The Occasional Observer

many of the veterans left the hall with frowns on their faces.

"You don't want to know what I think," said one. "I don't have anything nice to say," said another.

Sam Compton, an Air Force veteran who served in Vietnam, said Obama "seems to be talking out of both sides of his mouth" when he calls for bringing Iraq troops home and focusing more on domestic priorities, then talks about the need to redeploy troops to Afghanistan. "McCain in my personal opinion has more experience on foreign affairs than Obama and has served in the military. I think that's important."

Joe Morton of Ohio, who served as a Marine in the Korean War, also said that he thought McCain better understood world affairs. But as did several veterans there, Morton also admitted he had other concerns about Obama, repeating the false rumor that he's a Muslim. Told that Obama, a Christian, isn't Muslim, Morton said, "but his father was." Told that Obama grew up hardly knowing his father, Morton shrugged and said, "something like that."