By Brigitte L. Nacos
As I watched and listened to Colin Powell’s endorsement of
Barack Obama earlier today, my resentment towards the retired general, former
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, former National Security Adviser, and
former Secretary of State softened. Like many Americans, I would have voted for
Powell if had he had run for the presidency before he became the linchpin of
the Bush administration’s campaign to convince people at home and abroad that
Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction and that this existential
threat had to be removed militarily. Powell’s performance before the UN
Security Council in February 2003 with visual WMD-“proofs” and all was his
darkest hour and in the words of his then right-hand man “a hoax.” After
advising the president not to go to war against Iraq, after protesting behind
closed doors the administration’s decisions in favor of torture and the
extraordinary extradition program (meaning the outsourcing of torturing
terrorists or suspected terrorists to torture-happy countries), Powell could
have made a real difference by resigning as Secretary of State. Instead, he
went along with those who did not act in the best interest of the country.
Powell’s endorsement of Obama was an act of courage albeit
nothing comparable to what his resignation in 2002 or 2003 would have been--and a move toward redemption. I
am certain that he will be attacked by his longtime Republican admirers and that
his motives will be questioned. The same voices that have fed racist sentiments
among a small segment of the electorate will argue that race was the decisive
factor in Powell’s decision to side with Obama. I do not buy the race thing for
a second. Powell was and is part of the predominantly white establishment; he
is the last person to have a racial axe to grind. And precisely this makes this
endorsement an important one.
I agree with literally all of Powell’s arguments in favor of
Obama and paraphrase and emphasize several of them here:
Sarah Palin is not qualified to be president whereas Joe
Biden is—from day one. Anyone who has not come to this conclusion is either
lying or intellectually challenged like the governor of Alaska. This alone is enough to question
Senator McCain’s judgment and his commitment to his “Country First” campaign
slogan.
Powell said that Obama has both style and substance—Powell’s
long friend McCain falls short on both counts—particularly given his erratic
behavior and changing positions during the current financial and economic
crisis and his campaign’s efforts to question Senator Obama’s character and
patriotism.
Powell made clear that he is against a further conservative
tilt of the Supreme Court as expected during a McCain presidency, that taxation
is necessary for the collective good, that the new president must improve America’s
standing in the world and take the lead on shared problems like energy, global
warming, and poverty.
Given what Powell said this morning it is difficult to
imagine how he can still feel at home in the Republican Party. But what matters
now is whether and to what extent his endorsement strengthens support for
Obama.
Meanwhile, the other side is hoping for cash from, of all places, Russia:
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20081020/117842524.html
Russian UN mission gets letter from McCain seeking election cash
20:38 | 20/ 10/ 2008
UNITED NATIONS, October 20 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's permanent mission to the UN has received a letter from U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain asking for financial support of his election campaign, the mission said in a statement on Monday.
"We have received a letter from Senator John McCain with a request for a financial donation to his presidential election campaign. In this respect we have to reiterate that neither Russia's permanent mission to the UN nor the Russian government or its officials finance political activities in foreign countries," the statement said.
According to Ruslan Bakhtin, press secretary of the Russian mission, the letter dated September 29 and signed by McCain, was addressed to Vitaly Churkin, Russia's envoy to the UN, and arrived on October 16.
The ambassador's title was not included in the letter, and was not clear why the letter had taken over two weeks to arrive.
Enclosed was a request for a donation of up to $5,000 to McCain's election campaign to be returned with a check or permission to withdraw the money from the donor's credit card until October 24. ...
Posted by: DG | October 20, 2008 at 12:47 PM
Colin Powell has been a stooge his whole life. From helping to cover up the My Lai massacre to helping sell the Iraq war. He's a younger version of Henry Kissinger. The media perpetuates the myth that he is an honorable man who speaks truth to power when in fact he is a toadie who tells his superiors what they want to hear and carries out their war crimes w/o asking questions.
Maybe his endorsement of Obama is a form of redemption for his crimes, or maybe just another example of Powell waiting until the dust has settled & then taking the side of the winner, hoping for another cabinet post.
Posted by: David H. | October 19, 2008 at 08:33 PM