President Obama's national address had some good points - our military is the best in the world and they have done a stupendous job in the War on Terror - and some low points - blame Bush for economic woes without ever having mentioned Bush's name.  One thing has me scratching my head: why would Obama talk about the economy and GI Bills in a speech about the combat operations ending in Iraq?

Once again, part of our answer lies in the history books. 

To make a long story short, in 1932 about 43,000 veterans of WWI marched on Washington demanding payment on their service bonds early because many of the veterans marching had been unemployed for quite some time.  The "Bonus Army" march ended horribly as our federal government used troops to remove the encamped veterans. 

I'm not saying that anything like a Bonus Army will take place, but the circumstances surrounding the Bonus Army could find its way into reality.  The United States unemployment rate is at about 10% now.  Imagine the rate when thousands of our soldiers come home and leave the Armed Forces.  Wouldn't it stand to reason that the unemployment rate would go up as more people enter the fold as job seekers?  Couple that possibility with the economy suffering a "double dip" and unemployment going up just before the November elections or long term - going into the 2012 Presidential election.  This is why Obama talked about the economy in his speech.  He was saying he needs to find a way to jump start the economy quick before unemployment sees a dramatic increase due to anemic growth.  The GI Bill Obama was discussing would also send unemployed soldiers to school, buying his administration time to try to fix the economy before they graduate and before the 2012 election.  

There is always a method to Obama's madness and his method (madness) is to do what is best for Obama.  Sure, he comes off seeming altruistic towards our troops, but Obama never seems to do anything without getting something in return. 

Furthermore, having the troops stateside also poses a problem for Obama other than rising unemployment - they will be able to vote.  Traditionally, Democrats have tried to suppress the military vote because Democrats know that our military tends to vote Republican - when they get a chance to vote that is.  Remember the Democrats trying to suppress the military vote during Bush v. Gore?  Several states have been denied waivers to disenfranchise military voters including two states that are "toss-ups" or even "pick-ups" for Republicans come November - Wisconsin and Colorado.   Others have already been granted said waivers.  As a result, if Obama can suppress enough overseas military votes to help offset the stateside vote, it might be a nil balance.

I guess we'll have to see how the next year or so plays out to see if my hypothesis pans out, but never, never, never underestimate Obama and the Democrats.  They know they will need every last vote in order to maintain their grip on power or to stop an absolute apocalyptic scenario November 2nd.