The Veteran Mystique

The true cost of the war in Iraq will be far greater than the government's proposed $700 billion bailout of Wall Street. Some estimates are as high as $3 trillion when all is said and done.

In the first presidential debate McCain and Obama displayed the bracelets that had been given to them by the families of fallen soldiers. Susan Donnelly, a mother who works for peace and for veterans and an activist with Code Pink, says that maybe McCain should try wearing 4,000 bracelets. McCain's entire campaign is riding on his service in Vietnam and his "veteran mystique." But his record on voting for veterans is poor. So where does he stand and should the children of our nation's leaders serve in foreign wars? John Eisenhower had a recent op-ed in the New York Times arguing that presidential children don't belong in battle.

On GRITtv we discuss the war and where the candidates stand on Veteran affairs with Paula Rogovin, of Military Families Speak Out, Jose Vasquez, of Iraq Veterans Against the War, and Susan Donnelly, a mother and CodePink activist.