(close)Sources linking to this item (25):

• Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall: ... Airing New Ads in Texas Huckabee and Dobson Meet Up in Colorado Springs Army Captain Backs Up Obama Anecdote Huckabee: My Goal is a Deadlocked Convention Obama ...
• Crooks and Liars (#): ... the wingnuts crazy. (I won’t link them, but you’ll find links here) ABC’s Jake Tapper took a look at Obama’s anecdote, and guess what? Pretty much confirmed it as true . Silly Jake, wingnuts don’t care about the truth. But I give you full points for this little dig at the end: I find that Obama’s anecdote checks out. ...
• The Left Coaster: ... Warner questioned the anecdote, as did the Pentagon and many right wing blogs and media outlets (I won't bother with links- if you care, you can Google). Then, Jake Tapper got confirmation from the source. And this is all great fun and a complete distraction from what really matters: Obama's point wasn't that he talked with an Army captain, it was that Iraq distracted us from actually winning the war in Afghanistan. ...
• Think Progress (#): ... But ABC News contacted the Army captain, who backed up Obama’s story . And now the New York Times reports that soldiers in Afghanistan are still strapped for resources: ...
• Angry Bear (#): ... Well, the wingnuts are on a tirade saying Obama lied, but Jack Tapper actually called the captain that Obama referred to and discovers the claim is completely true . Nothing new here – wingnuts getting something so wrong because they are too lazy to discover the truth. Right? ...
• The Mahablog (#): ... Today the Right has been on a foaming-at-the-mouth rampage about it, calling Obama a liar. Well, some people did some fact checking, and confirmed Obama’s story. See, for example, Jake Tapper and Phillip Carter. Not that actual facts will sway the wingnuts, of course. ...
• JustOneMinute (#): As a proud member of the Right Wing Noise Machine (or are we now the Freak Show?) I can only say "Ouch". IMHO, Jake Tapper gets the goods from the Obama campaign and squelches folks like this at the Weekly Standard. ...
• AMERICAblog: A great nation deserves the truth (#): ... This incident is emblematic of the approach to national security undertaken by Bush and enabled by Congressional Republicans -- including McCain. They are failures. So while the right wingers were in a lather over Obama's answer, Jake Tapper found out the story is true: I called the Obama campaign this morning to chat about this story, and was put in touch with the Army captain in question. ...
• The Carpetbagger Report - Commentary and Analysis on Politics in America by Steve Benen: ... Barack Obama talked about an Army captain serving in Afghanistan who found that, thanks to the war in Iraq, he or she didn’t have the support, ammunition, or resources necessary. The right went nuts, insisting Obama’s story was bogus. ABC and NBC checked it out, talked to the Army captain directly, and as expected, found that Obama’s story checked out. Another misguided conservative attack for the list. ...
• Democratic Underground (#): ... And I think that Senator Clinton was wrong in her judgments on that." He argued the Iraq w Discuss ABC News ...
• Perrspectives: Blog: ... 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." Following up with the Obama campaign, ABC's Jake Tapper spoke with the Army captain in question and confirmed Obama's retelling in most aspects. The West Point graduate said his unit was short of ammunition during training and lacking armored Humvees both before and after deployment to Afghanistan. ...
• Bark Bark Woof Woof (#): Some things to scroll through: Just the Facts : Both sides dig into Barack Obama's story about soldiers in Afghanistan. ...
• Obsidian Wings (#): ... Debate: Liar, Dupe, Or Enemy Propagandist?" (I'll take 'Enemy Propagandist' for five, Alex...) While this was going on, Jake Tapper (yes, I know) actually spoke to the Captain in question, who confirmed the story. Later, NBC did so as well. ...
• PBD - Progressive Blog Digest: ... Obama questions the military’s spending priorities – the Right Wing howls in fury. Guess who’s telling the truth? http://blogs.abcnews.com/... "You know, I've heard from an Army captain who was the head of a rifle platoon -- supposed to have 39 men in a rifle platoon," he said. "Ended up being sent to Afghanistan with 24 because 15 of those soldiers had been sent to Iraq. ...
• RealClearPolitics - Opinion, News, Analysis, Videos and Polls: ... Obama's Army Anecdote Cpt. Backs Up Story - Tapper ...
• SteveAudio (#): ... It is also commanded by a lieutenant and not a captain." ABC's Jake Tapper talked to Obama's source, and after noting the wrongwing sites and their swiftboating, wrote I called the Obama campaign this morning to chat about this story, and was put in touch with the Army captain in question. ...
• Balloon Juice (#): ... If you want to read the morons, you can check out the links at Big Media Matt’s, who also directs us to this Jake Tapper piece over at ABC : I called the Obama campaign this morning to chat about this story, and was put in touch with the Army captain in question. ...
• The Reality-Based Community (#): ... Isn't that a lieutenant's job? And are the wingnuts going to come after Obama for fibbing and not understanding basic facts about the military? Well, the answer to the wingnuts-attacking question is "Yes." However, Jake Tapper of ABC News managed to get in touch with the actual captain, who verifies the while story . (Phil Carter gets additional confirmation from two other platoon leaders in Afghanistan.) Yes, there are serious shortages of materiel in Afghanistan. ...
• INTEL DUMP - - (#): ... We owe our troops better. Update I: ABC News' Jake Tapper talked with the captain on Friday, and verified the essential details of the story . Update II: In the comments section, an active-duty Army officer relays his stories of using non-issue weapons in Iraq. ...
• D-Day (#): ... The right went NUTS. They claimed it was a scurrilous lie. Trip over your favorite wingnut site and you'll find a denunciation. Fact check , party of one. I called the Obama campaign this morning to chat about this story, and was put in touch with the Army captain in question. ...
• Hoffmania! | All That's Left! Liberal News & Free Speech (#): The one he told last night about those platoons getting their weapons from the Taliban conquests? It ain't bullshit. The story checks out . And yet, the wingnuts and freepers are still blasting ABC's Jake Tapper for not fact-checking it to their fine high standards. ...
• democracyarsenal.org (#): ... Senator Obama's story from last night's debate regarding an Army Captain who was serving in Afghanistan and described having to capture Taliban weapons. Well, Jake Tapper has got the goods and this story checks out. I called the Obama campaign this morning to chat about this story, and was put in touch with the Army captain in question. ...
• Matthew Yglesias (#): ... Basically, as you can see if you check the conservative blogs above, that story can't possibly be true, and the fact that Obama would say it reflects either his dishonesty or else his gross ignorance of military matters. Alternatively, you can read Jake Tapper who got in touch with the Captain in question : "Short answer: He backs up Obama's story." The story itself is, as Tapper says, pretty interesting and worth checking out on its own merits. Obama's conservative critics will, I'm sure, be taking note of this additional reporting. ...
• Group News Blog (#): ... 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. Jake Tapper cut to the chase and actually called the unit in question, and of course found out, that's exactly what is happening. ...
• THE NEW REPUBLIC | Blogs (#): ... Well, ABC's Jake Tapper tracked down the Army captain in question, and Obama's story appears to check out in full (though Kathryn Jean Lopez conveniently neglects to mention that in her link). ...