Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed Sen. Obama for president this past Sunday on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ (read Scott’s post HERE)… and while I know I’m a bit behind on writing about this, understand that it took me a few days to fully understand just how big this endorsement is… for it’s not solely an endorsement of Obama, but also an admonishing of the gop as a whole.
Naturally, the republican wonk (perhaps wanker is more apropos) machine decided to immediately criticize Powell for standing up to for convictions, NOT following the lemmings over the cliff, and putting country, and not party, first.
Sen. McCain could learn a lot from Mr. Powell.
And while I applaud Mr. Powell for doing just that, one has to question if this endorsement does more good for Obama… or if it’s worse for McCain and, in essence, the entire republican party.
I think it’s the latter.
There’s no question the endorsement was a huge boost for the Obama campaign, but keep in mind that there are some Liberals and Independents (a group each side is counting on to propel them to victory) who are pissed at Powell for dragging us into an unjust war.
When thinking about that though, one also has to wonder just how much Powell was lied to by the other members of the Bush(whacked) Administration, specifically Bush, Cheney, Rice, et al.
It’s because of that that I am not one of those people that are pissed at Powell as I believe he was put into an un-envying position. Hell, I’ve liked Colin Powell since I first became aware of him during the first Gulf War, following his career and thinking that one day HE would be the one running for president… unfortunately his career took a divergent and utterly destructive path in the form of accepting the offer from George W. Bush to become his SOS and since his resignation he’s been on what I call a ‘search for atonement.’
(Don’t ask about his support of Ted Stevens (r-AK) in his corruption trial as that one still boggles my mind… but I’m getting off track…)
Powell furthered that ‘search for atonement’ Sunday, not just because he endorsed Obama but he also systematically dismantled the foundation of the McPalin campaign while still labeling himself a republican.
That’s why I think the endorsement is an indictment of the gop more than anything else. And although McCain would never say it publically, this has to hurt… for no other reason than Powell maintains he’s a republican and yet can’t bring himself to endorse his party’s candidate.
Now is not the time to be discussing a place for Powell in an Obama cabinet… after all, that’s for people much smarter than I to decide. Now is the time to listen to what Powell said Sunday and has continued to say since; McCain is not running a clean campaign… Palin is not experienced enough to be VP… McCain’s judgment is not to be trusted.
Keep that in mind when you head to the polls in the days ahead… and perhaps on November 5th our nation will wake up with a new direction slated to being on January 20th of 2009.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Better late than never: My Thoughts on the Powell Endorsement
Sunday, October 19, 2008
You gotta give the man a lot of credit
This morning on "Meet the Press", former Secretary of State and retired General Colin Powell endorsed Senator Obama for President.
While this is a huge blow to the republican party who were hoping for party loyalty (aka: lemming like following) from Sec. Powell. It should also be a big wake up call to the right side of the aisle that something is seriously wrong with their candidate and his stand (if you can call it that) on the issues.
I don't want to hear commentary about his making up for his speeches to the UN to justify the invasion of Iraq. History has shown that Sec. Powell and many other high ranking officials in the Bush(whacked) Administration were given false information from those in even higher positions in order to 'make the case' for Bush's vendetta. For that, Sec. Powell cannot be faulted.
Sec. Powell has made it clear that not only is he a man of integrity. He is capable of clear, independent thought and beholden to no one. His reasoning is sound and he is putting the good of the country above all else.
Which is something that everyone should do on Election Day.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Apparently Hell HAS frozen over…
Quick, someone look outside to see if there are pigs flying… regardless if they’re wearing lipstick or not.
For the first time in its history, the Chicago Tribune has endorsed a Democrat for president of the United States.
From the paper;
On Nov. 4 we're going to elect a president to lead us through a perilous time and restore in us a common sense of national purpose. […]I don’t put much stock into newspaper endorsements, but even still, this is huge.
The strongest candidate to do that is Sen. Barack Obama. The Tribune is proud to endorse him today for president of the United States. […]
We can provide some assurance. We have known Obama since he entered politics a dozen years ago. We have watched him, worked with him, argued with him as he rose from an effective state senator to an inspiring U.S. senator to the Democratic Party's nominee for president. […]
We have tremendous confidence in his intellectual rigor, his moral compass and his ability to make sound, thoughtful, careful decisions. He is ready.
The Tribune has been in circulation for decades (since 1847) and not once… not once… has it ever endorsed a Democrat.
Until now…
Until Obama…
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Friday, February 15, 2008
TBWA's Choice: Senator Barack Obama (D-IL)
As the race for the Democratic nomination for president gets further along (even though we still have 8 months left of this), and with Sen. Clinton’s continued misfires and inane campaign strategies (Mark Penn is a putz), Scott and I have decided to officially disclose our choice for the nomination and the presidency; Sen. Barack Obama.
Yes, Obama may not have the eons of experience as Clinton, but that’s part of the attraction to his candidacy.
After 8 years of Bush and his cronies, the US is in a sad state… loathed around the world… citizens dying for an unjust war… the mastermind behind the worst terrorist attacks against us still free… the economy circling the drain… and the Constitution in peril of being destroyed, we need someone who will strike a chord with the nation while striving to put the US back into balance.
Sen. Obama fits that description… Sen. Clinton does NOT.
Obama has opposed the Iraq war from the start and would start to bring one or two combat brigades home per month until all troops are out of Iraq within 16 months.
He wants to create a new national health plan that would allow individuals without access to affordable insurance coverage to buy coverage similar to that available to members of Congress.
He wants to increase the number of working parents eligible for Earned Income Tax Credits while increasing the benefit available to parents who support their children through child support payments.
He supports implementing an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the level recommended by top scientists.
He supports abortion rights and urges efforts to reduce teen pregnancy.
He wants to use $75 billion in tax cuts and direct spending to stimulate the economy while providing an immediate $250 tax cut to workers and their families, along with an immediate, temporary $250 bonus to seniors in their Social Security checks.
He would encourage, but not require, universal Pre-Kindergarten while rewarding teachers with higher salaries that wouldn’t be tied to standardized test scores.
Ms. Clinton and her campaign on the other hand, over the last few days, has shown her desperation with acts of…well, desperation.
You have her campaign laying out a plan to use super delegates to subvert the will of the Democratic Party electorate… show in a span of days her campaign has gone from saying certain states don’t matter… to saying certain voters don’t matter… to saying the electorate of the Democratic party doesn’t matter and only super-delegates matter… screw the American people.
Good luck Sen. Obama… we’re behind you.
Friday, February 08, 2008
Right again...
Remember how I asked yesterday how long it would be after Romney dropped out for Limbaugh, Dobson and Coulter to endorse Huckabee?
Well, it took Dobson less than 24-hours…
The busybody founder for the organization-which-I-refuse-to-name has announced that he is endorsing former Gov. Mike Huckabee's White House bid…
Wow… I am shocked… I didn’t see that coming...
It’s so hard to express sarcasm in the written form.
Said Dobson;
“My decision comes in the wake of my statement on Super Tuesday that I could not vote for Sen. John McCain, even if he goes on to win the Republican nomination. […] That left two pro-family candidates whom I could support, but I was reluctant to choose between them. However, the decision by Gov. Mitt Romney to put his campaign ‘on hold’ changes the political landscape. The remaining candidate for whom I could vote is Gov. Huckabee. His unwavering positions on the social issues, notably the institution of marriage, the importance of faith and the sanctity of human life, resonate deeply with me and with many others.”You have to hand it to Dobson to be able to speak a lot of words without really saying anything, but let me see if I can translate it for you… ahem; I chose Huckabee because he’s a religious conservative like me who doesn’t believe people should use their own minds and should listen and follow the teachings of my church to the letter… so I’m gonna back him and his stem-cell hating, putting abortion back in alleys campaign…
Of course I’m paraphrasing… but you get the point.
One could argue that this endorsement is not really an endorsement for Huckabee as much as it is a slap at McCain and his so-called “un-conservative ways”, but despite that, it gives Huckabee something to hang his hat on in the primaries that lie ahead… and even though Dobson is avowing his endorsement is as a private citizen so he doesn’t violate his organization’s tax-exempt status, you can count on a horde of his followers taking that as their cue to put their money and approval on Huckabee.
Countdown to Limbaugh and Coulter endorsing Huckabee in five, four, three—
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