Can I vote for Colin Powell?
Colin Powell’s carefully worded endorsement of Barack Obama may well be remembered as a highly-significant political speech. In Sunday’s network broadcast of Meet The Press, this former Bush Secretary of State and Republican, very precisely states the reasons why he has become disappointed with John McCain, and why feels that Obama will be a more suitable president. He very gracefully lays out his objections to Palin, and the implications of her choice as running mate, without attacking her personally.
After the rather poor treatment that Powell had from the current administration, and his disagreements about Iraq, I don’t think anybody was actually surprised that he is endorsing Obama. Perhaps some of the specific reasons did come as a surprise.
What resonated with me was his concern that as of late, the McCain campaign has found nothing more substantive to offer in support of his candidacy beyond contentions that Obama has been “pallin’ around with terrorists.” Powell made a very compelling case that McCain has gone over a line that shouldn’t have been crossed, portraying the Ayers allegations as well-exceeding the level of mud he expects to be slung by his commander in chief.
Personally, I don’t think that terms like ‘anti-American’ or ‘unpatriotic’ should play any part in a political campaign. Its insulting when Palin paints entire regions of the country as being anti-American. What kind of a bigoted sort of worldview could possibly underlie ideas like that?
A very bizarre incident happened in Lakeville, MN last Friday, at a McCain rally when one supporter accused Obama of consorting with terrorists, and to a chorus of boos, McCain gallantly defended Obama’s honor. Then another supporter stood up and explained that Obama was an Arab. McCain again corrected one of his supporters on national TV, defending Obama’s honor by saying “No ma’m, he’s a decent family man.”
Call me the bigot now when I admit that I don’t think most of the audience at that rally picked up on the irony of McCain’s awkward defense of Obama. Powell got it, and along with American Muslim Abed Z. Bhuyan (Powell Rejects Islamophobia), I found Powell’s plea to recognize and stop anti-Islamic hatred to be one of the few truly profound and important messages delivered by a ‘politician’ during this year’s political race.
My concern is that we are in huge need of wise leadership, but wisdom doesn’t seem to be a currency that buys much in American politics right now.