Colin Powell's surprising endorsement of Obama crosses party lines and sends a strong signal to independents and moderate democrats (poltico.com). Obama has talked about having Powell as one of his advisors in a more formal way. Reader response to the Powell endorsement has been apparent in "The Arena" where reader response has been almost as high as initial questions on Sarah Palin and even higher than after debate nights.
Colin Powell's endorsement of Obama is very harmful to McCain (the CW). It is not damaging only because Powell is endorsing Obama but because of the very negative comment Powell Made about Obama.
This is what Colin Powell said. 'I watched Mr. Obama ... during this seven-week period. And he displayed a steadiness, an intellectual curiosity, a depth of knowledge and an approach to looking at problems like this and picking a vice president that, I think, is ready to be president on day one. And also, in not just jumping in and changing every day, but showing intellectual vigor. ... I also believe that on the Republican side over the last seven weeks, the approach of the Republican Party and Mr. McCain has become narrower and narrower. ... I've also been disappointed, frankly, by some of the approaches that Senator McCain has taken recently, or his campaign ads, on issues that are not really central to the problems that the
American people are worried about. This Bill Ayers situation that's been going on for weeks became something of a central point of the campaign. But Mr. McCain says that he's a washed-out terrorist. Well, then, why do we keep talking about him? ...What the! y're trying to connect him to is some kind of terrorist feelings. And I think that's inappropriate. 'Now, I understand what politics is all about. I know how you can go after one another, and that's good. But I think this goes too far. And I think it has made the McCain campaign look a little narrow. It's not what the American people are looking for. 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. I would have difficulty with two more conservative appointments to the Supreme Court, but that's what we'd be looking at in a McCain administration. 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's no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, 'He's a Muslim and he might be associated terrorists.' This is not the way we should be doing it in America.'WashTimes banner, Jon Ward's 'BIG GOVERNMENT' series -- second of three parts -- 'Pentagon spending growth outpaces auditors -- Report: Lack of oversight opens door to fraud, abuse': 'Government reports are not known for plain language, much less candor. But in a report issued in March, Pentagon Inspector General Claude M. Kicklighter summed up what had been growing increasingly evident for years: Defense spending has been growing so rapidly that auditors can no longer keep track. 'We currently are not able to provide sufficient audit coverage of [Department of Defense] acquisition programs given the dollars expended by the department,' Mr. Kicklighter wrote. 'The rapid growth of the DOD budget since FY 2000 leaves the Department increasingly more vulnerable to the fraud, waste and abuse that undermines the department's mission.''
As we can see, Colin Powell had some very poor things to say about Senator McCain. Powell was very articulate in why he was supporting Obama and what was wrong in the McCain camp. Powell concisely said all at once what people have been talking about. He was not afraid to clearly point to what was flawed in the McCain campaign and call McCain out for bad choices. I can see this endorsement hurting McCain's standing with undecided voters and assuring other voters of their choice.
Some have argues that Colin Powell only supported Barack Obama based on race. However, I do not agree with those statements because of Powell's ability to focus in on such specific reasoning for his endorsement of Obama. I believe many people are only pointing that way because they have no defense against what Powell is saying. Since people aren’t able to argue with Powell's comments they attack him for endorsing based on race. Powell crossed party lines to make this endorsement and I am sure it is devastating for some in the Republican Party.
Powell's endorsement has been expected for months and it would have made an impression regardless of timing. However, Powell was strategic in waiting so long to make his endorsement. Both candidates have chosen running mates, Powell was once even rumored to be McCain's running mate and the public is more interested in the campaigns as the election draws closer. Colin Powell's timing might even amplify its effect on the McCain campaign.
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