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Friday, May 23, 2008

Where's The Love For The Troops?

Filed under John McCainFiled under Senate RaceFiled under DefenseFiled under Television Ad
Posted at 4:15 PM
Click here to watch "McCain On The GI Bill."

That's what a handful of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans asked John McCain and fellow GOP Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, in two new ads VoteVets.org released this week to precede the Senate's consideration of the bipartisan 21st-century GI bill. The bill passed the Senate on Thursday as part of a larger war spending package that President Bush has threatened to veto.

The veterans in the ads claim that the bill, sponsored by Sens. Jim Webb, D-Va., and Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., offers them complete educational benefits, and they urge the senators to support it.

The ad targeting McCain and the one targeting Cornyn, who is facing a tough re-election challenge from Democrat Rick Noriega, are virtually identical, except the former contends that a substitute bill McCain has introduced would only provide partial benefits. "McCain thinks covering a fraction of our education is enough," one of the veterans says. "We didn't give a fraction in Iraq," says another. "We gave 100 percent."

Jon Soltz, an Iraq war veteran and chairman of VoteVets.org, continues to have high hopes for the Webb-Hagel bill.

"We'll consider any and all means we can to ensure that the president signs the bill, and if he doesn't, make sure that Congress knows that overriding a veto means supporting our troops," Soltz said. "It's that simple."