The Powell Endorsement

Colin Powell, as the rumor suggested, did endorse Obama on Meet the Press on Sunday. He said he would break with his party because they had gone too far to the right, and despite the fact his old friend of 25 years, John McCain, was the Republican choice for president he had decided that Obama had “style and substance” and would be a “transformational president,” a trait of considerable importance at the current time of crisis. . Secondarily, he had to question McCain’s judgment for picking Sarah Palin as his running mate when it was clear she wasn’t ready to be president. In addition, he mentioned Obama’s ability to inspire, to run an inclusive campaign, and to have exceptional rhetorical skills. One of the things he did in his statement was he separated McCain from the party because it was the party that was really off the track. He zeroed in on the Bill Ayers fiasco and the robocalls that peddled nonsense about the relationship between Ayers and Obama. The ads were trying to link the two men, as if they were partners in crime, fellow terrorists on the prowl on American streets, and such treatment was out of bounds and it should stop. “Mr. McCain called him a washed up terrorist, but then why do we keep hearing about him?” He said it was a “very, very limited relationship,” but somehow that is enough to lethally “taint” Mr. Obama character. He said the charge went “too far” and therefore, was “inappropriate.” He complained about the increasing narrowness of the campaign the party had forced McCain into, arguing the Ayers episode was hardly worthy of the attention they were giving it, while huge economical issues were foremost on the mind of every citizen. Those issues were coming out differently every other day with the McCain campaign, with no controlling central argument. The party was in a sorry state and he was speaking out in the hopes of returning it to a centrist-right position, where it belongs.

Right on the heels of the Powell statement, former National Security Adviser, Zbigniew Brzezniski told the Huffingfton Post that Powell’s endorsement represented a “comprehensive indictment “of the McCain-Palin ticket and by implication, the entire Republican Party. He also said he felt the endorsement would be “a major factor in the race,” which has a little over two weeks to go. That seemed to be the opinion of many commentators throughout the day. He agreed that the McCain-Palin ticket represented a “break” from the traditional Republican Party. He also thought Powell’s endorsement should not be read as strictly “racial solidarity,” as he was more like “an elder statement “ with diverse accomplishments. Lastly, he saw the former Secretary of State as the first member of the Bush Administration to break rank. And it’s about time too. Powell needs to earn back some of the respect he lost by cooperating so extensively with the Bushies, especially that speech he gave about WMDs in Iraq at the UN. Still, I am sure Mr. Obama is thrilled by his endorsement.