Joe Klein To Chris Matthews: Obama’s Relationship With Military Is Better Than Bush’s

Now after a few weeks passed since President Obama successfully ordered the killing of Osama bin Laden, Chris Matthews wondered how much the act improved Obama’s relationship with the military. Elisabeth Bumiller from the New York Times admitted it was a boost, but warned that Obama’s proposed budget cuts to the military could jeopardize the warm feelings. Joe Klein, however, viewed the relationship as being in much better condition.

Klein argued:

“I’d say the relationship is pretty good. Better than it was with [President] Bush because the military hated the fact that he wasn’t really doing the job in Iraq.”

Despite the military apparently being enamored with Obama, Klein did recognize “there’s still tension between [Obama] and [David] Petraues about how exactly to close Afghanistan.” Conventional wisdom usually suggests that the military leans conservative, since the Republican party tends to be the one to prioritize defense spending and a larger military force. Yet since Bin Laden was killed on Obama’s watch, might Klein be correct to suggest the tide has turned in Obama’s favor?

Watch the clip from The Chris Matthews Show below:

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