Blog
Colin Powell Missed It
by Peter Tharaldson
I listened closely Colin Powell's endorsement of Senator Obama today. I found myself remarkably angry, not over the endorsement, but in the way Secretary Powell makes decisions. I use to have a lot of respect for Secretary Powell, and would have pounded the pavement for him as a presidential candidate. Only problem is he didn't run. He did not have the the guts and the where withall to do it. That has bothered me but something clicked today that really made sense. Colin Powell always has his timing and analysis messed up. What you will read next is something that no Democrat or Republican will say because it would compromise their party's interests...it is honest however.
Secretary Powell said today that he still thought it right to go into Iraq....I thought, wow, he still does not get it. That was one of the worst mistakes ever (the Dems might like that).
He then credited General Patreaus for turning the war around. Although I am not a fan of Senator McCain, in all fairness, the credit goes to Senator McCain who stood up to President Bush repeatedly on that issue (the Repubs might like that). It was interesting how he still exempts himself from responsibility on Iraq.
The next comment was interesting. Secretary Powell suggested that he did not care for Senator McCains temperment, and held it in comparison to Senator Obamas calm demeanor. I thought to myself that I have never seen Secretary Powell upset. That is quite remarkable. If he truly was concerned about what led up to the Iraq War as was suggested on Frontline, why the hell didn't he get upset. It probably would have done the country a whole lot of good for him to have gotten upset, to have resigned in protest, of for godsake say something the press that matters. He did not.
The final thing that concerned me was his buy in to generational change...transformational change actually. It strikes me that every other presidential election has been branded as a generational change...it is a popular word. I would love for it to transform us, but it strikes me that America uses generational change every eight years to wash its hands of responsbility. Through every generational change our country goes deeper into debt, loses ground on industry and loses another generation to failed education reform. This is crazy.
If you vote for Senator McCain or Senator Obama, vote on their policies and beliefs, not on their image.
BTW- the only thing Secretary Powell had right tonight was his concerns about Michelle Bachman. How dumb can she be.
