Speculation abounds that Gen. Colin Powell, might endorse Barack Obama.
His tenuous 13-year relationship with the Republican Party, following his retirement from the Army, has ended. The national security adviser for Ronald Reagan left the present administration bitter about being ushered out of the State Department a year earlier than he wanted, and a year later than he should have. As an African American, it's reported, Powell is sensitive to racial attacks on Obama and especially on Obama’s wife, Michelle. While McCain strategists shrug off other Republican defections, they wince in anticipating headlines generated by Powell’s expected endorsement of Obama.
This would be a hard decision for Powell. He's a long-time friend with McCain, but both he and Chuck Hagel have said that Obama is the candidate with the correct Foreign policy plan, especially regarding Iran and N. Korea.
For Powell, I suppose it could be a bit of Karma repair. He reportedly feels very betrayed by the Bush Administration and calls his UN appearance as the biggest mistake and most regretful thing to happen in his long career of public service.
How will this all be accepted. I was amazed with the anger and short-sided blogs from Hilary Clinton supporters (which I will come out now and say I was). How will those vitriolic bloggers react to Gen. Powells endorsement? It might depend on the likelihood of Powell serving in an Obama administration.
If Powell made clear he plans to stay retired, and has no interest in additional public service, the ’sphere would probably see this as a net plus — Powell’s reputation was severely tarnished during his tenure in the Bush administration, but only among those who were paying close attention. My hunch is he remains a very popular national figure. Personally, I'd love to see Powell serve as a Good-Will Ambassador From The United States for either Obama or McCain.
I respected Gen. Powell very very much. I'd read his book and followed his career. I hoped he would have run for President. I, of course, was against the war, but somehow, watching Gen. Powell lay out the argument that day, I felt myself wobble. I wanted to believe that if a man like Colin Powell was for this and had all of this evidence, maybe it's not JUST an imperialist grab for oil. The day that I read the long article in TIME about how Powell was a pawn, who turned a blind eye when he could have been the biggest whistle-blower in American history, I was moved to tears. I felt betrayed. How do I feel about Gen. Powell now? Well, I must turn the other cheek and let the past go and hope that he will do what he believes to be right.
His endorsement would carry weight, and the far left probably wouldn’t mind if Powell wasn’t actually going to work for Obama. Those with an axe to grind, are I'm sure, poised with hate-filled fingers ready to link Powell to every awful, misguided and controversial thing spawned by the Bush Administration. Do we hate Colin Powell? Or is it just that we despise him for letting himself be used so easily? Is he the guy who went to the UN and lied his ass off and we've turned our collective backs on him long-ago? Let me know. What say you?
Via: NPR's Morning Edition, July 1, 2008 "GOP's Powell Would Be Key Endorsement for Obama"
Photo: Annual Meeting Davos 2003, by The World Economic Forum on Flickr. Creative Commons License.
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