Wed 22 Oct 2008
When Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama for President over the weekend, lots of folks assumed he did this because he is African American and wanted to support the first black candidate with a real chance of winning. Why is it so hard to believe that Powell actually thinks Obama would make a better President than John McCain?
Think of the political risks Powell is taking by making this endorsement. He has always been a loyal Republican foot soldier, taking a disproportional share of the blame for presenting faulty intelligence to the United Nations in the lead up to the Iraq war. He was essentially thrown out as the sacrificial lamb for Bush and Cheney - his career ended, reputation tarnished, and legacy questioned. If ever a guy could be excused for holding a grudge, this would be one of those situations. Yet Powell has scarcely criticized the Bush administration, and treated them with kid gloves in his published memoir.
So despite the fact that the majority of the American people feel Obama would make a better President than McCain for a whole host of reasons, Powell is being criticized for simply supporting a fellow African American. Why is it that the very people who insist race isn’t an issue are always the first to make it an issue?
November 5th, 2008 at 11:15 am
I totally agree. Now that Mr. Obama has been elected President of the United States, it is more evident that America is looking for change. Not just change for change’s sake, but a progessive movement towards improving the life of America and our global citizens. I have long respected Gen. Powell and felt his pain with the swallow of integrity that he must have taken to deliver the foolishness on behalf of the Bush Administration. When the “conversative” pundits were blasting Powell on his endorsement of Obama, stating it was all about race, they felled to acknowledge that their vote for McCain would be for the same reason - because he’s white.