The Powell Endorsement....

Gen. Colin Powell was on Meet the Press this morning with Tom Brokaw, and he “endorsed” Obama for President. I use the “” marks, because he made it clear that he would be voting for Obama, but he did not endorse him the traditional sense that he wasn’t planning to campaigning for him during these final few weeks of the campaign. This, I believe, is a huge endorsement for Obama. Powell is probably the only member – past or present – of the Bush cabinet for whom I have any respect at all. Of course, his presentation at the United Nations in support of the Iraq war, certainly tarnished his image, but I think he still stands head-and-shoulders above the rest of the Bushies!

Powell said that he knew, liked, and respected both candidates, and he provided a few reasons for his decision:

During this economic crisis, Obama provided calm and steady leadership while McCain seemed disorganized, and seemed to come up with a new fix each day. McCain did not seem to have a good grasp of the crisis.
Powell was not happy with the direction in which the Republican party was headed – which is too far to the Right. I was particularly impressed when Powell said that two more Conservative appointees to the Supreme Court would not be acceptable to him.
He felt that Palin was not ready for the job. That really needs no explanation. Click on this link to see for yourself how ready Palin is for this job: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nokTjEdaUGg

Powell was critical about McCain’s handling of the Bill Ayers issue. He felt that in times such as this, McCain was overplaying the Bill Ayers issue.
Although the Powell endorsement was a big deal, here’s something that Powell said that has much greater significance:

"I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say, and it is permitted to be said. Such things as 'Well you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim.' Well the correct answer is 'He is not a Muslim, he's a Christian, he's always been a Christian.' But the really right answer is 'What if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country?' The answer is 'No. That's not America.' Is there something wrong with some 7-year old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she can be president? Yet I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion he's a Muslim and he might be associated with terrorists. This is not the way we should be doing it in America.
"I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo-essay about troops who were serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery and she had her head on the headstone of her son's grave. And as the picture focused in you can see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards, Purple Heart, Bronze Star, showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old. And then at the very top of the headstone, it didn't have a Christian cross, it didn't have a Star of David. It had a crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Karim Rashad Sultan Khan. And he was an American, he was born in New Jersey, he was 14 at the time of 9/11 and he waited until he can go serve his country and he gave his life."

Overall, this is a big endorsement for Obama. It’s too bad that Powell will not be out on the campaign trail for him.



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