He's worked for the last three Republican presidents. His credentials on foreign policy and national security (with the notable exception of the Iraq war) are unassailable. He's Colin Powell, and there's increased speculation he'll make an endorsement for president, perhaps during an appearance on "Meet the Press" Sunday. Speculation is he'll back Barack Obama, and not John McCain, the man who some thought might ask him to be his running mate.
Make no mistake. A Powell endorsement this close to election day would be a body blow to the McCain campaign. The retired general is worth at least three Joe the Plumbers. It would mean a man the nation still respects took a long hard look at both candidates, and chose the Democrat.
Before anyone goes off the deep end, however, it's not necessarily a done deal. There is, according to published reports, an aura of mystery around Powell's Sunday appearance, announced Friday morning on the Today Show. There's still a chance he won't back either hopeful.
And yet, the prospect fascinates. What does the military man see in the young senator from Illinois? Would he take another cabinet position if asked? How many times has he sat with Obama and McCain since the national conventions, if at all? And most important, what is his rationale? Guess we'll have to wait for Sunday to find out.
Even with a Powell endorsement and frontrunner status in the national polls, Obama knows better than to get complacent. Presidential races tend to get tight in the home stretch. No one can predict where the economy will go, and John McCain has been written off several times before, only to re-emerge victorious. Not to use a sports metaphor, but this will be a sprint to the finish.
It may come down to who has the better track shoes.
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2 comments:
Why does Gen. Powell have such high ratings? Is it because he is an achiever? Why do we celebrate the military? And hero-ise the rich. (Remember that old Brooklyn saying:"If you're so smart, how come you're not rich?") What I remember about Gen. Powell is that he stood in front of a covered over copy of Guernica, Picasso's outrage of bombing civilians (well, I am an artist), holding a bottle that was supposed to have anthrax in it. He's never spoken about it,has he? And, he is said to have covered up the MyLai massacre while he was in charge of such things as Gen. in Vietnam.(charge made by Sy Hersh,who uncovered the big,prize winning story of MyLai?) I have military folks in my family;my dad was a disabled,then deceased at age 44, WWII vet and it has colored my outlook on things military.
PS He did! and you get the Cassand()a award, for a correct political "call". Bravo.
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