Obama Launches Veterans Group To Lead Grassroots Fund Raising Efforts

August 19, 2008 9:29 a.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) launched a veterans group on Monday, a day before he is set to address Veterans of Foreign Wars on their 109th annual convention in Orlando, Florida.

Obama launched "Next Generation Veterans for Obama," a group of Afghanistan and Iraq veterans, to lead grassroots fund-raising efforts and speak to veterans across the nation on behalf of the Democratic candidate, the campaign said in an email.

Obama, who is facing questions about his readiness to be commander-in-chief, also defended against attacks by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), a Vietnam war veteran who told Veterans of Foreign Wars earlier in the day that Obama tried to "legislate failure" in Iraq by opposing funding for troops in the surge in Iraq.

"The primary reason why things are better in Iraq today is because of the political negotiations with the Sunnis and the Shiites," Obama campaign veterans director Phillip Carter is quoted as saying in a conference call by MSNBC. "You could double the number of troops in Iraq, but we'd be no closer to a lasting Iraqi political solution. The security gains are tenuous at best without political solutions in Iraq."

Obama also attacked McCain's plan to create a Veterans' Care Access Card, accusing the Republican of "rationing and privatizing veterans care."

Rep. Chet Edwards (D-TX), Chairman of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee, said in an emailed statement sent by the Obama campaign that McCain should focus on investing in the Veteran Affairs (VA) department's core capability. "While he promised today that the cards would be a "both/and" proposition, he hasn't said where those funds would come from, if not from VA's core budget," Edwards said.

McCain, however, made clear on Monday that his proposal for a Veteran's access card is not intended to privatize or replace veteran's health care. The card will provide veterans with lower incomes and without timely access to VA facilities "the option of using high-quality health-care providers near their homes."

The remarks from McCain and Obama before the veterans convention follow a report by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics said that Obama has received nearly six times as much campaign contributions from U.S. troops deployed overseas than McCain.