Colin Powell might Endorse Obama in General (Possible Vice President?)

[obamian]

Yesterday on Meet The Press Newsweeks Howard Fineman said,"Barack Obama needs foreign policy experience and knowledge. One of the people he's turning to is Colin Powell. And I think if -- if -- Obama gets the nomination, I think Powell endorses him"

As an Obama supporter, I find this exciting. Colin Powell has bipartisan support and military credibility. His endorsement would be very beneficial. But this got me thinking...

What if Obama were to choose Powell as his running mate?

This nomination would really strengthen Obama's message of unity. What do you think?

[Wickerman]

1. streeeetch

endorsement is a long way from sharing a ticket - and I have seen enough of the lying bastard Powell for my liking. He lay down with dogs, and got up with worse than fleas.

[Cha]

53. Worse than fleas..

I know everyone remembers colin powell shooting his wad at the United Nations under orders from the bushits. He had a big hand in starting the bombing of Iraq.

Harry Belafonte called him "unca tom".

It's pathetic what happened to his so called rep but at least he got out and has been obviously trying to salvage it.

That's my take.

[msongs]

2. no way. powell is a primary architect and enabler of the iraq war PLUS

he prostituted his own values for the purpose of saving face at the UN.

those 500,000 dead Iraqis belong to him.

Msongs
www.msongs.com/political-shirts.htm

[Captain_Nemo]

16. Powell sold his soul to the Bush's.....

If Powell were Obama's running mate I WOULD LEAVE THE COUNTRY.

[Cha]

54. Ain't gonna happen..

Obama is waaaaaaaaaaay too smart.

[Donnachaidh]

3. Colin Powell?

I guess that little UN speech is supposed to be forgotten? You know -- that pesky WMD thing? :sarcasm:

[Phredicles]

4. I think Obama can (and should) do better;

Powell is a member of the "Sold His Soul For NOTHING" Club. Whatever credibility he may still have could be wiped away on a single sheet of toilet paper.

[MADem]

5. Oh YUCK!!!!! Powell, stay the fuck away!!!!! He has NO credibility!

There's a whore for ya if we ever saw one. Mister "Let Me Carry Horseshit to the UN for BushCo and WHINE About Not Checking the Facts I Spewed Until After The Fact" Powell?

Just because the man has a slight bit of melanin doesn't make him an asset.

And two of ANYTHING on a ticket is idiotic, be it race, gender or people who live in the same state and lie about it to get around election law (that only works if you STEAL the election, like Bush, who lived in Texas, and Cheney, who LIVED IN TEXAS, did). The idea is to appeal to the largest possible demographic, and 'balance' your ticket. City-Rural. East-West. Populist-Wonk. That kind of thing.

Not "Fresh, Young Politician-Old, Opportunistic, Craven Asshole." That's not a good match at all.

[Cameron27]

23. ROFL

I was going to say the same thing, but you've got a way about you that I can't match:rofl:

Oh btw :thumbsup:

[MADem]

28. Why thanks!! NT

[valerief]

6. Whore Colin Powell? Let him sit under Jeb's ass. He's a traitor to this country. nt

[Alamom]

7. A lot of reasons this probably won't happen. The least being, Mr. Powell will be 72 in 08.

Too old to take over in case something happened to the prez since age does seem to be a factor (now).

[obamian]

26. I agree it's unlikely

Assuming Obama wins the primary (he's got a long way to go), strategically it might be a good idea for Obama to choose an old, experienced vice president. Cheney's age/health condition wasn't that big of a factor. Maybe not Powell... but I don't think you can rule out nominating an old guy.

[Alamom]

33. I did say "Being in his 70's would be the least of many reasons." n/t

[Vickers]

62. "Cheney's age/health condition wasn't that big of a factor. "

Huh? It was to anyone with a fucking brain.

[Benhurst]

8. Colin Powell is a war criminal. No Democrat, or decent Republican for that matter,

should be turning to Colin Powell for foreign policy advice.

And an endorsement from Colin Powell? :puke: Surely this must be a sick joke.

[Robeson]

9. I hate to hear he's turning to Colin Powell for foreign policy advice...

...our party has plenty of people he could turn to. Turning to Powell? Very regrettable.

[Captain_Nemo]

17. If Obama turns to Powell Obama would be finished and

if he does turn to Powell for foreign policy advice he SHOULD lose.

[MasonJar]

10. No to Powell! If he had had one iota of courage and backbone and

integrity, he would have left this barbaric bunch and said why. Many are dead because of Colin Powell.

[mtnester]

11. No, Colin Powell could have stepped up

he could have made the noise...instead, he decided to send our children, and the children of Iraq, straight into death's path KNOWING...KNOWING it was wrong and based on lies. KNOWINGLY and WILLINGLY.

Of ALL the people...ALL...he could have made a difference.


Once, shame on you...twice...nope, it won't be shame on me..EVER

Although I have not yet made up my mind on a Dem candidate, if Obama EVER announced Colin Powell as his running mate, it would finish him as a candidate for me anyway. I think I can speak for many of the Dems and family members around me as well in this..NO WAY.

[tishaLA]

12. harold Fineman doesn't know what he's talking about

first, Obama hired a professor from the Kennedy School of Government to tutor him on foreign policy matters last year. This professor was on Rachel Maddow last week and, believe me, after her Powell would be about five steps backward. And I don't accept Fineman's assertion that Obama needs foreign policy experience, anyhow; I think that's just conventional wisdom among the beltway chattering class. And finally, what does a Powell endorsement get Obama?

[solara]

13. You gotta be kidding..

Powell USED to have bi-partisan support before he sold his soul and became a BushCo toady. He USED to have military credibility until he lied to the UNITED NATIONS. Powell is just as culpable as anyone in the Bush administration.

No way Obama will choose Powell as his running mate.


INVESTIGATE IMPEACH INDICT IMPRECATE INCARCERATE :banghead:

[nevergiveup]

14. So because Howard Fineman

said it , it is a fact?

[obamian]

30. No

I said he might endorse Obama. Than, I brought up a hypothetical. I don't really know that much about him, but to my knowledge Fineman is a pretty credible journalist.

[elizm]

15. Endorsement yes! VP...NOT! n/t

[Mass]

18. Fineman thinks that? Would not be the first time he is really wrong.

[Graybeard]

19. It was not MTP it was on Tweety...

...the Sunday show has a segment "Tell me something that I don't know." Fineman pulled this out of his butt. Powell may have offered to advise Obama and may very well consider him the best candidate, but I do believe that Obama has more sense than to ally himself with such a descredited piece of crap like Powell.

[obamian]

35. Sorry. My mistake.

I didn't see the show, and I found out about this from The Hotline. I'm not sure why I wrote MTP...

[Graybeard]

36. Welcome to DU!

You've had your baptism of fire,now have fun and enjoy.

[montanacowboy]

20. What a bunch of horseshit

right, old Colon Bowel, VP ??? that lying turd - talk about delusion

[Catch22Dem]

21. You poor poster

Here's what you missed over the last 6 years here at DU.

Powell has ZERO credibility. He lost his credibility with My Lai and has been on a downward skid ever since.

[obamian]

27. Yeah, I only started posting a month ago.

I'm not too surprised about the negative reaction. I agree Powell is not the best potential nominee. Nevertheless, I thought it would be an interesting question to pose. I'm sure most Democrats don't prefer Powell as the nominee, but he might be able to attract some Republican support. I don't think it's too far fetched that a Democrat would choose a moderate Republican as running mate, we almost had a Gore McCain ticket in 2000.

His lies before the U.N. were terrible, but Bush might have not even dealt with U.N. without Powell. After they kicked him out, he has been critical of the Bush Administration. That being said, the Democratic nominee has plenty of better choices.

[Catch22Dem]

47. That was rude of me

I didn't mean to belittle you or anything like that. I was thinking you were getting ready to get slammed by some folks. As I read back on what I wrote, I worded it horribly. I was just being silly.

[mitchtv]

55. The Kiss of Death

I would not vote

[AtomicKitten]

22. I just hope Powell doesn't get any cooties on Obama.

As for his VP .... not a chance.

[mmonk]

24. Powell as VP you can file in the bad idea bin.

[babylonsister]

25. Powell does NOT have bipartisan support; he was a tool of

this junta and didn't get out/resign after he realized that. Sorry, no dice.

[obamian]

29. His views (post-Bush Adminstration) are respected by some Democrats

I remember some Democrats citing his opposition to the escalation to bolster their case.
Still, Powell minus seven years would have been a much more realistic choice.

[ulysses]

31. OR...we could put Democrats on the ticket.

:think:

[Catchawave]

32. If Powell aligns with Obama.....

It's over for Obama.

I think you were just stating an opinion, hate to burst your bubble :hi:

[earthlover]

34. why not offer vp to a democrat with foreign policy experience....

it isn't as if we don't have any. Clark comes to mind as the obvious one. Why on earth would you go for Powell, with his selling out, when you could have a progressive Democrat who has equal foreign policy stature? I just don't get it!

Why is it that we sometimes ignore our own?

Actuallly Clark/Obama makes more sense....but if you assume Obama gets the nomination, why on earth nominate a Republican when the American public is soured on Republicans and doesn't like the war?

[obamian]

38. I concede the point. Clark sounds a lot better.

I just read about Powell's potential nomination of Obama, and started thinking crazy thoughts.

A moderate Republican nomination would be good in a situation where the Republicans nominate a far-right conservative. The Democrats could then potentially lure moderate Republican voters with the nominee, who would give more credibility to the presidential candidate's unity message. Then, the Democrat, once elected president, would be able to get stuff done with the support of the majority of the American people. Now, all that is hypothetical, and depends on the candidates and views of the country at the time. If the Republicans become more popular, then it might be an option to consider.

[Tom Joad]

37. Osama Bin Laden would be a worse choice for VP. Other than that...

This man who lied us into war, a war criminal, deserves the Hague, not a white house suite.

[dogman]

39. I am still trying to get oast Obama's vote for Rice.

Powell as his running mate would make it impossible for me to vote for him. If he is turning to Powell for advice he might even drop to the bottom of my list now.

[obamian]

42. Seeking advice is enough to move Obama to the bottom of your list?

Powell has been critical of the Bush Administration. He was pawn of the Bush Adminstration, but he is still an intelligent military expert. Furthermore, just because he gets advice from him doesn't mean he follows it. There is nothing wrong with consulting people of all sorts of points of view. If only our current president did little bit of that...

As for the Rice nomination:

Why did you vote to confirm Condoleezza Rice as Secretary of State? Given her well documented records of misstatements and falsehoods building up to the Iraq war, not to mention her incompetence during her tenure as NSC, why did she merit your confirmation vote?
Jason Magnuson, Northern Illinois University

I voted to confirm Condoleezza Rice as Secretary of State because I believe that the President has the right to appoint his own cabinet. He can hire whomever he wants to work for him, but ultimately it is him that I will hold accountable for any foreign policy errors. If he wants to accept Condoleezza Rice as his spokesperson for his policies, then I don’t have a problem with that. But if she makes a mistake, I will absolutely hold him accountable.

I voted against Alberto Gonzales for Attorney General because I believe that he is not the President’s lawyer, but the people’s lawyer. And the truth is that Mr. Gonzales has raised serious doubts about whether, given the choice between the Constitution and the President’s political agenda, he would put our Constitution first.

http://campusprogress.org/features/210/five-minutes-with-sen-barack-obama

[dogman]

49. Powell has no integrity or ethical standing.

Why not consult one of the Democratic experts or at least one who was independent of this administration? Rice had already made mistakes and if he was against the Iraq War, how could he confirm one of it's architects? These are already indications of failed leadership on his part. He is a great speaker and a good Democrat. We already have those same qualities in JRE who is presently last on my list. Edwards had Shelton as a military expert which was poor judgment along with his past sponsorship of the IWR. I want Obama to be better than that.

[pstans]

40. Powell had military credibility

then he went in front of the UN and lied his ass off.

[Laurab]

41. I think even the notion is ridiculous.

Obama is NOT stupid. He would never choose Powell as his running mate, although if he did, it would end HIS chances quite abruptly. There are plenty of people who have foreign policy experience - Wes Clark comes first to my mind. Joe Biden, who isn't real popular around here, has a lot, too.

Colin Powell endorsing a Dem would be nice to see, I suppose, for the few people who think he has any credibility left - I'd lump those people in with the people who still think McCain is a "maverick".

I think whoever wins the primary will have a pool of qualified Dems to choose from, and I think Obama would choose wisely.

[Tom Joad]

43. Obama seeks advice on banking industry. Calls up

Neil Bush. and reads about Bonnie and Clyde.

[AnOhioan]

44. Powell has zero credibility left

Obama, even though not my first choice, is smarter than that.

[DKRC]

45. Obama + Powell would make as much

sense as Gore + Lieberman. We've all seen Lieberman's true colors come out after the fact.:puke:

Obama doesn't need Powell dragging him down. He can do MUCH better. If he gets the nomination he'll have his pick of great people to fill out his ticket.

[Tom Joad]

57. Maybe the poster is too young to remember Powell's complicity in this war.

after all, it was over 2 years ago.

[DKRC]

59. Nope, I watched the VietNam war on TV as a kid, so I've been around awhile.

But my point was that Obama no more needed a duplicitous running mate in 2008 than Gore did back in 2000. I guess it just wasn't clear to you. I would hope that Obama would sidestep any attempts to pair him off with a Rethug yes-man whether there's an R or D behind their name.

Personally, I'd love to see Gore/Obama on the ticket. 8 years under President Gore, followed by 8 years of President Obama. It would probably take 16 years for these 2 fine men to undo all the damage the BCF has wreaked on our nation and the world at large.
But that's a personal preference.

[Tom Joad]

61. No, i know you get it, i meant the Original poster who thought

that Powell would be acceptable on a presidential ticket.

Gore's not running.

[DKRC]

67. Ah, I knew one of us was confused

but I picked the wrong one...

;)




Edited to add:


You know, I've seen sooo many unbelievable things happen over the past 7 years that I'm prepared to believe just about anything is possible at this point. So I'm holding out for the possibility that Gore will run.
It costs me nothing, and it gives me hope for the future.

:patriot:

[illinoisprogressive]

46. I don't think Powell will do public office again. He was seriously used and damaged

by Cheney andBush. I have heard Powell was backed in a corner on this. He has never forgiven himself for being a good solider then. He will probably help unofficially but, he won't be in office again.

[Clarkie1]

48. I don't think he's the only potential nominee Powell might endorse.

Clark isn't running (at least not at the moment), but Powell has spoken glowingly of Clark in the past. I think there are other potential nominees Powell might endorse as well. Richardson, perhaps?

[Colobo]

50. If Powell wants to endorse Obama, that's fine

As long as it's his prerogative. Hopefully he doesn't have any invested interests on President Obama. :)

[Stinky The Clown]

51. From Viet Nam coverer-upper to pure bullshit artist/war criminal. FUCK HIM

and the horse he rode in/out on.

Here's a pre-Bush, pre UN, pre- Iraq War II treatise on this lying, unprincipled mother fucker.

http://www.usvetdsp.com/story13.htm

[Adelante]

52. OMFG!!

I needed this :rofl:

[roguevalley]

56. Colin Powell needs to keep his blood-stained hands off Barak

Obama. He doesn't need to know anything Powell has to say. My Lai and now Iraq? Who needs advice like his. Colin Powell is a coward. Period. Barak Obama is a man. Great difference in my book.

[flaminbats]

58. I think it would be great if Obama can win Powell's support..

but Powell backed Dole in 1996, and Bush in the last two elections. its hard to visualize him backing Obama, but things change quickly in politics. A year ago I didn't think Edwards would admit his vote in favor of the Iraqi war resolution was a mistake, but Edwards is currently my favorite for the Democratic nomination.

[FrenchieCat]

60. Now that would be scary! I like Obama for his "thus far" good judgement......

This powell thingie would ruin it!

Colin Powell....hell no!

[Booster]

63. If Obama picks Powell, he loses my vote period. Jesus, hasn't

Powell proven that he is not to be trusted - the man lied to get us into this stupid war, and he knew damn well he was lying.

[w4rma]

64. Why should Obama choose Powell as a running mate? Because they are both African-American?

Because it's better for "those people" to mingle with themselves?:sarcasm:

That pick makes no sense, no matter how you look at it.

[dennis4868]

65. Powell...

has no credibility...blood is on his hands.

[IA_Seth]

66. You know you're weak on Foreign Policy...

When you start turning to the likes of Colin Powell.

Obama is a wonderful speaker. Obama is charismatic. Obama is smart.

It seems to me though that he has some work in the judgment department. Colin Powell as an advisor?

I hope that whoever gets the nod would tap Obama as a VP, as I think he would do excellent work with the Senate in that role, but I am leary of standing up for someone in my neighborhood's caucus that looks to Colin Powell for Foreign Policy advise.

[Blue-Jay]

68. yeah. THAT'S gonna happen.

:eyes:

[lojasmo]

69. Obama/Powell=I WILL NOT VOTE. EOM

[Forkboy]

70. That would make two Democrats that I absolutely wont vote for.