Colin Powell Ready to Endorse Obama

[VeraAgnes]

Do you think Powell will be in Obama's cabinet? Say Sec. of Defense or State?

I do.......

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lawrence-odonnell/colin-powell-is-ready-to_b_134777.html

When Colin Powell turns off his TV after the final presidential debate, he will have learned everything he is going to learn about the candidates vying to succeed his former boss, George W. Bush. Powell has made it clear that he has been thinking about an endorsement for a long time but wanted to hear more from the candidates before making his choice. It now seems beyond doubt that Colin Powell will endorse Barack Obama and thereby hammer the final nail in the coffin of the Republican campaign to hold onto the White House.

The recent ugliness of the McCain-Palin rally audiences cannot be lost on Colin Powell. And Powell is not one to ignore a 14 point lead in a New York Times poll. But most important for Powell and the press will be his explicit rejection of the Bush-McCain approach to Iraq, Iran and the rest of the world.

Powell's endorsement will be perfectly timed to dominate a news cycle or two. It will give Obama the one thing he still needs more of--credibility as Commander-In-Chief. And Sarah Palin's speech-writers will be hard pressed to come up with a condescending quip about it.

[Submariner]

1. Powell should not even be let into the White House

Thousands dead and injured for life due to that asshole.

[CountAllVotes]

5. right on!

we must not allow this WAR CRIMINAL that LIED TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE anywhere near the White House! :mad:

:dem:

[Ilsa]

9. You bet! He was too cowardly to stand up to Bush and the idiot neocons. nt

[Jackpine Radical]

13. Not to mention the My Lai coverup; nevertheless,

this will be very important among those who have lingering doubts about Obama's national defense credentials.

[GreenPartyVoter]

15. Even without Iraq, My Lai is enough reason not to let him in.

[VeraAgnes]

19. I agree...he sold his soul that Colin Powell.....but maybe

he is looking for redemption which is the progressive way ya know......Obama did say he wanted a mixed Administration and would cross party lines with filling the seats. So, it is a reasonable speculation to keep on the "back burner". Powell is not coming out for nothing ya know.

[polichick]

27. I see him that way too - but I'll bet Obama is more forgiving.

[WA98296]

2. He gave us his personal credibility for the Bush Administration. So I see no gain.

[Jackpine Radical]

10. Not for you, not for me, but Powell still has cred among the low-info

swing voters. I think this is a big deal.

[VeraAgnes]

I agree with that insight.

Powell is coming out to give Obama more leverage and in turn, he maybe rewarded. Obama would give him the true free hand to do the job correctly where the *bush/cheney crime family, they just used him and blocked any sensible options; blackmailed him with sworn duty oath stuff.

[LisaM]

3. I hope not.

I do not welcome any endorsement by Powell. I've outlined my reasons here many times, but I don't trust him. I think he's self serving. He also allowed Clinton to take the rap for don't ask, don't tell, which was all Powell's doing.

[meow mix]

4. thump

and down they go, some more..

[zbdent]

6. I'll believe it when I see Faux admitting it ...

and it will take much more than this to get me to forgive him for covering for Bush and lying to the UN ...

[Jackpine Radical]

7. "Well, you know, Powell and Hussein Osama--uh--Obama--just aren't

our kind of people--" (wink).

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

8. Colin Powell's completely full of shit.

But there are lots of people who are full of shit and campaigning really hard for Obama, particularly the last week or two.

So I won't complain about an endorsement.

[iamthebandfanman]

11. we'll take his endorsement, but thats all

just say no to him back in the whitehouse.

anybody who got manipulated like he did doesnt need to hold office

[El Supremo]

12. To avoid prosecution? n/m

[TheWraith]

14. We've heard this story before. It was false then, why should it be true now? nt

[democrattotheend]

16. Are we sure it's Obama?

Couldn't McCain be holding him in reserve in hopes of generating some much-needed momentum?

[enough]

17. I don't see any evidence in the article that it will be Obama, just speculation.

Powell has never shown any political courage, and I doubt he has enough even for this.

[stolivodka]

18. Yippee! I guess that locks up the war criminal vote!

While I agree that there's room in the big tent for plenty of ex-Bushers, this one in particular stood before the United Nations and knowingly uttered falsehoods that lead to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent people.

He's the biggest war criminal since WWII, and if there's any justice in this universe, he'll be gunned down by an irate Repuke during his endorsement speech.

[IndianaJones]

20. cabinet? hell no. nt

[frickaline]

28. +1; no truth, no cabinet

[MindMatter]

21. When they reach this age, some men are consumed by wealth. Others are consumed by their legacy.

This is a guy who had a long, distinguished career, and this threw it all away. We can all remember the very moment when the guy's whole life went up in smoke. It was 30 minutes in front of the UN where he barely managed to utter a single true statement.

Did he begin with "Hi, my name is Colin Powell"? If so, that might have been the only true statement in the entire speech.

Is he wise enough now to realize what he did to himself?

An endorsement cannot possibly repair that. But it would be a small first step towards leaving this trail of tears with a modicum of dignity and respect.

I believe this is more important the Powell than most of the others he palled around with.

[kurt_cagle]

23. Agreed

Powell made a profound mistake accepting the SecState position under Bush, but I think the fact that he walked away after Bush's first term says volumes about the man - he was a moderate Republican military general who thought that he was going to work for a moderate Republican president ... poor judgment on his part, but one which having gotten on for the ride he couldn't walk away from. He won't be given a cabinet position - he has lost an incredible amount of credibility on the foreign stage, and Obama knows that he would be too much of a political liability, but a lot of moderates and the terminally undecided still have a certain degree of respect for Powell. An endorsement by him would go a long way toward shoring up the perceived foreign policy weakness, especially for those voters.

This is a first step toward redemption, nothing more. Powell is likely to be considered an "elder statesman" - unlikely to re-enter politics, but respected enough by the talking heads that his words still count there.

[daa]

22. Why Not? Christopher Buckley did

and had to leave the National Review.

[Sorceress]

24. He can endorse whoever he wants but he should never be allowed to even look

at the White House again. That being said, regarding Powell actually endorsing Obama, I'll believe it when I see it.

[McCCain4retirment]

I'll see it when I believe it

[McCCain4retirment]

25. I'll see it when I believe it

[BootinUp]

26. What if Lawrence is just wrong?

I would be surprised if Colin endorses Obama at this juncture.

[emulatorloo]

29. Not holding my breath (Powell has had lots of chances to do the right thing before)

And yet somehow he never comes through.

[Essene]

30. i find the Powell hatred kinda pathetic on DU... and not for lack of info...

He blew it in 2003... but not quite in the way folks think.

He rebelled against the White House before making that UN Presentation, and actually forced a ton of junk from making it into the presentation. However, he was backed into a corner by Tenet (clinton appointed CIA director) who insisted that the remaining stuff was 100% legitimate. Powell trusted Tenet. Tenet trusted his sources.

He was then buried and kept away from the press while our guys went to war.

He resigned when he could quietly do so.

He then started speaking out...

...telling the truth...

...saying the war was a mistake...

...saying folks in the CIA and Bush admin were lying...

...calling for an investigation...

...openly supporting OBAMA'S foreign policy...

...even criticizing Mccain's rash response to the russia/georgia conflict...

Give him a break.

He's arguably the most respected military guy in america AND he's one of the most respected africa-americans.



I know a lot of people want to rant about military stuff and his lies, but get over yourself.

[Javaman]

31. colin, ass for name, powell, should just go away.

he lost all integrity a long time ago. Who gives a shit if he endorses Obama? It looks to me that Obama is doing just fine without that sycophants endorsement.

[tilsammans]

32. No way, no how, . . .

. . . NO Powell!

:kick: