Powell’s Endorsement of Obama: Move Toward Redemption?

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.

Comments

[DG]

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. ...

[David H.]

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.