Colin Powell’s decision to endorse Barack Obama is a blow on a personal and a political level to John McCain. Despite being on opposite side over the best way forward in Iraq, the two men remained close. When McCain’s primary campaign was in deep trouble, Powell donated to it.
Cynics will accuse Powell of trying to cleanse his reputation of the stain of his UN presentation on Saddam’s WMD. But to my mind, it is typical of Powell’s mo of moving cautiously and ending up in the establishment consensus position. So, he fully backed the invasion of Iraq once war was perceived to be inevitable and now endorses Obama once an Obama victory seems more likely than ever.
One persistent rumour in Washington circles has been that Powell will be Secretary of Education in an Obama administration. But for that happen. Obama would have to be prepared to really take on the teachers union, a powerful Democratic interest group.
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