A Liberal Endorses Obama, And We're Surprised?

The endorsement heard round the world: Today on Meet the Press, Colin Powell, the liberal, pro-abortion former Secretary of State, has thrown his weight behind the candidacy of Barack Obama. The media is covering this with the kind of jubilation that accompanied V-Day. Powell is a "Republican" in the way that I'm a liberal Catholic. He's not, really and I'm not, really. It is well known that ever since he bolted from the Bush Cabinet he has been a disgruntled statesman in exile. The Bush Administration, in Powell's narrow and self-centered oculus, failed to fully appreciate the greatness that is Colin Powell. Throughout his tenure as Secretary of State, Powell was overshadowed by Cheney, Rumsfeld and, to a certain extent, Rice. Ever since, his bruised pride has been trolling to get even and rehabilitate his marginalized reputation. So here we are. Said a prominent Republican: "Powell cares a lot about his reputation with Washington elites and he thinks he was badly damaged by his relationship with the Bush administration. So this is a way to make up for what he regarded as not being treated well by the Bush administration, not being given the due deferenece he thinks he deserves."

Powell criticized what he considers to be unfair Republican attacks on Obama, especially those questioning the extent of his relationship with 1970's terrorist William Ayers (or, as the media refers to him, "a former radical"). In the same litany of predictable plaints, Powell questioned McCain's judgement in having selected Gov. Sarah Palin as his candidate for vice president. So we should consider the capacity for sound judgement, or lack thereof as Powell sees it, when speaking about McCain's decisions but we dare not do so when studying the reasons behind Obama's numerous radical acquaintances stretching back decades? Judgement, it seems, is a one-way street for Mr. Powell. Plowing through his belabored apologia pro Obama Powell foamed that Palin is not ready to be president, whereas Joe Biden is. "But at the same, now that we have had a chance to watch her for some seven weeks, I don't believe she's ready to be president of the United States, which is the job of the vice president. And so that raised some question in my mind as to the judgment that Senator McCain made." The interlocutor, not surprisingly, failed to follow-up with a reasonable question to ascertain what, according to Powell, makes Obama ready to be president over Gov. Palin, who has spent more time in public office, possesses executive experience (which Obama lacks) a list of significant achievements (which Obama lacks) and an eighty-percent approval rating from her constituents (which Obama lacks). And to top off the list of favorite Democratic talking-points, Powell echoed the belief that the United States needs a president who cares about what "the world" thinks; someone who is occupied with “conveying a new image of American leadership, a new image of America’s role in the world.” How trite. A "world" to be sure, that marches many a step to the left on every issue, whether economic, geopolitical or social.

Don't be fooled. Powell is a liberal to the core and he was irked, frightened even, by the unabashed conservatism of Sarah Palin and the likelihood that she will veer the GOP to the right, regardless of the outcome of the election. Again, Powell: "And I look at these kinds of approaches to the campaign, and they trouble me. And the party has moved even further to the right, and Governor Palin has indicated a further rightward shift." Powell seeks as his desideratum a liberal brand of Republicanism or he'll have none of it. That is how to read this yawn-inducing endorsement.


And as for poor judgement, not to mention bad taste and gaucherie: Powell likes hip-hop. Need we say more?