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BREAKING: Colin Powell Ready to Endorse Obama?

Quick news diary: I have no idea how connected Lawrence O’Connell is, but on the Huffington Post he’s suggesting Colin Powell will endorse Obama after tonight’s debate

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.

O’Connell goes on to say:

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 speechwriters will be hard pressed to come up with a condescending quip about it.

A Powell endorsement would certainly shoot down one of McCain’s only remaining leads – in national security. A friend of mine who worked as a White House fellow said that even back in 2001, Powell would joke about himself being the ‘only Liberal in the cabinet.’

To my mind, Powell has nothing to lose by endorsing a candidate, and that Obama would be his choice.  


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/ 8 Comments

8 comments

  1. Reaper0bot0

    All hands on deck.  Unlike some, I still have something like a semblance of respect for  Colin Powell.  I wanna be clear – it ain’t much.  At this point, what respect I have for the man is the fact that he’s shown actual public regret and remorse for his own part in this and that others who knew him at the time all say he really did try to inject some sanity into this Administration.

    On balance, is that enough for me to forgive him?  No, it isn’t, but I’m not going to ignore it either.  He can be rehabilitated in my eyes, and he’s probably the only prominent figure in this Administration who could be.

  2. GrassrootsOrganizer

    Do you think Powell realizes he holds the last nail for McCain’s coffin?  There simply could be no coming back from that — no besmirking Powell’s motives or insights without losing any remaining shred of credibility.  Would Colin Powell endorse a terrorist sympathizer?

    What could possibly be worse for McCain?  

    Petraeus?  He can’t.

    Who could trump Colin Powell?

  3. DeniseVelez

    HuffPo story. As it is written it seems to be speculative.

    However, were it to be true, I think it is a good thing. I’m not one of the people who thinks Powell should be forced to walk the plank.  

    But regardless of my opinion about Colin Powell, and many of the negatives expressed in the left/blogosphere, I believe the average person in America still holds him in high esteem.

    It would also undermine the current terror bashing being thrown at Senator Obama.  

    I have quite a few relatives who were career military.  They love and respect General Powell.  Many of my friends (from a diverse spread of ethnic groups) were ready to vote for Powell for POTUS.  

    An endorsement from Powell might nudge some Republicans who are leaning Obama into voting for him, and would also have an impact on a certain group of indies.

    My only concern about this type of rumor – is that it could backfire if Powell suddenly endorsed McCain.  Not that I think that is likely; were he going to endorse McCain I think he would have done so at the end of the primaries.  

  4. Chris Blask

     – of course that does not overlook his mistakes, all great folks have those, too.

    I think my opinion is very common, so like GRO says, I think he holds the Last Nail.

    Come one, Colin!

  5. spacemanspiff

    Colin Powell

    Agree with GRO and almost everybody here on what it means with respect to the  presidential race.

    It’s definitely worth a good news cycle and adds credibility to Obama’s “credentials” in the eyes of many people.  The press loves him and that’s never a bad thing either.

    I’m thankful a chance exists he will endorse Obama but I don’t really care much for Colin Powell.

    Colin Powell still can’t bring himself to stand up and account for his crucial role in the lead up to the war. Powell was an integral part of the war propaganda machine. Powell spoke out against a corrupt administration only AFTER it was safe to do so. YEARS after to was safe to do so.

    As far as him “following orders” Powell made the UN speech while Secretary of State, and not a part of the military chain of command. As such, he should have realized that he was not bound by military protocol. Or to put it another way, he should have refused to piss down our backs and tell us it was raining.

    We needed him to stand up to Bush.

    We needed him to lead, and he did not.

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