Family Told Obama NOT To Wear Soldier Son's Bracelet... Where is Media?

[5711-Marine]

Family Told Obama NOT To Wear Soldier Son's Bracelet... Where is Media?
By Warner Todd Huston
Created 2008-09-28 03:53

Barack Obama played the "me too" game during the Friday debates on September 26 after Senator John McCain mentioned that he was wearing a bracelet with the name of Cpl. Matthew Stanley [1], a resident of New Hampshire and a soldier that lost his life in Iraq in 2006. Obama said that he too had a bracelet. After fumbling and straining to remember the name, he revealed that his had the name of Sergeant Ryan David Jopek [2] of Merrill, Wisconsin.

Shockingly, however, Madison resident Brian Jopek, the father of Ryan Jopek, the young soldier who tragically lost his life to a roadside bomb in 2006, recently said on a Wisconsin Public Radio show that his family had asked Barack Obama to stop wearing the bracelet with his son's name on it. Yet Obama continues to do so despite the wishes of the family.

Radio host Glenn Moberg of the show "Route 51" [3] asked Mr. Jopek, a man who believes in the efforts in Iraq and is not in favor of Obama's positions on the war, what he and his ex-wife think of Obama continually using their son's name on the campaign trail.

Jopek began by saying that his ex-wife was taken aback, even upset, that Obama has made the death of her son a campaign issue. Jopek says his wife gave Obama the bracelet because "she just wanted Mr. Obama to know Ryan's name." Jopek went on to say that "she wasn't looking to turn it into a big media event" and "just wanted it to be something between Barack Obama and herself." Apparently, they were all shocked it became such a big deal.

But, he also said that his ex-wife has refused further interviews on the matter and that she wanted Obama to stop wearing the reminder of her son's sacrifice that he keeps turning into a campaign soundbyte. This begins at about 10 minutes into the radio program. (Download radio show HERE [4])

TRANSCRIPT

Brian Jopek: Because of some of the negative feedback she's gotten on the Internet, you know Internet blogs, you know people accusing her of... or accusing Obama of trying to get votes doing it... and that sort of thing.

Radio Host Moberg: Yeah

Jopek: She has turned down any subsequent interviews with the media because she just didn't want it to get turned into something that it wasn't. She had told me in an email that she had asked, actually asked Mr. Obama to not wear the bracelet any more at any of his public appearances. Which I don't think he's...

Moberg: It has been a while since he's brought it up.

Jopek: Right. But, the other night I was watching the news and he was on, uh, speaking somewhere and he was still wearing it on his right wrist. I could see it on his right wrist. So, that's his own choice. I mean that's something Barack Obama, that's a choice that he continues to wear it despite Tracy asking him not to... Because she is a Barack Obama supporter and she didn't want to do anything to sabotage his campaign, so, if he's still wearing the bracelet then, uh, that of course is entirely up to him.

Moberg: Maybe there's a difference between wearing it and making a point to bring it up in your speeches?

Even the snow job that the radio host tried to pull off to cover for Barack's refusing the wishes of the family of the KIA soldier who's bracelet he wears doesn't pass the smell test. After all, now that Obama has made it a big point in the debates, I guess the silent observance of Sgt. Jopek is no longer so silent and Obama is back to exploiting the death of a soldier even when he was asked NOT to do so by that soldier's parents.

To pile insult onto injury here, the Mother doesn't even want to force the issue of telling Obama to stop exploiting her son because she wants to see him win the election. Obama is not only taking advantage of this brave soldier's death, he is taking advantage of the good wishes of the man's Mother who doesn't want to hurt the campaign.

This all makes Obama look pretty calculating and blood chillingly callous, doesn't it?

And, why is the media not playing this story? The radio show on which this interview is heard happened all the way back in March. How is it the media missed this? Is it because they are also don't want to hurt Obama's campaign?

I can only say that if the parents of the soldier whose bracelet John McCain is wearing had said in public that they want him to stop wearing their son's bracelet the news would have been coast to coast, and wall to wall, not just ignored in Madison, Wisconsin.

Obama's use of this soldier that fell in the line of duty is tainted by his ambition and callousness. And the media is letting him get away with it.

(H/T D. Keith Howington of www.dehavelle.com [5])

Source URL:
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/warner-...et-where-media

Links:
[1] http://abcnews.go.com/WN/story?id=4198394
[2] http://www.iraqwarheroes.com/jopek.htm
[3] http://www.wpr.org/regions/wau/route51/archives.cfm
[4] http://clipcast.wpr.org:8080/ramgen/...qwar5years.mp3
[5] http://www.dehavelle.com/2008/09/bar...amas-bracelet/

[338winmag]

i don't give a damn if it hurts his campaign or not. if full media attention is what it will tack to get obama to honer the wishes of the family.like any American would do then someone needs to make sure it goes that far.in my mind its just one more reason not to vote for him.because if hes not listening to what people are saying now.what do you think he will do if he wins.

[Roscoe]

If Obama wins it will be because the media and Hollywood types pushed his campaign along, for free........

[Annie Oakley]

I am almost completely convinced that ALL of the mainstream media except the guys on on talk radio like Rush and Glenn Beck are in love with Obama. There is no such thing as unbiased media.

Did anyone else pick up on how Obama kept calling McCain the wrong name? I know he called him Jim at least twice and a few other names. I think its extremely disrespectful. If I were McCain I would either have corrected him or started calling him Barry.

[schr8er2000]

AGAIN another example of "I WILL DO WHAT I WANT WHEN I WANT" no matter what anyone says.... You would think that a man would respect the wishes of the parents.... but guess OBAMA is above common courtesy and respect..... AGAIN

[338winmag]

AGAIN another example of "I WILL DO WHAT I WANT WHEN I WANT" no matter what anyone says.... You would think that a man would respect the wishes of the parents.... but guess OBAMA is above common courtesy and respect..... AGAIN

well said very well said

[thirtyonebravo]

AGAIN another example of "I WILL DO WHAT I WANT WHEN I WANT" no matter what anyone says.... You would think that a man would respect the wishes of the parents.... but guess OBAMA is above common courtesy and respect..... AGAIN

well this is the same man-child that's got his own presidential seal and chair that says "president" on it on his plane.

[Dave in PA]

I have a nasty taste in my mouth that Obama is above ANYTHING common, not just courtesy....

[stinkymcdoober]

I am almost completely convinced that ALL of the mainstream media except the guys on on talk radio like Rush and Glenn Beck are in love with Obama. There is no such thing as unbiased media.

Did anyone else pick up on how Obama kept calling McCain the wrong name? I know he called him Jim at least twice and a few other names. I think its extremely disrespectful. If I were McCain I would either have corrected him or started calling him Barry.

I am SO glad that somene else brought that up,and saw that as well. It got me so irritated when i heard him call McCain the wrong name a bunch of times, with a snide grin on his face each time. In the entiretime i watched the debates, i didn't hear Obama answer one question straight on, or even allude to what would be considered a semi lucid answer the entiretime.

McCain had his own moments of avoiding questions, but for the most part seemed to stay on task.

[Pector55]

I actually gasped when Obama said something about attacking inside of Pakistan. I was so happy when McCain scolded him for that. That was a major flaw but the media brushed it under the rug like nothing happened. They would have roasted McCain as a warmonger had he said anything remotely similar.