Obama wins the most coveted endorsement of US presidential campaign: Gen Colin Powell

On Saturday evening, I attended a dinner party at the home of a friend who is a proud Republican. And, as you can well imagine, it did not take long before our conservation turned into a spirited debate on presidential politics.

However, as I invariably opt for asking questions instead of making assertions during such debates, the following are just two of the questions I posed to our gracious host:

1. As more of a country-club than a religious-right Republican, don’t you think that the cynicism, contrivance and contradictions inherent in John McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin as his VP nominee constitute an irredeemable indictment of his judgment?
2. Given McCain’s lurch towards the religious right, and his declaration that “Roe v. Wade is bad law,” aren’t you troubled by the prospect of a President McCain having the opportunity to appoint at least two more right-wing justices to the Supreme Court, which would certainly lead to overturning a woman’s right to an abortion?

Of course, my host was far too politically astute to have been floored by my questions. But he was intellectually honest enough to admit that they crystallized the reasons why he remains one of the few people still genuinely undecided (if not conflicted) about his presidential choice.

Nevertheless, I sensed that, like many Republicans, he was just searching for the “right” rationale to jump on the Obama bandwagon. Therefore, when he asked why I’m such a die-hard Obama supporter, instead of parroting hackneyed talking points on the economy, here, in part, is how I tried to disabuse him of his indecision:

Obama and McCain are engaged in a dogfight over who has the best plan to deal with this economic crisis. But I doubt either one of them can do much to alter our course towards a worldwide recession.

What distinguishes Obama, however, is his message of multilateralism. After all, this approach to governing will be necessary not only to fix the problems ailing the US economy (as Bush himself conceded last week by calling for a summit of world leaders to discuss the matter), but also to fight the global war on terrorism (and deal with rouge states like Iran) more effectively.

By contrast, McCain seems determined to continue Bush’s unilateral approach in both respects, indicating that he would be averse to meet even with the leader of Spain – a US ally. But this will only plunge America deeper into recession, expose it as even more of a paper tiger, and undermine what little remains of its goodwill in the international community.

But since I harbored no illusions that anything I said would compel my host to get off the fence, I ended my pitch by informing him that even the most revered statesman in his Republican Party (and in the country), General Colin Powell, was reportedly poised to jump on the Obama bandwagon.

What I did not anticipate, however, was that just hours later – on NBC’s Meet the Press – Powell would explain his reasons for crossing party lines by essentially echoing my assessment of the candidates as follows:

On McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin as his VP nominee:

Now that we have had a chance to watch her for some seven weeks, I don’t believe she’s ready to be president of the United States, which is the job of the vice president. And so that raised some question in my mind as to the judgment that Sen. McCain made.

(Although, Powell might have conceded that – based on the ratings she generated – Palin has a far more credible future as a comedic prop on Saturday Night Live.)

On the need to change US approach to foreign policy:

This is the time … to show the world there is a new administration that is willing to reach out … conveying a new image of American leadership, a new image of America’s role in the world.

On McCain appointing Supreme Court justices:

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.

On supporting Obama just because he’s black:

If I had only had that in mind, I could have done this six, eight, ten months ago … I can’t deny that it will be a historic event when an African-American becomes president. And should that happen, all Americans should be proud – not just African-American, but all Americans … It would also not only electrify the country, but electrify the world.

Summing up his reasons for endorsing Obama:

[B]ecause of his ability to inspire, because of the inclusive nature of his campaign, because he is reaching out all across America, because of who he is and his rhetorical abilities – and you have to take that into account – as well as his substance – he has both style and substance, he has met the standard of being a successful president, being an exceptional president.

I think he is a transformational figure. He is a new generation coming … onto the world stage and on the American stage. And for that reason, I’ll be voting for Sen. Barack Obama.

For his part, McCain did a pretty good job of disguising his disappointment over the fact that Powell, a fellow soldier and personal friend of over 25 years, not only refused to endorse him but actually questioned his fitness to serve as president:

This doesn’t come as a surprise. But I’m also very pleased to have the endorsement of four former secretaries of state … and I’m proud to have the endorsement of well over 200 retired generals and admirals. I respect and continue to respect and admire Secretary Powell.

But, more to the point, the reason Powell’s endorsement was so coveted is that both McCain and Obama were acutely aware of his influence amongst the moderate Republicans and Independent voters whose support will determine the outcome of this election.

Specifically, Powell’s endorsement now provides the rationale for them to overlook their lingering concerns about Obama’s national security and foreign policy credentials – especially compared to McCain’s. He also reinforces Obama’s claim as the candidate most likely to end the partisan divisions between Republicans and Democrats that have made it so difficult to get anything done in Washington lately.

Not to mention that Powell’s dismissal of McCain’s attempts to tie Obama to 1960s radical Bill Ayers and to allegations of voter fraud against ACORN as petty nonsense has effectively silenced McCain’s last rallying call for his campaign.

This Powell endorsement is the nail in the coffin. Not just because of him, but the indictment he laid out of the McCain campaign.

[The Politico quoting a Republican official]

With that, I fully expect my undecided friend to follow Powell’s lead by pledging to vote for Obama to be the next president of the United States.

Moreover, I expect the groundswell of support for Obama to increase so significantly over the final two weeks of this campaign that he will end up with more Americans voting for him than for any other candidate in US history.

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