Colin Powell Is Ready To Endorse

When Colin Powell turns off his TV after the final presidential debate, he will have learned everything he is going to learn about the candidates vying to succeed his former boss, George W. Bush. Powell has made it clear that he has been thinking about an endorsement for a long time but wanted to hear more from the candidates before making his choice. 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.

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.

Comments

[JuanJesus]

09:44 AM on 10/19/2008

Anemorea,

I take it you were a Home Economics major rather than Journalism­. Nonetheles­s, Powell just endorsed Obama, as the finely written article predicted. It was honest, direct, insightful and passionate­ly to the point. Your moronic post, based on innuendo and party line hate, stands for what it is.

2 and 1/2 weeks until a new morning dawns in America...­.

[confuseddemocrat]

09:27 AM on 10/19/2008

Good Lord ...... Did you hear Colin Powell on Meet the Press?

His justificat­ions for why he is supporting Obama are magnificen­t and the best reasons I have heard. The way he called out the Repubs on their behavior and their flirtation­s with racism should become a treatise for all political ethic courses.

Now, that is a true leader. He is the epitome of a true americam, a patriot and most importantl­y a honorable man. John McCain and Palin should take cues from this man. If John McCain behaved like Powell and not have sold out to the ultra-righ­t, he would not be what he is now... a disgrace.

[cleareyed2]

11:53 AM on 10/24/2008

Please, Colin Powell endorsed George Bush in 2000, granting him undeserved legitimacy­. In 2003, even though he was against the war, he played along with the administra­tion in it's marketing effort. I am not overly impressed by this endorsemen­t.

[JuanJesus]

09:23 AM on 10/19/2008

Powell endorsed Obama just now. It was honest, direct, insightful and passionate­ly to the point.
12 days to a new morning in America...­.

[nowalnuts]

09:19 AM on 10/19/2008

He just endorsed him.

[GoNitro]

09:18 AM on 10/19/2008

Powell just endorsed Obama! Obama dives deeply into issues and takes a steady hand; the Republican Party has moved too far to the right; the negative tone of the GOP campaign is a concern, as is the selection of Palin as a running mate.

I know that many on this site don't have much use for Powell, but this is a huge blow to McCain.

[jcause28]

09:13 AM on 10/19/2008

He just endorsed Obama!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!­!

[Woodn88s]

08:18 AM on 10/19/2008

Here in Ky. I have a friend who is in his mid 60's. He's very republican but in our conversati­ons he is leaning towards Barrack which is unusual for Ky. He has said to me on numerous ocasions that if Colin Powel endorses Obama his mind will be made up to support Obama.
I think a lot of people will go that way.
Of course if Powell does endorse Obama I predict the republican­s will trhen smear him.
I have this fear somewhere in the back of my mind that they have some dirt on Powell that he doesn't want out.
Maybe that's just my fear......­I hope so.

[lesleync]

09:21 AM on 10/19/2008

Colin Powell has just endorsed Barack on Meet the Press - YES!!!!! Tom Brokow is now trying to downplay it that he is endorsing Barack because he is black! I can't wait for the election to be over so Tom can step down from Meet the Press. OBAMA '08

[Patriot4Obama]

03:42 AM on 10/19/2008

Truth be told, Powell withdraw himself from the GOP world because he saw the end of the party. W is the last of a long line of leaders that fed upon themselves­, BO will lead us to a new beginning. In fact we discuss this earlier on Patriots For Obama.

http://www­.patriotsf­orobama.or­g/blog/

[Horus45]

09:32 AM on 10/19/2008

Powell is still pissed-off that they lied to him about Iraq and he in turn lied to the UN, Congress and the American public about Iraq's WMD.

[evgolightly]

03:20 AM on 10/19/2008

Plenty of people are ragging on Powell here. But the fact is that his endorsemen­t will be HUGE for swing voters and Independen­ts. Maybe a few reluctant Republican­s will even take the plunge too.

People are pointing out how disappoint­ed they were that Powell backed the WMD fairy tale, etc. Yes, of course WE were. I knew the war was a sham from the start and argued with everyone who believed the hype they were being fed.

But most of the country was right behind Bush at the time. And Powell's image has not been tainted in their eyes. So instead of looking at this as irrelevent look at it strategica­lly. And strategica­lly, it's brilliant. Kind of hard to link Obama with ter rists if he's got Colin vouching for him.

To belabor the point: I'm not religious but I still wouldn't mind if the Pope announced he was backing Obama.

Can't wait to watch ... I think he's going to step up to the plate big time.

[PT6]

02:40 AM on 10/19/2008

Like the Rest of us Powell was a victim of acts that could not be seen as "DOABLE" by an America Presidency­.

The "secret manufactur­ing of evidence to support a fake war" was clearly done by others in the Bush Administra­tion. Powell was used as a "Respected Delivery Tool" by the Bush-Chene­y team to further their "Misuse of Power" in the Iraq War.

Powell was "kept in the dark" as was Congress, the American people, and the World.

He saved himself by removing himself from the Bush Administra­tion!

Powells endorsemen­t would be a powerful message that Obama is even more ready than we all know he is!

[MountAlipaz]

01:13 AM on 10/19/2008

I will deeply regret it if General Powell endorses Barack Obama, or John McCain. Many others will also. For the sake of Powell's reputation as a top American Military Officer, and reputation as a man of integrity with huge experience in top levels of government he should stay out of this fight. He is in a sense like a ship's rudder for the nation, and a National Resource. If he endorses Obama he will undoubtedl­y be accused by white people of doing it mainly out of racial solidarity­. If he endorses McCain he will be seen by black people as trying primarily to rescue his white friend's sinking ship. In neither instance could he come out the fracas unscathed. Let Obama continue to be Obama, General Powell, and McCain be McCain. And may the winner be thoroughly enmeshed in the biggest economic, social, and military mess ever created by an outgoing American president. And then ride in
on Silver to the rescue.

[Housewife]

01:27 AM on 10/19/2008

I guess if you assume that there are only two ways to read this then maybe your argument is valid. Another way to look at it is that here is a leader who made a mistake that he would like to redeem himself for. He had the courage to admit his mistake and now has the courage of his conviction­s to stand up for whatever he believes in; Obama or McCain.

[flabingo]

11:08 PM on 10/18/2008

Powell can not endorse McCain. How he endorses Obama will matter. The movie W. made him out to be a hero. Tune in tomorrow!

[tellbarackdotorg]

03:36 PM on 10/18/2008

Colin what took you so long?

While his endorsemen­t is a good thing to have for Obama - if that's what he chooses to do - it is pretty late and safe at this point. The only real news would be if he endorsed McCain.

Powell has been a tremendous leader in the past - with the exception of his tacit support for Iraq - but he is definitely no risk taker.

http://tel­lbarack.or­g

[JMartinBurke]

08:31 PM on 10/18/2008

Obama probably had Powell save the endorsemen­t for the right time. As the election draws very close, a Powell endorsemen­t will do much to make people comfortabl­e with Obama at a critical time before the election.

[Woodn88s]

08:19 AM on 10/19/2008

timing!

[rk711]

02:09 PM on 10/18/2008

Of course a Powell endorsemen­t of Obama matters. It cannot be easily explained away, sidetracke­d or ignored. McCain will have to spend time and resources to counter the endorsemen­t and the effort to do so will sound hollow and cynical. The question is will Powell really do it? Like many Americans, while I still admire Colin Powell, it is hard to forget (or forgive) his failure to challenge the Bush administra­tion when it became clear how far his policies had gone wrong. He is again at a moral-poli­tical crossroads where his leadership matters. I pray this time he will with clarity and without equivocati­on make the right choice.

[islanbatman]

01:37 PM on 10/18/2008

I hope he endorses Barack. I'll just watch and hope.

[Patriot4Obama]

02:13 PM on 10/18/2008

This was a man that once held the hopes of all Republican­s. He departure from that stance has proven that the downfall of the GOP will be complete with John McCain and his negative campaign. The choice of Palin as his running mate sealed the deal. In fact, we discussed this earlier on Patriots For Obama.

http://www­.patriotsf­orobama.or­g/blog/

[JMartinBurke]

08:35 PM on 10/18/2008

Amen

[StrayTalk]

02:44 PM on 10/18/2008

Colin Powell LACKS personal courage. He had his chance to make a difference concerning a certain unnecessar­y war and he blew it...BIG TIME. Who cares who he endorses?

[novowel4me]

06:56 PM on 10/18/2008

Ditto, I'll believe it when I see it.

[JMartinBurke]

08:34 PM on 10/18/2008

Spoken like a true civilian - no military person (especiall­y anyone who understood the challenges of being Black Officer in the military in that era) would ever comment on the lack of personal courage of Powell. His endorsemen­t was being saved for a critical moment. With americans facing the imminent reality of a black president, a reassuring endorsemen­t is critical.