Understanding the Powell endorsement
By drredeye • Oct 25th, 2008 • Category: PoliticsOn Sunday’s Meet The Press, former Secretary of State Colin Powell formally endorsed Democratic presidential candiate Barack Obama. The initial media blasts were how it would hurt the McCain campaign, Republicans and conservatives. But I’m not so sure.
Before I assess the impact of Powell’s endorsement on conservatives, it is important to dig beneath the surface of his endorsement because it conveys several key messages. Here they are:
- Powell’s endorsement revealed his lack of leadership skills. By waiting until only 16 days remain the race to make his endorsement, and only after Obama had mounted an allegedly big lead in polls, Powell showed he would rather be led by others than to lead others. It doesn’t take any courage to put a wager on the front-runner in the 9th inning.
- Powell’s endorsement revealed his allegiance is to popularity, not to principle. Powell portrayed himself as a black conservative during the height of Republican popularity. But since the GOP’s downward spiral and the increased popularity of the Democratic party, Powell has jumped the fence to align himself to the other side. It’s classic traitor politics.
- Powell’s endorsement revealed that he leans left. Powell stated in no uncertain terms that “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.” The image of Powell as a black conservative is blown off by none other than Powell himself.
- Powell’s endorsement revealed nothing original about Obama. Powell’s arguments for endorsing Obama and for not endorsing McCain sounded eerily like textbook Obama stump speeches, right down to Powell’s disdainful claim that William Ayers has been “a central point of the [McCain] campaign”. For undecided voters who were looking for new insight into Obama through Powell’s endorsement, the glass was empty.
- Powell’s endorsement revealed that Powell has also been hypnotized by Obama. Powell appears to have mastered the Obama art of saying nothing with lofty words, such as how Obama “is a transformational figure” (stated twice), how he has an “ability to inspire”, that “we need a president who is a generational change”, and his belief that Obama has “intellectual vigor” (whatever that means). Impressive emptiness.
In the end, Powell’s endorsement did nothing for liberals who were already voting for Obama and provided no insight for undecideds. However, his endorsement did reveal to conservatives who the true Colin Powell is. So Powell’s endorsement did benefit conservatives…albeit in a totally unexpected way.
drredeye is a former fetus and former pro-choice advocate. He was raised essentially by a single mother in a lower-class, crime-infested neighborhood in the city of Chicago and later survived the dot-com bust under Bill Clinton's watch. That background helped hone his brutally honest style that colors his conservative opinions. Due to a combination of that provocative style and his often unique perspective on the issues of our day, his writings have been published by a major Chicago newspaper, a Christian magazine and other web sites. You may not always agree with the Doctor, but he'll always make you go hmmm. Yep, satisfaction guaranteed or your money back.
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Funny, I was thinking today that Powell only made the endorsement because he’s tired of being constantly attacked by other blacks. Tired of all the derogatory comments about how he’s not a “real black man.” Just goes to show that he never really had the cojones in the first place.