Obama Speaks at Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention Aug. 17

Update Aug. 17: Watch speech here.
Following a family trip to the Grand Canyon (see video here), Obama will address the convention tomorrow at 2 pm eastern.

President Barack Obama has accepted an invitation to speak Monday at the 110th National Convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. The annual convention of America’s oldest major veterans’ organization starts Saturday in the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Ariz.

“It is a time-honored tradition for the commander-in-chief of our nation’s armed forces to address the national convention of America’s largest organization of combat veterans, which celebrates its 110th anniversary next month,” said VFW National Commander Glen M. Gardner Jr., a Vietnam veteran from Round Rock, Texas.

“We are grateful to President Obama for taking the time to speak to us on issues that are vitally important to our nation’s veterans, her military and their families.”

Almost 13,000 VFW and Ladies Auxiliary delegates will represent the 2.1 million-member organization at the weeklong convention. Their mission will be to approve new national priorities to guide the organization’s advocacy efforts in Congress on behalf of the nation’s 23.5 million veterans, 2.2 million servicemembers and their families. Advocacy issues include military and veterans’ healthcare, benefits, and Quality of Life programs, as well as military readiness and national and homeland security. VFW

The rightwing Americans for Prosperity will be there to protest. They're hoping for thousands of protesters. Of course they are.

A group called "Americans for Prosperity" is organizing a healthcare reform protest outside the Phoenix Convention Center Monday. President Obama will be speaking to the Veterans of Foreign Wars there.

Tom Jenny, the director of "Americans for Prosperity," is scared the entire country will get stuck in a government run healthcare system.

"The greatest fear we have is that a public option will squeeze out private alternatives," Jenny said to KTAR. "And that everyone in America will get stuck in a government run system where the government bureaucrats decide who's covered and who's not."

He says the protests will start around 7 a.m. and he hopes for a large turnout. KTAR

Obama Addresses Smears At VFW

Working for Obama

In Orlando, Florida, Obama addressed the Veterans of Foreign Wars at their annual convention. McCain was shameful and shallow yesterday when it was his turn to speak at the convention.
As prepared:

I stand before you today at a defining moment in our history. We are in the midst of two wars. The terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 are still at large. Russia has invaded the sovereign nation of Georgia. Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons. The next Commander-in-Chief is going to have to exercise the best possible judgment in getting us through these difficult times.

Yesterday, Senator McCain came before you. He is a man who has served this nation honorably, and he correctly stated that one of the chief criteria for the American people in this election is going to be who can exercise the best judgment as Commander in Chief. But instead of just offering policy answers, he turned to a typical laundry list of political attacks. He said that I have changed my position on Iraq when I have not. He said that I am for a path of “retreat and failure.” And he declared, “Behind all of these claims and positions by Senator Obama lies the ambition to be president” – suggesting, as he has so many times, that I put personal ambition before my country.

That is John McCain’s prerogative. He can run that kind of campaign, and – frankly – that’s how political campaigns have been run in recent years. But I believe the American people are better than that. I believe that this defining moment demands something more of us.

If we think that we can secure our country by just talking tough without acting tough and smart, then we will misunderstand this moment and miss its opportunities. If we think that we can use the same partisan playbook where we just challenge our opponent’s patriotism to win an election, then the American people will lose. The times are too serious for this kind of politics. The calamity left behind by the last eight years is too great. In full

I'll post the full video when it's up. Here's a clip to get you by