Veteran speaks in support of Obama at local gathering

Press Photos/Paul L. Newby II
U.S. Army Lt. and Vietnam Veteran Bill Dooling, Veterans Affairs advisor with the Obama campaign, center, listens to Iraq War veterans Grant Collins, of Austin, Texas, left, and Cameron Whitaker, of Grand Rapids, talk about their experiences with war and the veterans' health care system.

Veteran speaks in support of Obama at local gathering
by Kyla King The Grand Rapids Press
Friday September 26, 2008, 7:08 PM

GRAND RAPIDS — As the two major party presidential candidates prepared to debate foreign policy Friday night, veterans stumped for their candidate in Grand Rapids.

Democratic nominee U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., got a boost from retired U.S. Army Lt. and Vietnam Veteran Bill Dooling.

He highlighted the cost of the Iraq War in a Grand Rapids news conference followed by a town hall meeting with local veterans at the UAW region office.

Dooling, a former school teacher and Boston native, said he is backing Obama because he opposed the "costly" war from the beginning.

He also pointed to Obama's Senate voting record and service on the Senate Committee on Veteran's Affairs.
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