The Dayton Daily News October 31, 2008
U.S. rep., ex-POW worried about the military
By Jessica Wehrman
DAYTON — U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan and a former Air Force prisoner of war who served with John McCain said they worry that Democrat Barack Obama will cut military spending by 25 percent if he's elected — a charge Obama's campaign quickly dismissed as nonsense.
Jordan, R-Urbana, and retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Ed Mechenbier of Beavercreek made their comments as part of a call with reporters Thursday, Oct. 30.
Mechenbier, who retired from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in 2004, said he was concerned about comments by Democrat U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., who suggested last week that military spending could be cut 25 percent. He also expressed concern about comments from vice presidential candidate Joe Biden that the U. S. could not afford the F-22 Raptor.
The Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patt oversees production and sustainment of the F-22 Raptor. The next president will have to decide whether to keep the line open or to end production. According to John Pike of GlobalSecurity.org, the Bush administration has decided to buy half the F-22s the Air Force has said it needs.
Obama's campaign fired back with quotes from McCain indicating he, too, will take a close look at specific military programs in an effort to trim the budget if elected. They referenced a June 2008 Bloomberg story where McCain cited the F-22 as an example of cost overruns that have plagued the Defense Department.
Speaking in Sarasota, Obama denied he would cut funding: "I will never hesitate to do what it takes to defend this nation."
He has also indicated that he will need to increase defense spending, at least in the short term, though he has argued that pulling U.S. troops from Iraq would produce "peace dividends."
© Copyright 2008, Cox Ohio Publishing
