Politics
Will Sec. Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama significantly help the Obama campaign?
On Meet The Press, Secretary Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama. Read more...
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Yes, by helping Obama attract moderates
With...the former secretary of state, one of the most respected men who have ever worn the uniform endorsing Barack Obama over John McCain today, no more questions! Barack Obama will be a commander in chief we can all respect! Read the Article
Quoted by Alex_Loomis on Oct. 20th, 2008
With...the former secretary of state, one of the most respected men who have ever worn the uniform endorsing Barack Obama over John McCain today, no more questions! Barack Obama will be a commander in chief we can all respect! Read the Article
Quoted by Alex_Loomis on Oct. 20th, 2008
With...the former secretary of state, one of the most respected men who have ever worn the uniform endorsing Barack Obama over John McCain today, no more questions! Barack Obama will be a commander in chief we can all respect! Read the Article
Quoted by Alex_Loomis on Oct. 20th, 2008
With...the former secretary of state, one of the most respected men who have ever worn the uniform endorsing Barack Obama over John McCain today, no more questions! Barack Obama will be a commander in chief we can all respect! Read the Article
Quoted by Alex_Loomis on Oct. 20th, 2008
With...the former secretary of state, one of the most respected men who have ever worn the uniform endorsing Barack Obama over John McCain today, no more questions! Barack Obama will be a commander in chief we can all respect! Read the Article
Quoted by Alex_Loomis on Oct. 20th, 2008
His endorsement helps ratify the post-Palin trend toward McCain solidifying his base but losing his once-formidable support from moderates. Plus I bet it’ll inspire someone at the Corner to say something racist. Read the Article
Quoted by johncapello on Oct. 19th, 2008
The Colin Powell endorsement was huge. Yet remember Senator John Kerry won all of the debates in 2004, and lost the popular vote. Read the Article
Quoted by dreadpirateannie on Oct. 20th, 2008
Powell's endorsement of Obama for President is far more influential than any of the newspapers...Today's endorsement is coming from a man who could have easily been elected the first African-American president in 1996 had he chosen to go through the presidential nomination process. Read the Article
Quoted by dreadpirateannie on Oct. 20th, 2008
...Powell's endorsement will have sway among your average American and also some U.S. military who want to vote for Barack Obama, but who many times feel pressure not to vote for a Democrat, especially one who is against the Iraq war. Read the Article
Quoted by johncapello on Oct. 19th, 2008
The decision is not only symbolic but, in terms of timing, one of great tactical importance. Powell is a brand unto himself in American politics, and clearly transcends the media's tendency to hype endorsements more than their actual importance to voters. Read the Article
Quoted by vle on Oct. 20th, 2008
The key thing about Powell isn't that he's black. It's that he (unlike Winfrey) doesn't strike casual voters as your typical Obama supporter. He's a Republican. He's a military man. He backed both Bushes. And he's even donated to McCain. That's why Powell's endorsement is so powerful. Read the Article
Quoted by Alex_Loomis on Oct. 20th, 2008
The one-time chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff systematically marshaled his assets to neutralize the Republican endgame strategy, which is to suffuse the air around Obama with a vague mist of terrorism, socialism and "otherness." Read the Article
Quoted by vle on Oct. 21st, 2008
They've been muttering about [it], but they were afraid to give voice to, and he came out and said it, in a way Read the Article
Quoted by Alex_Loomis on Oct. 20th, 2008
It was extremely reassuring for this experienced military leader...to endorse Barack Obama and say, 'His world experience, his commitment and knowledge of national security are fine. You can vote for him without those kinds of reservations.' Read the Article
Quoted by brownlu on Oct. 20th, 2008
His endorsement was eloquent, unequivocal, and...genuinely newsworthy. Powell's endorsement might play especially well among the defense and military communities in Northern Virginia, which just so happens to be perhaps the most important swing region in the election. Read the Article
Quoted by johncapello on Oct. 19th, 2008
It's very significant because Colin Powell sounds like a lot of good, thoughtful people in his country who respect both Barack Obama and John McCain, who think a lot of John McCain's service...but who think on the key questions facing the country today that Obama is better. Read the Article
Quoted by Alex_Loomis on Oct. 20th, 2008
Colin Powell ... is a warm glass of milk and a cookie for those voters who have a hard time going to sleep at night. Read the Article
Quoted by Alex_Loomis on Oct. 20th, 2008
Powell is a glass of warm milk and a cookie for those who can’t sleep worrying about the lack of experience of a President Obama. Read the Article
Quoted by vle on Oct. 22nd, 2008
Powell can validate Obama on the issue of patriotism...Powell, who was a four-star Army general, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Ronald Reagan's national security adviser, can give credibility to Obama on the crucial question of readiness Read the Article
Quoted by Alex_Loomis on Oct. 20th, 2008
This is an endorsement that has enormous dividends for Sen. Obama, not only in helping to erase any remaining doubts about his national security agenda, his experience. ...It says that he is going to reach across the aisle... Read the Article
Quoted by johncapello on Oct. 19th, 2008
Joe the plumber is the centerpiece of the McCain campaign. General Colin Powell's endorsement will now be an important factor in the Obama campaign. This pretty much sums up the state of this race with two weeks to go before the election. Read the Article
Quoted by dreadpirateannie on Oct. 20th, 2008
Powell struck a strong and powerful blow against the failed politics of his former Republican cronies. Was it a game changer? As Sarah Palin would say, you betcha. Read the Article
Quoted by dreadpirateannie on Oct. 20th, 2008
Yes, by indicting the McCain campaign
The repudiation of John McCain by such a high-profile Republican certainly hurts John McCain. Read the Article
Quoted by brownlu on Oct. 20th, 2008
Powell and McCain know each other well and have worked closely together. His public endorsement of Obama is a huge validation of Obama and a tremendous repudiation of McCain. Read the Article
Quoted by dreadpirateannie on Oct. 20th, 2008
General Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama is highly significant in its own right...but its real importance is that it is one more in a long a series of repudiations of the Republican Party, and sometimes of Senator McCain specifically Read the Article
Quoted by Alex_Loomis on Oct. 20th, 2008
...Powell didn't just tacitly offer a vague endorsement, he offered his unapologetic support to Obama, while blasting what's become of his old friend, John McCain. He sounded like a man who barely recognizes what's become of today's GOP. Read the Article
Quoted by johncapello on Oct. 19th, 2008
Powell is a "man who I admire as much as anyone in the world," McCain has said. He was an informal adviser to the campaign early on. And the content of the endorsement acknowledges what McCain's accomplished, studies it, and judges that it is insufficient for the modern world. Read the Article
Quoted by Alex_Loomis on Oct. 20th, 2008
A real sledgehammer blow to an already staggering campaign. Read the Article
Quoted by vle on Oct. 23rd, 2008
Powell didn't just endorse Barack Obama -- he also systematically dismantled the entire rationale for John McCain's presidential campaign. Read the Article
Quoted by dreadpirateannie on Oct. 20th, 2008
I was impressed by the comprehensive indictment of the current Republican ticket..it was a comprehensive statement...that the more traditionally centrist Republicans are coming to view the McCain-Palin ticket as some sort of deviation...with the genuine traditions of the Republican Party Read the Article
Quoted by johncapello on Oct. 19th, 2008
As a leader who has unparalleled respect within the upper reaches of the military and in public opinion, Powell's repudiation of the McCain/Palin ticket holds particular power. Read the Article
Quoted by dreadpirateannie on Oct. 20th, 2008
In many ways, I think Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama is less an endorsement of Obama and a repudiation of McCain, and more a statement of principled opposition to an intolerant tone from certain quarters of the Republican Party and Conservative movements. Read the Article
Quoted by Alex_Loomis on Oct. 20th, 2008
Despite all his warm words for John McCain, for the most part an ideological soul mate whose military valor he particularly esteems, Powell delivered a powerful critique of what he believes is a small, mean, divisive campaign McCain and his partisans have waged. Read the Article
Quoted by Alex_Loomis on Oct. 20th, 2008
No, it will have little to no effect
Even though he watched W. in 2000 make the argument that his lack of foreign policy experience would be offset by the fact that he was surrounded by pros — Powell himself was one of the regents brought in to guide the bumptious Texas dauphin — Powell makes that same argument now for Obama. Read the Article
Quoted by vle on Oct. 22nd, 2008
Secretary Powell says his endorsement is not about race. OK, fine. I am now researching his past endorsements to see if I can find all the inexperienced, very liberal, white candidates he has endorsed. I'll let you know what I come up with. Read the Article
Quoted by vle on Oct. 21st, 2008
The media’s in a tizzy over Colin Powell’s Meet the Press endorsement of Barack Obama this morning. It’s not a surprise to anyone who’s paid attention to his pro-Obama murmurings over the last four months. How will people outside the Beltway bubble respond? Yawn. Read the Article
Quoted by johncapello on Oct. 19th, 2008
After Obama raised a hundred million dollars last month, every meaningful newspaper is behind him, he's soaring in the polls and McCain's campaign has devolved into a complete clown car. Way out there on a limb, Colin. Read the Article
Quoted by johncapello on Oct. 19th, 2008
Powell’s endorsement of Obama for president, in effect ending Powell’s brief interlude as a Republican, was the least surprising and most predictable event of an unusually unpredictable election cycle. The interaction between Powell and the Republican Party was never a marriage made in heaven. Read the Article
Quoted by vle on Oct. 21st, 2008
I'd guess Powell helps marginally with military types and moderate Republicans, and he'll rob McCain of at least two news cycles, which are a precious commodity at this point. But, overall, he's not changing the dynamic of the race so much as affirming it. Read the Article
Quoted by johncapello on Oct. 19th, 2008
No, it only makes Powell look bad
I was also unaware of [Powell's] dislike for John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Anthony Kennedy and Antonin Scalia. I guess he also regrets Reagan and Bush making him a four-star [general] and secretary of state and appointing his son to head the FCC. Read the Article
Quoted by johncapello on Oct. 19th, 2008
Look, everyone has to do what they have to do to get by. And for Powell, it may have been that the chance to rehabilitate himself among the Manhattan and DC cocktail party elites was simply too tempting to pass up. So be it. Read the Article
Quoted by johncapello on Oct. 19th, 2008
General Comments
...the indisputable benefit that Powell brings Obama is that [he] is sure to block out any chance McCain has of winning the next two or three days of news coverage...McCain has 15 days to close a substantial gap, and he will now lose at least one fifth of his total remaining time Read the Article
Quoted by johncapello on Oct. 19th, 2008
I think this [endorsement] adds to my calculation [that] Obama gets two votes because he is black for every one he loses...Because so much of this country is so eager to A) feel good about themselves by doing this, [and B)]put paid to the whole Al Sharpton/Jesse Jackson game of political rhetoric Read the Article
Quoted by johncapello on Oct. 19th, 2008
Indeed, if there's any true news value to such an endorsement, it should involve the media and activists asking why Colin Powell, a guy who deliberately lied us into war, is endorsing Barack Obama, who valiantly spoke out against that war. Read the Article
Quoted by dreadpirateannie on Oct. 20th, 2008
In many ways, I think Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama is less an endorsement of Obama and a repudiation of McCain, and more a statement of principled opposition to an intolerant tone from certain quarters of the Republican Party and Conservative movements. Read the Article
Quoted by johncapello on Oct. 20th, 2008
I think General Powell is wrong, respectfully. I believe he has come to this conclusion, you can see, in an agonized way, because he likes both men very much Read the Article
Quoted by Alex_Loomis on Oct. 20th, 2008
