Powell backs Obama

Kevyn Bodman

It is a pleasure to be back in agreement with you on something.
You've got Powell's m.o. absolutely right,identfy the mainstream position and then join it.
To my mind that m.o. makes Powell, and anyone else who adopts it in any field, unworthy of high office. People like that are natural middle managers, chosen by their bosses for their fluency in saying 'Good idea, boss.'
But how can anyone trust the quality of advice or judgment coming from someone like that.
And Powell's m.o. is never the m.o. of a real leader.
If I were Obama I'd say 'Thank you' and then give him no job at all; go with someone who had the cojones to come out for Obama months ago.

But I'm still hoping Obama doesn't win. It looks like I won't get my wish on that one ,though.

Verity

I think that's a very astute summing up of Powell. And judging by the record that you pointed to, James, he will not want to take on the teachers.

Powell always came across as two-faced to me. He always seemed to be talking with his fingers crossed behind his back.

You people who only followed Hurricane Katrina (which didn't even land in Louisiana; it hit down in Mississippi) through the leftist prism of Matt Frei's "brain", missed all the important stories. It was the heavy rain that accompanies the fringe of a hurricane that caused the (cheaply built) levies of the huge Lake Ponchartrain to burst and flood the city of New Orleans.

My point: the man who came in to clear up the mess, once the deeply corrupt Governor Blanco, from an old-style Lousiana political family, had figured out deals with her contractor "friends", and finally, finally gave George Bush permission to send the troops in to Louisiana, was the magnificent General St Honoré. He's black and also from an old New Orleans family.

Now that man is one hell of a leader and should be on the national scene, if he were interested in politics instead of the military.

I watched it all on TV as the military rolled into NO and he stopped the whole convoy on the top of an overpass, jumped out of his jeep and started commanding the rescue operation from his mobile phone. He was wonderful. Those helicopters came flying in and were winching people up by the time he got to the centre of the city with his convoy. I look at General Honoré, a three star general and a real leader, and I look at Powell and my heart sinks to my shoes.

Travis Bickle

Sounds like Powell is a bit of a glory hunter. No doubt if he followed English Sockkker he'd be yet another Manchester United fan who'd never even been to the city.

Ganpat Ram

Everyone knows Powell for what he is: a pothunting timeserver. He will always side with those who can offer him a high-profile, well-paying, easy job.

Augustus

God only knows what's going on in General Powell's mind. Would he have backed Hilary Clinton with equal conviction? What are the Republicans to make of it? Is this a new definition of 'friendly fire'?

D

If he always adopts the establishmemt position then why did he donate to McCain's campaign when it was in deep trouble?

THX1138

I thought Powell was majestic and forensic in his destruction of the McCain/Palin ticket.

Powell's remarks were an across the board indictment of the McCain campaign.

He threw a coolly delivered but perfectly targeted blows at each of the the major weak spots of the McCain campaign; the Palin choice, the Helter Skelter antics and the general ugliness of it all.

He was so obviously disgusted at what has happened to his old friend also it had the feeling of the Geoffrey Howe resignation speech when you just knew it was all over for Mrs T, well I'm now convinced it all over for McCain

Some quotes:

On Palin

"I don’t believe she’s ready to be President of the United States, which is the job of the Vice President."

On the nastiness

"What they’re trying to connect him to is some kind of terrorist feelings, and I think that’s inappropriate."

"And I look at these kinds of approaches to the campaign and they trouble"
me."

"I’m troubled about the fact that within the party, we have these kinds of expressions."

On being an American

"And his name was Kareem Ushad Sultan Khan. And he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11. And he waited until he could go serve his country, and he gave his life."

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/krkhan.htm

I really, really hope that Obama wins so the America I love can gets is soul & it's decency back and unite under new fresh moral leadership as Powell says :

"And I’ve come to the conclusion that because of his ability to inspire, because of the inclusive nature of his campaign, because he is reaching out all across America, because of who he is and his rhetorical abilities, as well as his substance, he has both style and substance, he has met the standard of being a successful president being an exceptional president, I think he is a transformational figure, he is a new generation, coming onto the world stage, the American stage,

And for that reason, I will be voting for Barack Obama."

Oh how I wish I could too.

Seasurfer1

Could give McCain the lift he wants. Raises the black power issue, and also trust and snakes in the grass issue. I think McCain will still get the presidency.

Verity

Nice to hear from Kevyn Bodman, but what happened to the comment I sent in two hours ago when you first posted this thread?

Verity

Kevyn, after Governor Palin's performance on Saturday Night Live, which drew their largest audience in 14 years (by several million), relax.

PhilMB

I always had the impression, now confirmed, that Powell had reached his level of incompetence back in GW-1. He now shows himself to be a bigot too; sad and ignoble position for one that held such great promise.

Craig Strachan

Oliver Stone's new movie "W" has a scene in which Dick Cheney turns to Colin Powell, in the midst of a dispute over Iraq policy, and says contemptuously: "You could have been President". (Powell's response: "F--- you, Dick". )

Powell probably could have won at least the Republican nomination in '96 if he had run.

You have to wonder if he ever looks at Obama and thinks "Could've been me"?

Israel

This is amazing. For so many years Powell has been regarded as a great amongst the modern conservative base, a veneratd old lion. And now, with this carefully thought out and eloquent, forceful, hard-hitting endorsement, with the criticisms of the McCain camp's tactics, inflammatory retoric, and outright falsehoods, he has become the neo-con version of Trotsky, a minor figure who should be disregarded? This is the 4 Star General who was head of the Joint Chiefs of the US armed forces, the former National Security Advisor and Secretary of State! This is the man who helped enable the neo-con march to war by holding a vial of who-knows-what at the UN and now he's just another black man voting for Obama because he is black? He's now an uncloseted racist because he dares to point out the vile racial undertones of the speeches given at McCain/Palin rallies and the disgusting reactions that have lead to acts of violence and outright flagrent bigotry in the US? His judgement is suspect because he has added his conciderable weight to those who also share his views on palin? It would be sadder if it wasn't so disgusting.

Chris

Separation of church and state means that 'Vicar of Bray' is inapplicable, so I think it's time to revive that good old 18th Century word, 'trimmer.'

David

"But to my mind, it is typical of Powell’s mo of moving cautiously and ending up in the establishment consensus position. "

Yet his reasononing, as displayed in the interview is far more nuanced and active than that. He talks about a variety of issues, and conludes on them.

To my mind, you seem to be suggesting that the only independent conclusion would be one plumping for McCain.

William Norton

Another example of the Powell Doctrine in action, viz only attack when you've got such overwhelming force on your side that you can't lose.

mac

@Chris:
'Trimmer' is indeed a useful word, and is applicable to so many in contemporary politics whose declared principles take second place to shameless personal profit and advancement. But it isn't quite so dated a word as you suggest: for example, Evelyn Waugh has a character named 'Trimmer' in 'Sword of Honour'.

As for Colin Powell, he blew any credibility he had for me with that Iraq 'Intelligence' presentation at UN HQ. Either he was too credulous (especially as a former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs) in accepting the 'evidence' he was given, or he capitulated (as Secretary of State, no less) to the political demands of the Cheney hawks - So, a fool or a knave, one takes one pick . . . Powell joins Alexander Haig in the league of soldier-politicians, ie those who shouldn't have bothered.

THX1138

Remember guys while you're slagging off Colin Powell, he has according to Rasmussen Reports an 80% approval rating with the American people.

I know the polls are bad for McCain but they can't all be Dems.

Even is this doesn't make much of a difference (I still think it will) it will dominate the news for a couple of days and help run down the clock.

CG

Some of the posters on here are prejudiced beyond belief. If Powell had endoresed MeCain they would be viewing him as a great statesman. Because he refuses to act in a pavlovian manner, they castigate him. He was right to point out the shortcomings of Palin and what the once proud and respected Republican Party has descended to.

JONNY

'after Governor Palin's performance on Saturday Night Live....'
So we've sunk to this now have we Verity?

Tiberius

Verity: I've had to wait for over 24 hours for a post to appear on another thread. It's there now for the record and that's fine.

What's your rush?

You sure would be a tough dinner date.

Conservative Cabbie

Israel

So what racial undertones are they then. Can you name for me one instance where Palin or McCain have said anything that can be construed as racist.

It should also be noted that it seems that the only accounts of violence in this campaign are being perpetrated by Obama supporters on McCain supporters. As for hate, no-one save one local reporter heard "kill him" at the Palin rally and luckily for him the national media picked it up giving him 15 minutes of fame. How fortunate that a reporter was the only one to hear it, even the secret service didn't pick it up and they're like you know trained for that sort of thing.

Of course we don't hear anything about the Obama supporter who went to a Palin rally and shouted "stone her" or the offensive C word t-shirts that appeared on Obama's website or the equating of McCain to George Wallace or Palins e-mails being hacked or......need I go on. You really are selective in your interpretation of events. Spread your info net, stop relying on Kos and Huffington.

Murray

Is it because he is black?