if necessary.~Felix

are equally worthless. Not that I necessarily disagree with that sentiment, but to single out the military as uniquely uninformed is every bit as unfair as Breaker statement that every voter should have military experience. At least in Breaker defense, I think he was at least semi-tongue in cheek. lol

Many of us enlisted for the GI bill, but none of us claimed that the GI bill was a backdoor draft on poor people like the left likes to claim now.

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.'

This excerpt stating that the results are NOT an indication of the military as a whole discredits tha idea that the troops are really backing McCain

You are worse that a simple liar when you take a small piece of truth and twist it into a false portrayal of fact. Shame on you.

WE live in a representative Republic. As Jersey Flyer stated please read your Constitution. I had to when I was in the US ARMY. My statement that voters only with a DD214 form was only half-joking.

IN truth, the founding founders never explictly defined who should vote. In the beginnning, only property voters were allowed to vote.

I will say this everybody that I know of who was in the military votes. I don't know if I could say the same for other demographics. My opinion is that we have served, know the blood and sacrifice it takes to protect and preserve the US Constitution. In other words we have a personal investment on how this country turns out.

What GOP propaganda touted here? The Army Times is a subsidiary of Gannett Publishing, which also publishes USA Today. I hardly think they are very sympathetic to the GOP.

Apparently, you misunderstood the the origin of the poll. The Army Times is not a military published paper, it is a paper published by a civilian company for those in the military that wish to buy and read it. The poll was not conducted by the military. You must be confusing it with the "Stars and Stripes", which is a military published paper. I enlisted in August, 1960, and retired in August, 1988. Like you, I would do it again, if need be. BTW, during that time, no one ever told me who to vote for. Although, when reporting to the paymaster for pay, if we didn't contribute to the Red Cross, the First Sergeant would get pissed, and we had KP for the next week. Fun times.

What excerpt are you talking about? Sounds like you were actually part of the polling group. Who did you poll? You calling me a simple liar? Did you read the thread title.."For informational purposes only".

So WTF is "W" ramming "Democracy" down the throats of the rest of the world for???  

As far as military voters, here's the reality: A large percentage of those that sign up for the military are 18-year olds that have bleak prospects in life.  

So they opt for the only option available to them.  They do it to earn a paycheck & get a chance at college, see the world etc.  (and retire at thirty-something & get a pension for the rest of their lives (does that qualify for socialism?)

So don't preach to me that they know WTF they are doing in the military.  

As for the "blood and sacrifice it takes to protect and preserve the US Constitution", you may want to take that up with the current POTUS as he has undermined the very provisions of that constitution.

The self-righteousness of people like you is pathetic.  Because you "served" you THINK you're better than everyone else.  I've got news for you ... my vote counts the SAME as yours.  So if you put more skin in the game than me, you paid too much for that mufffler LMAO

stalwart unofficial policy of our great nation. It is our nation's noble call to duty. It is a noble cause because a representative Republic works and history proves this idea, correct.

If recent memory serves me right. We vanquished the enemies of Germany and Japan. We then allowed democracies to grow and flourish and they now are economically strong and at peace.

In Asia, with the bravery of the men and women in uniform and their sacrifice, we stopped communism in Korea and Vietnam. Today democracies and economies are flourishing in South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore et al. Has everything gone according to plan and been perfectly gift wrapped for the 6:00 PM TV news, of course not.

In Iraq, a democracy will flourish and no longer will despots impose their iron will on their people. From this democracy; economies will grow and prosper. Change my friend does not happen overnight but already you see signs all over the middle east that times are a changin'. In Saudi Arabia, perhaps the most represive regime in the region, women have protested for their right to drive and next they will ask to vote and then equal rights.

When people begin to have a voice over their futures perhaps they will think twice in strapping on bombs to their chests or commandering planes into buildings. From these voices in the darkness freedom will blossom.

YOUR POLL IS MEANT TO CONFUSE PEOPLE,ITS A NOVELTY