Retired Air Force Gen. Scott Gration was campaigning today for presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama in Manchester and Rochester.
“I’ve got to tell you, I am totally convinced, there is no question in my military mind that Barack Obama has the experience, the judgment, the insight … the understanding of our world and the global context (to be commander-in-chief),” Gration said in an afternoon telephone interview.
Gration, who retired from the Air Force as a major general in October 2006, acknowledged that some have cited Obama’s lack of foreign policy experience as the key stumbling block to his bid to lead the country. But the general, who spent much of his 32-year career in the Middle East, said he was hoping to counter that impression.
“It’s so important that we have a president that can connect internationally,” Gration said, adding that Obama’s experience living in other countries as a child and his understanding of history are real assets.
Gration first met the Illinois senator when he had to brief him on military matters. Gration served as director of Strategic Policy and Planning for the European Command, which then covered countries in Europe and Africa, and frequently briefed senators on military issues on the two continents.
“He’s a brilliant man. There’s just absolutely no question,” Gration said.
And he’s not the only policy figure the Obama campaign has brought to the Granite State. Former John F. Kennedy advisor and speechwriter Ted Sorenson campaigned in New Hampshire for Obama Sept. 22, likening the Illinois senator to JFK.
