Clinton, Obama each reach for retired brass

In the memorable political ad, the White House telephone rings at 3 a.m. But at retired Maj. Gen. John Batiste’s office, the phone has been ringing at all hours, for months.

The calls have been coming from the campaigns of presidential candidates, which are scrambling to add him to their lists of prominent supporters in uniform.

Batiste, like others, has declined to sign on. For many of the officers, as well as the Pentagon, which likes to stay out of political campaigns, the hunt for military endorsements has become a bit awkward.

Endorsements from retired generals and admirals have been a mainstay of presidential campaigns for years, but with the nation at war and a decorated hero as the presumptive Republican nominee, rarely have Democrats been more desperate for military credibility. Retired military officers have become as prized as governors or senators for their endorsement value.

“On the Democratic side you have two candidates who do not have military experience or direct experience in managing national security or military affairs,” said Stephen Flanagan, director of the International Security Program for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington public-policy organization. “And this has become a little more urgent running against a war hero.”

The issue is especially urgent for Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, who was stunned by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s recent campaign ad suggesting that her experience would count in an international crisis that rouses the president in the middle of the night.

Monday, Obama brought out a trio of his “gets” -- three former civilian service secretaries -- to vouch for him.

The Obama campaign has been moving quickly to try to close something of a generals-gap with Clinton. Polls indicate that Clinton is perceived as better equipped to deal with the threat of terrorism.

Clinton has accumulated a list of 28 top officers endorsing her, headed by leading generals from her husband’s administration. They include two former chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Hugh Shelton and Gen. John M. Shalikashvili, as well as Gen. Wesley K. Clark, who led the war in Kosovo and has become a fixture on the campaign trail.

The Obama campaign has peppered a list of “national security experts” with the names of nine admirals and generals. Among Obama’s military backers are two prominent critics of the Bush administration’s plan for military commission trials of terror suspects at the Guantanamo Bay prison, Adms. Donald J. Guter and John D. Hutson, top former Navy lawyers.

But Obama campaign officials plan to release an expanded list of endorsements from retired generals later this week.

Irked by Clinton’s ad, the Obama campaign is polishing its own references to late-night phone calls.

“If the phone rings in the White House in the middle of the night, the thing you most need is a plan, a policy and an organization that can actually do something,” said F. Whitten Peters, Air Force secretary under President Clinton, who is now advising Obama, at a Washington news conference on behalf of Obama. “Otherwise, why get up?”

In the news conference, Clifford Alexander Jr., Army secretary in the Carter administration, jabbed at Clinton for trumpeting her list of military supporters and travels..

“I do think that it is important not to count the countries you have gone into, and not to count the number of people you know, but to understand fully that you are going to be a better leader if you have consistency, good judgment, thoughtfulness and an ability to execute,” he said.

Among the retired military leaders who are unsigned but potentially available is Anthony C. Zinni, four-star Marine general who headed the U.S. Central Command but opposed the Iraq invasion. Zinni, who was unavailable for comment Monday, has remained on the sidelines and is mentioned as a potential vice presidential candidate.

Some retired generals have refused to make endorsements because they do not like the candidates. Batiste was a former division commander in Iraq who criticized then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld after leaving the Army in 2005. A self-described “frustrated Republican,” Batiste said he left his ballot blank when he voted in New York’s presidential primary last month.

“I don’t think any of them get it,” he said in an interview. “The answer is not 100 years of more of the same, and it’s not leaving within 120 days or in a year.”

But Barry McCaffrey, a retired general and former Gulf War commander, said good things about all the candidates, particularly Clinton and McCain. McCaffrey has been wooed by multiple campaigns, but he believes he wields greater influence by staying neutral.

“I tell people I am intensely political, but not partisan,” McCaffrey said.

Other retired military officers have taken themselves out of the endorsement business because of jobs or assignments that require them to remain apolitical. Retired Marine Gen. James L. Jones, the former NATO commander who remains widely respected within the armed forces, has demurred, citing his recent appointment as U.S. special envoy to the Middle East.

Some retired officers who are remaining on the sidelines are uncomfortable with overt political roles. Senior military officers in the Pentagon have said privately that they discourage involvement in political campaigns by military officers because it could undercut the public’s confidence.

Retired Air Force Gen. Charles F. Wald has been getting campaign phone calls for months. As a former deputy commander of U.S. forces in Europe and a Vietnam veteran who flew F-16 combat missions over Bosnia, Wald has been sought by presidential candidates of all stripes since the early days of the campaign.

“I’ve been contacted by them all,” Wald said in an interview. “We’re in the season where we’re traipsing out people, giving bona fides to somebody’s stance because a military person has said they endorse them. I just don’t think it’s healthy.”

John P. Jumper, the former Air Force Chief of Staff, said he believed top retired generals need to stick to their expertise -- the military. Jumper says generals have an obligation to provide advice and expertise to any candidate who calls, but should avoid the spotlight.

“Once you cross the line outside the realm of national security expertise and put yourself out as a public endorser, you by definition step well beyond your credibility as a national security expert,” he said.

But McCaffrey defends the right of retired officers to back candidates. “The day these officers retire, they regain all their political rights to run for office, support people for office, or express personal viewpoints,” McCaffrey said.

Flanagan, the Center for Strategic and International Studies official, pointed to the importance of this year’s candidates assembling a team of trusted military advisors. The next president must take over management of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, making it the most difficult presidential transition since 1968.

“In fairness, it is going be different this time,” he said. “You have two major military operations underway. It’s going to be much more like the Vietnam transition.”

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julian.barnes@latimes.com

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peter.spiegel@latimes.com