Brian Pedaci wrote:Stephen, it seems that's the father's view. The mother who gave Obama the bracelet was 'ecstatic' that he mentioned it in the debate:MILWAUKEE -- The mother of a Wisconsin soldier who died in Iraq says she was "ecstatic" during Friday's debate when Sen. Barack Obama mentioned the bracelet she gave him in honor of her son.
Tracy Jopek, of Merrill, told the Associated Press on Sunday she was honored that he remembered Sgt. Ryan David Jopek, who was killed in 2006 by a roadside bomb.
She criticized Internet reports that suggested Obama exploited her son for political purposes. She acknowledges e-mailing the campaign in February asking that Obama not mention her son in speeches or debates.
But she said Obama's mention on Friday was appropriate because he was responding after Sen. John McCain said a soldier's mother gave him a bracelet.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi- ... 3408.story
MILWAUKEE - After Tracy Jopek gave Sen. Barack Obama a bracelet in honor of her son who was killed in Iraq, she asked Obama not to mention the bracelet on the campaign trail.
But Jopek told The Associated Press on Sunday that she's satisfied with how Obama discussed it during last week's presidential debate.
Jopek gave Obama the bracelet at a Green Bay rally in February. It has the name of her son, Sgt. Ryan David Jopek, and the date the 20-year-old was killed by a roadside bomb, Aug. 2, 2006. "All gave some -- He gave all," it says.
A few days after offering it to the Illinois Democrat, Jopek, of Merrill in north-central Wisconsin, had a change of heart. She realized it could be interpreted as a protest against the war, a statement that made her uncomfortable because other military families who suffered losses still supported the conflict.