Veterans Stick With the Republican Nominee, but why?

This is something I can never understand. Why do veterans do this to themselves? John McCain is supported by veterans even though his history of votes has been against them. President Obama has done a lot for veterans, but they don't support him. Why? If they look up the facts they would know what they have been told is not always true then maybe they'd have a lot more than either side has given them.

Case in point is "strong military" but their votes (on both sides) actually mean strong on defense contractors and not the troops or veterans. Everyone in Washington is trying to get re-elected, so they want to bring defense money to their own area of the country but they don't seem to be all that interested in veterans. Do they have claims processed correctly and on time? Do they have a place to live? Do they have jobs? Do they have support services from their communities? Do their families have what they need when troops are deployed? Do National Guards and Reservists have the ability to keep healthcare insurance when they are back home, especially when they don't have jobs to go back to? Do they get support from the colleges, have their GI Bill funds move the way they are supposed to?

There are so many issues regarding veterans and what they need after they served but no one seems to be really paying attention to them.

Veterans Stick With the Republican Nominee

By MARJORIE CONNELLY
May 28, 2012

President Obama never served, and neither did Mitt Romney. For the first time since World War II, neither presidential nominee is a military veteran. But polling suggests that veterans still have a strong preference for the Republican candidate.

In 2008, military veterans strongly backed Senator John McCain for president. In fact, Mr. McCain’s huge advantage among veterans largely fueled his majority support from men in general.

Mr. McCain, who was a naval aviator during the Vietnam War and spent more than five years as a prisoner of war, received 57 percent of the votes of male veterans while Barack Obama won 42 percent. Among men who had not served in the military, 52 percent backed Mr. Obama and 46 percent preferred Mr. McCain, according to the Edison/Mitofsky national exit poll.

This year, according to analysis of the Gallup daily tracking poll, voters who have served in the military strongly support Mr. Romney, the presumptive Republican nominee, over Mr. Obama, 58 percent to 34 percent. Nonveterans back Mr. Obama, 48 percent to 44 percent.
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UPDATE no shocker here! Another reporter decided to take the work of someone else as their own. First a play on my headline and then a change of words for the original report from NY Times.

Mitt Romney leads Obama among veterans, but why?
Published: Thursday, May 31, 2012, 12:02 PM
By Carly Rothman/The Star-Ledger

Just 24 of our 44 presidents served in the U.S. Armed Forces before taking office, suggesting Americans are not necessarily opposed to picking presidents without military experience. But the upcoming contest between President Obama and Mitt Romney is unique in recent history: the first such race since World War II in which voters won't have a veteran to vote for from either major party.
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