When I read about Kerry meeting with two marines last Saturday who later said they weren’t impressed with the candidate and supported their current commander-in-chief 100% I sensed there was more behind this story then just a failed photo-op. The real story of course is the extent to which the armed forces should be used during an election or positioned as supporting one candidate over the other. A great discussion took place over at Sgt. Stryker’s (hat tip: No Pundit Intended) whose conclusion is on the mark:

I want to say that by openly declaring who we’re for and against, we’re possibly introducing doubt into the citzenry’s mind about our loyalties. The people of this country expect us to serve the Constitutional government, and by extension all of them, with all the dedication we can muster, no matter who is in charge. That’s why we have rules that say you can’t attend a political rally in uniform, that you can’t publicly campaign for candidates, and that you can’t run for Congress. That’s why it’s imperative that we not allow ourselves to be used as a politician’s or pundit’s prop to advance their own agenda, whether you agree with that particular agenda or not. We have to maintain the image of neutrality.

Absolutely. Any attempt to politicize the armed forces endangers its neutrality and its ability to serve and respect whoever occupies the White House. It is one of the greatest achievements of the free world to have a military that is un-political; many nascent democracies have fought long and hard for this hallmark of freedom. That shouldn’t stop Kerry from staking out, at his own peril, a photo-op with servicemen, nor should it dissuade Bush from using his Commander-in-Chief credentials during the campaign. But caution is warranted and the military should never be provoked to take sides. In that respect it will be very interesting to see how Tommy Franks’ new book is going to play out during the campaign once it is released. As a retired officer he has every right to speak his mind - and cash in - on his career in the military, but his words can have a pretty dramatic impact on the current campaign. He is no doubt aware of this and that's why his view of the Bush administration appears to be somewhat complex.